Hello readers!
Currently I am in the train back to London from Newcastle. I was in Newcastle for two days to support one of my friend in his school's performance for Malaysian Night. Malaysian Night is one of the annual event hosted by different universities for all Malaysian students to gather around. Overall, the event was really nice and I really was enjoying myself, especially with the food that they were catering - Malaysian cuisine.
However, the event is not the highlight of this post. Today's post is about the signs and letters that we encounter everyday. I remember not long ago, we discussed about Iain Borden's notion of driving in the city. One of the discussions was about how drivers tend to take road signs for granted, Consciously, drivers are more focused on the passing of cars, traffic lights and the general environment. However subconsciously, drivers tend to be more subjected to shapes, signs, abstract objects and plain ordinary visuals such as restaurant signs, stop signs and etc. This particular subconsciousness makes the experience in the city is highly semiotic, as it is based on reading signs and signals as these signs are capable of speaking to us in a multitude of different ways.
This discussion made me realise that, indeed, it was true that how driving may change the experience of the city and how drivers tend to take signage or signals for granted that subconsciously we tend not to realise it importance of its existence. However, I think that this notion can be applied to walking as well, or for that matter any routine of our mundane everyday life. The reason why I realised this is because while I was in Newcastle, as I was uncertain about the corners and bends of this place (plus, my friend wasn't convenient to bring me around Newcastle as he was busy rehearsing for his performance) I started to look for the signs to guide my way through the visit.
Below are some of signs I encountered during this trip. The reason why I filtered it all to be black and white is because I want to bring out how the essential meaning of the signage and how we tend to view these signs and signals - that it is images that we tend to forget after our trip as we has taken it for granted as part of our daily lives and tend not to realise how these small little things may shape our journey.
However, the event is not the highlight of this post. Today's post is about the signs and letters that we encounter everyday. I remember not long ago, we discussed about Iain Borden's notion of driving in the city. One of the discussions was about how drivers tend to take road signs for granted, Consciously, drivers are more focused on the passing of cars, traffic lights and the general environment. However subconsciously, drivers tend to be more subjected to shapes, signs, abstract objects and plain ordinary visuals such as restaurant signs, stop signs and etc. This particular subconsciousness makes the experience in the city is highly semiotic, as it is based on reading signs and signals as these signs are capable of speaking to us in a multitude of different ways.
This discussion made me realise that, indeed, it was true that how driving may change the experience of the city and how drivers tend to take signage or signals for granted that subconsciously we tend not to realise it importance of its existence. However, I think that this notion can be applied to walking as well, or for that matter any routine of our mundane everyday life. The reason why I realised this is because while I was in Newcastle, as I was uncertain about the corners and bends of this place (plus, my friend wasn't convenient to bring me around Newcastle as he was busy rehearsing for his performance) I started to look for the signs to guide my way through the visit.
Below are some of signs I encountered during this trip. The reason why I filtered it all to be black and white is because I want to bring out how the essential meaning of the signage and how we tend to view these signs and signals - that it is images that we tend to forget after our trip as we has taken it for granted as part of our daily lives and tend not to realise how these small little things may shape our journey.
You may not only find these small little sign, signal and signages in the city. But you can find it everywhere, even in the most unexpected areas. Although all this system of signs may not be consciously thought about, but it is undeniable that this encompasses our everyday lives and routine and is constantly communicating with us.
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Before I end, here is a short clip to summarise my trip.
Hope that you will enjoy it as much as I enjoy in Newcastle.
See you soon!
emilyccz
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