I love this recent signage initiative from the New York City Department of Transportation. Following on from their controversial LED Skeleton Digital speeding signs, last November their commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan launched a new street safety campaign – “Curbside Haiku”. She commissioned artist John Morse to design a set of 12 signs installed at eye level in areas of high crash incidences, near schools and cultural institutions. The signs are in 2 parts, a bright, eyecatching graphic (featuring the “walking man” symbol) illustrating a Haiku written by Morse, encouraging pedestrians and cyclists to become more aware of the potential traffic-related dangers around them. Morse’s simple “cut and paste” style is graphically impactful, thought-provoking and witty, and represents a genuinely creative and innovative approach to public safety. Predictably, the signs have divided public opinion, with some claiming it to be a waste of public money, others insisting that the unconventional approach makes people think about safety in a new way. Perhaps the fact that people are talking about them at all represents a victory of creativity over mundanity in municipal signage.