This gallery presents the collection of photos submitted for the World Of Signage Photo Contest by the readers of Smashing Magazine. We received over 2,500+ photos from our readers across the globe, and present a selection of the most interesting photos in the overview below.
The topic of this gallery is Road and Street signs. A big group of signs that direct and inform the flow of people passing by on the roads of the world. Please notice: each photo has a certain license, provided in the description of the photo. Before using the images for private or commercial projects, make sure that the license allows you to do so. Also, you can click on the photos for a larger preview.
Please feel free to take a look at other submissions as well (links to other galleries are listed in the end of this gallery).
The unseen beauty of motorcycle park area [ large preview ]
"Beauty at sign." Photo taken by Jestony S. Baylon from Philippines.
Old french street on film [ large preview ]
"Street sign in the medieval French town Trefort on a push processed TriX film." Photo taken by Julien Soubrier from Australia.
Time Square signage and adverts [ large preview ]
"Time Square signage, lights and billboards." Licensed: No commercial use. Photo taken by Nacho San Nicolás López from Spain.
Wet Dog Walk [ large preview ]
"A dog walk sign in Malaga, Spain." Photo taken by Jelena Porovic from Canada.
State & Lake [ large preview ]
"Signage in Chicago, IL." Licensed: Lisa and Camera. By Lisa Finholm from USA.
Valley of the Gods [ large preview ]
"I.wander.photography." Photo taken by Tracey L. Warner from An abandoned bed & breakfast at Valley of the Gods, Utah.
John OGroats 1 [ large preview ]
"Angled photo of John O’Groats Sign." Photo taken by Andrew Kemp from UK.
John OGroats 2 [ large preview ]
"Photo of John O’Groats Sign Straight on." Photo taken by Andrew Kemp from UK.
Busking [ large preview ]
"Sign for street artists and singers." Licensed: CC-BY-SA 3.0. By Luya Tshimbalanga from Canada.
Hula Crossing Brandywine Delaware [ large preview ]
Photo taken by dddundus from USA.
Drain square [ large preview ]
"Drain-square." Photo taken by Mikkel Schebye Johnsen from Denmark.
Ecuador Sign, Ecuador [ large preview ]
"This photo shows both the coordinates of the location, as well as the actual line passing below the sign to mark the equator, or “The Middle of the World” as they call it in Ecuador." Photo taken by Tessa K. Marmion from USA.
Hati Hati ! [ large preview ]
"These signs mean: Watch out! We’ve got a project going on here !" Photo taken by Ralph de Pagter from Netherlands.
Slippery Sign [ large preview ]
"Such creative use of a simple sign deserves much attention." Photo taken by Ralph de Pagter from Netherlands.
Gofuckubashi [ large preview ]
"Driving back to Yokohama from Tokyo. Say it out loud." Photo taken by John Lang from USA.
Ausfahrt [ large preview ]
"Ausfahrt = german for exit." License: CC BY. Photo taken by Florian Bätz from Germany.
Australian Clean Sky [ large preview ]
"Art festival in Western Australia." Photo taken by Olga Erycheva from Russia.
Bad Luck at the Cross Walk [ large preview ]
"Taken while backpacking in Voss, Norway." By Laura Convesre from USA.
Bailey Road Signpost [ large preview ]
By Sonia Sanassy from UK.
Ban for Shopping Cart 1 [ large preview ]
"The photo shows an street sign which forbids to pass with shopping carts." License: Free. By Michael Shaw from Germany.
Ban for Shopping Cart 2 [ large preview ]
"The photo shows an street sign which forbids to pass with shopping carts." License: Free. By Michael Shaw from Germany.
Bangkok Streets [ large preview ]
"Taken on a trip through thailand." By Wade Abel from Canada.
Drunken parking signs [ large preview ]
"Strangely aligned parking signs seen in Belgrade’s center." License: CC BY-NC-ND. By Marko Rosic from Serbia.
Berlin Street Signs [ large preview ]
"Street signs in Berlin-Kreuzberg, with the characteristic German ‘eszett’ and several ‘tz’ ligatures." License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. By Florian Hardwig from Germany.
Beware, polar bears ! [ large preview ]
"Photo taken near Longyearbyen in Svalbard (or Spitzbergen), Norway, in October 2009. This photo shows the non attention paid to the sign, as the lady runs towards the land, where the bears are, as the sign says to beware of polar bears “In the entire Svalbard”." By Brian MathÈ from France.
Signs to far destinations [ large preview ]
"Signs to destinations all over the world in Gran Canaria." License: Creative Commons by-nc. By Misel Radosavac from Germany.
Street signage [ large preview ]
"Picture taken in Bucharest, representing a regular street signage." By Alexandra Haret from Romania.
