Bite-Size Semiotics

Augmenting previous signage

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This sign was located in the parking floor of a mall in Espoo, Finland. It is a large red arrow sticker with the text "Nearest bottle return.", signaling that up ahead is the bottle return area.

What made this sign interesting for us was the context; there are some sturdy signs in the ceiling telling that the bottle recycling point is up ahead. So this arrow sign, which is a later addition and made from less durable materials1, not only indexes the bottle return area, but signals the fact that the original signage was insufficient.


  1. Note the slightly frayed edge. A few weeks later the sign was already been badly torn, and a week from that it was gone.