Dylan Coonrad, Creative Director of CannonDesign has reimagined NYC street signs for our social distancing era.
He writes on the company website that his project was inspired while going for a run in his Brooklyn neighborhood. With the streets emptied and the storefronts shuttered, he began to notice all the street signs, and realized that they no longer made sense in a city under lockdown.
So he has reimagined NYC street signs for the times we're living through.
This is his Love Letter to the Big Apple:
New York, United States, 2020-04-02 - I’m not a day-in, day-out runner, but when I do run along the streets of Brooklyn, I love to people (and dog) watch. That was essentially impossible last week as I ran amidst empty streets and vacant businesses.
Instead, I found myself paying attention to the road signs along my route. I’ve seen them countless times, but with each footstep, I really focused on what they were telling me: cross the street, do not enter, no parking, speed bump ahead.
These were the rules of the road just weeks ago. Now they’re less important. Today, society needs constant reminders to socially distance, stay home, protect our elders, and much more. It crossed my mind that these universally recognizable street signs could be totems for the messages we need in these unprecedented times.
These images represent that exploration. How could socially critical communication tools like street signs help us adapt to the new normal? Conceptual in nature, we’re not suggesting actual street signs be modified. Our hope is these images serve as a love letter to the places we live (NYC for me). The people we miss. And all that unites us, even when we have to keep at least six feet apart.
© Text and Images by Dylan Coonrad, AIGA, Creative Director of CannonDesign.
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