EXTEND - GRAPHIC DESIGN SUPPORTIVE RESEARCH

Prompts given and their context.

• Everything must go;

This quotation is typically used inside supermarkets, oftentimes when the store is closing down. The 'must go' implies to customers that they urgently need to reduce their stock and sell items, encouraging them to buy something. This slogan usually is promoting a sale of some kind, where items will have reduced prices. Typical of supermarket signage, these are usually stylized in all capital letters, using big bold text, either black or sometimes red or another strong colour. The words will likely be large in scale and placed on a poster, on a shop window outside to bring customers in, or inside to subconsciously push customers to buy once they are in the shop.

• Handle with care;

These words are found most commonly on boxes containing fragile items, usually printed onto cardboard, and accompanied with a 'Fragile' symbol. This is an instruction put onto packages with items that can easily break, informing the people that are handling them to carry it carefully- this can be with deliveries, or items that are being transported to a new house or building, shipped abroad, ect- they detail how important it is to the handler to not throw it around or be rough with the box. The words can be printed on a small scale or large depending on the size of the package.

• No ball games;

These words can easily be spotted everywhere in public spaces- in certain areas of parks, in car parks, on private land, and mean exactly what they say. 'No ball games' signs are usually put in place in areas where typically young people have been rowdy and played in places that aren't appropriate, or have caused damage. You can see these signs painted largely onto concrete,

on metallic signage, or even sprayed hastily onto a wall, acting as a deterrent. No ball games is associated with quite dark and urban settings, as it is seen on council estates, run-down spaces, or otherwise city areas.

• This way up;

This phrase is also found on boxes and deliveries, printed onto packaging to detail to the handler where the box is meant to be opened. This is for a variety of reasons; one, if the package has the potential to be broken if opened the wrong way, and two, if the delivery is large enough, it may be necessary to manoeuvre it and place it directly out of the box, therefore an indication of the right way up is needed. These are also most commonly used in instances where the item is fragile, because the chances of it breaking if opened incorrectly are higher. Sometimes, 'this way up' is placed onto packaging with a sticker, to ensure that it's placement is correct.

• You are here;

Typically seen on large scale maps, sometimes at large event spaces, amusement parks of attractions, or areas where it is easy to get lost. 'You are here' is written next to a pin drop on maps showing the user where their starting point is, to help gage their surroundings and navigate the direction in which they want to go. The three words are very simple, and usually written in a very small scale printed on top of the map, but are extremely helpful to people using the maps.

• Kills 99.9% of bacteria;

This is a phrase that most people associate with hand sanitizers or cleansers, cleaning liquids, items used for the bathroom, soaps, and anything of this nature. Whilst most people recognise this as a selling point, it is actually a benchmark for a standard sanitizer or cleanser, as the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) require the product to kill 99.9% of bacteria to even be marketed as a disinfectant. [Source: When 99.99 Percent Germ-kill is Not Enough - The Deadly Hazard of "Under kill" (cleanlink.com) ]

This phrase is typically printed onto the labels of bottles, and other products, that are used for cleaning. However, we also see it heavily used in advertising, (despite being a standard for cleansers- the public do not know this!) to push sales and increase the percieved quality of the product, and can even hear it used verbally in video advertisements.

• Mind the gap;

This is a phrase that was first coined by the London Underground, dating back to 1968, when staff had realised that it was impractical to continue verbally warning patrons to mind their step when boarding the trains. [Source: Where the London Underground's 'Mind the Gap' phrase came from - MyLondon] It became a verbal recording, and is still used to this day, with the full phrase now being 'Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.' It is used as a polite reminder that the gaps in-between the tube and the platform can sometimes have a large gap in-between them, and so it is important to pay attention when boarding so as to not fall through. 'Mind the gap' solidified itself as an iconography, despite still being used practically. It is now not only verbalised (most Londoners are able to hear the voice in their own mind), but seen painted on the platforms themselves, and is also used heavily within Transport for London's own marketing, when they place posters around the tube station for customer safety. 'Mind the gap' has also been adopted by National Rail and used similarly.

