Today, on my way home from the library, where I checked out the movie
New York Doll and not a single book, I saw a couple of signs taped to local light posts. One said "yard sale" with an arrow pointing a direction, another said "Superb lawn care" with a number to whom I can only assume is a very conscientious teenage entrepreneur. They both were drawn with, I'm sure, tender loving care, and a big black marker with no typographical skill, which made me wonder. In an age where pretty much every household has a computer and printer and even 5-year-olds know how to run them, why do people still hand-write yard sale signs? And without even caring to see that their letters come out on a straight line? Not that no one shows up anyway, it's just that, in a world where technology has made it so easy and internet marketing is a subject in elementary school, you'd think people might bother. Who knows, maybe someone will be willing to pay a few more dollars for your never-really-used inversion table if you'd only take the time to choose an actual font.
3 comments:
I don't know. I think seeing a fancy, printed yard sale sign might make me distrust that it's a genuine yard sale by virtue of exactly what you said --- nobody gussies up a yard sale sign. Yard sales are local, homey events -- like 1 step down from Thrift Store. If it had a fancy, pretty flyer it's almost like it would be something else or made by some community hacker who really just wanted your credit card number or to sell you something else.
Just a thought.
I see your point, but I'm not saying fancy and pretty, just printed. I guess for me that feels like the easier, lazier option. Coloring in block letters is just more of a pain, to me, than clicking "print."
Because yard sale signs usually have to be big and on something strong like poster board. That sort of paper doesn't generally fit into your average ink-jet printer.
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