Bank St. Better than Ever? Photo by Richard Akerman
Design by committee has reared its ugly head in the nations capital this week.
The business improvement area has thrown up dull blue banners featuring a nearly illegible red font and emblazoned with the unintentionally ironic slogan “Bank St. Better than Ever.” Friend and fellow Change Camper Richard Akerman posted this set to Flickr.
The list of complaints about the banners – and there are a lot of issues with these signs – all boil down to a total lack of viability as a promotional method. The banners can’t be read from the street or even from windows overlooking the street.
From the font, colour, and motif the overall design strikes me as an attempt at placating the largest number of people on the approvals list; with the ultimate consequence that the signs are useless.
And in other news, Bank St. will also soon be home to another bright yellow blight on the neighbourhood – in the form of another Cash Stop. I understand the industry leader in cash-lending is a bright yellow behemoth, but these new upstarts should resist the urge to copy their bigger competition. Instead of making people feel like they are standing inside a No-Name package, why not break the money-lender mold and make an environment that is pleasant for your customers and the neighbourhood? (Or do they just not care about either?)
The recent additions to Bank St. are only marginally better than the old 1970’s era signage spotted by Spacing.ca before the months of road closures. It’s clear the Bank Street Business Improvement Area could use a little help from their friends.
Full disclosure: I’m an active member and the business liaison for le/the Village, an ad-hoc queer group adding our flags, symbols, art to Bank St. between James and Somerset St West.