• Keep left;

'Keep Left' is a road sign that is recognised by the highway code, sometimes using words, and other times a simple blue arrow informing drivers to keep to the left side. This is most likely printed on a metallic sign and used on roads, however, most people can visualise and imagine the words 'Keep Left' from seeing the arrow only. There is an alternate sign that displays the words Keep Left in black lettering over a white background, accompanied by an arrow- this and the circular blue sign are the most common in the UK. In some instances, Keep Left is also placed on staircases for pedestrians, encouraging them to keep to the left of the staircase.

• Restore factory settings

Text like this, verbatim or similar, is typically written on digital interfaces, most commonly on mobiles, tablets and other handheld devices. You would likely encounter this prompt in the settings section of a device, and will often ask 'Yes or No'. This is because the act of restoring your device to it's default settings typically erases all data, removes logins, deletes photos and applications- essentially, a factory reset returns the device to how it would've been it left the factory for sale. The text is small, but clear and legible, as a misclick of resetting to the factory settings could result in severe inconvenience.

• Please do not bend

These words are commonly found printed onto envelopes, typically because pertaining them is an important document, certificate or letter that mustn't be bent. Commonly, these are written in red to stress the urgency that the document inside is important- and are usually seen on bigger packages. The most typical use of 'Please do not bend' can be found in bold red lettering, ontop of a large brown envelope, but these come in a variety of different sizes. These are sometimes used as stickers on top of envelopes too, by artists or small business owners who ship out their work in envelopes, and want their customers to receive the work in a good condition.

• Unexpected item in bagging area

This quote can quite easily audibly be imagined by most citizens living in the UK, as it is instantly recognisable as an automated voice on self checkout machines in supermarkets. This is accompanied by a digital prompt on the screen of the machine, informing the patron that they have placed something on the scales in the bagging area that hasn't been scanned- this also stops the machine from scanning further forward until the item is removed or a store colleague has come to assist, preventing shoplifting from occurring. The text that displays covers up the majority of the screen so the user is aware of the problem, and may be accompanied by a warning or attention (!) symbol.

• Buy one get one free

This is a typical promotional slogan used by most stores, either online or in person, to encourage shoppers to buy something. The aim is to make them buy something they probably would not have bought if the offer wasn't there, because they feel as if they are saving money and being rewarded by getting a free item. This is usually written in bold text next to eligible products, or with a different coloured label to make the offer stand out. In online shopping contexts, there may be a a highlighted line of text next to the item, and even prompts to add a second item to the cart.

• Unknown error

'An unknown error has occured', or simply 'Unknown error' is the typical wording used for when an error occurs on technology. This is universal, seen when software's crash, in certain video games, when files on computers do not work, and in many other instances. The look of these error messages tend to follow a similar pattern, they'll be inside a dialogue box, sometimes with an (!) attention symbol next to them, and may make a noise when they pop up. These are typically irritating, as there is no real fix for 'unknown' errors, and can lead to loss of data, files being corrupted, and your device being slow.

• File not found

Similarly to the previous quote, this is a error code that is universal on devices, popping up most commonly on laptops and computers. It is often written in black text, may feature a cross, an attention sign, or a sad emoticon next to it. This error code does not offer much information as to what the problem is with the file, or how to fix it, but usually means you are trying to open a file that was deleted off the device or has been moved to another folder which is inaccessable. This one also makes an error sound as it pops up. File not found, as well as an unknown error, have both solidified themselves as iconographies too, being used icons in art, meme and pop culture.

• Help wanted

This phrase is lesser used nowadays, but was a very popular phrasing for when employers are hiring and seeking staff for their business. 'Help wanted' is a straight to the point, no nonsense slogan, that can be printed on posters in large bold text and seen from far away. It is usually used in America, but has been seen adopted and understood as a hiring symbol worldwide. You typically associate 'help wanted' with lower income jobs such as fast food places, or other part-time work- and these ads may be posted in the shop windows, or on signs in the street.

RESEARCH

Confirm copying