Home for rash drivers [ large preview ]
By Mayur Mutha from India.
The basic need [ large preview ]
"Demand increasing with prices too." Photo taken by Mayur Mutha from India.
Follow or else you busted [ large preview ]
"Few follow this, and many get busted." Photo taken by Mayur Mutha from India.
Nature Walk [ large preview ]
"Noticed this slightly neglected sign in Juva, Finland." Licensed: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND. By Matias Korhonen from Finland.
Some signboard will missguide u [ large preview ]
"The signboard in the this photo says that you cannot take a left but the freshly installed singal lap indicating we can take a left. This type of missguiding signboard do apear only in India." Photo taken by Subin Selva from India.
Miami highway marker [ large preview ]
"Miami Highway – USA." Photo taken by Giovanni Gonzalez from Spain.
Crossing [ large preview ]
"Photo taken at Stockyard Blvd. in Fort Worth, TX." Photo taken by Eric Borja from USA.
Sister cities [ large preview ]
"Photo taken at Fort Worth Stock Yards in Fort Worth, TX." Photo taken by Eric Borja from USA.
Sunnyside Squares 01 [ large preview ]
"Image of dilapidated signage in Sunnyside, Queens." Licensed: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives. By Jim Brown from USA.
No habitat for pelicans [ large preview ]
"Sign on the LA river showing “Los Angeles River” along with a picture of a pelican. The thing is, there are never any pelicans on or around the man-made LA river." Licensed: www.artsytouch.com. By Joe Z. from USA.
Traveler [ large preview ]
"I took this snap at Darjeeling, a beautiful hill station in India, when an old man was on morning walk." Photo taken by Dibyendu Dey Choudhury from India.
Bon Voyage sign in a Malagasy village [ large preview ]
"The bon voyage sign are found in a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Antoetra inhabitated by the Zafimaniry tribe, who are known for their wooden craft and their unique houses. The photos have been taken this year during my three week trip through Madagascar." Photo taken by Silvia Cano Garcia from Spain.
Masked [ large preview ]
"A highway in works." Photo taken by Sergio Oraa Alcalá from Spain.
Emschergenossenschaft [ large preview ]
"A sign of the “Emschergenossenschaft." By Christian van Elten from Germany.
Honking Is Bad [ large preview ]
"This was taken in New York City. From the looks of it at the intersection of Tillary St. and Jay St.." By Devin Clark from USA.
Arabic Recycling [ large preview ]
"We all know the recycling man sign, but did you know Arabs have their own." By Jeroen Panjer from The Netherlands.
Austria Border [ large preview ]
"The austrian border behind the mountain zugspitze in the alps." By Albert Augustin from Germany.
South Road [ large preview ]
"Taken at sunset while while going to Toledo, Cebu in a moving car with Nikon D70 DSLR." By Jose Russel Samante from Philippines.
Mirador (lookout) sign near Salta Argentina [ large preview ]
"A completely redundant sign in front of a dramatic vista!" Licensed: Permission for use by Smashing Magazine is granted. By Paul Juniper from Australia.
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Portage and main [ large preview ]
"Directing drivers through one of the best known intersections in Canada. Notice bilingual signage to the right." Photo taken by Joralyn Zaballero from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Sign with no clarity [ large preview ]
"Speed-breaker sign with leaves covering the board which can result in an accident." Photo taken by Sitanshu Nath from India.
Sign shadow [ large preview ]
"Taken in the end of 2007, in the old centre of Cluj Napoca city. The shadow sits on a wall of a musical school." Photo taken by Daniel Valcelean from Romania.
Man at work [ large preview ]
"Man at work in Bratislava." Photo taken by Mario Poje from Croatia.
Kolonbastak peak [ large preview ]
"A part of Alborz Mountain with above 4100m height, Kolon Bastak Peak in left of the picture with 4200m height." Licensed: © Payam Hamzei. By Payam Hamzei from Iran.
Nailed street Sign [ large preview ]
"The old street Sign was nailed to a tree, standing on private ground. The Street also included only this house and ended right after it. So it has actually only decorative qualities." Photo taken by Johannes Heynold from Germany.
Where am I? [ large preview ]
"Photo shotted on Rome. It speaks by himself." Licensed: If you want to use this picture, be my guest, just warning me, thanks. By Luiz Fernando de Souza Pinto from Brazil.
Aladdin [ large preview ]
"Flying Carpet street!!! (USA)." Photo taken by Chris Purnell from UK.
Thanks to all participants for taking their time for preparing and sending submissions for the contest and creating a unique and diversified gallery presented above. We truly appreciate and respect your efforts and your time, folks!
You may want to take a look at other contest galleries, too:
Katrín Svana Eyþórsdóttir is a media artist and designer from Iceland. You can follow her on twitter.
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