It's a sign

I often blip about ads or advertising, or everyday objects. This pic is not so much an everyday object, insofar as I noticed it today for the first time. 'Take my parking space, take my disability too' is such an interesting way to word such a notice. The yellow wheelchair marking on the parking space is a tricky thing in itself - we all know what it means, but you don't have to be in a wheelchair to use the parking space.

Clearly the sign is aimed at those who think they can just use the space if it's not occupied. Take my disability though - quite direct and to the point, and somewhat unusually so for a UK street/parking sign. I like it, but wonder if others may struggle with it.

I inter-railed when I was younger. It was a wonderful time in my life - just left uni, before I set up my business and without a care. In a Swiss train, I came across the sign under a window. In English it read 'do not lean out of the window' - a direct instruction. The German translated as 'it is forbidden to lean out of the window' - again, do not, against the rules. The Italian however read as 'it is dangerous to lean out of the window' - do it by all means, but it's risky and we've at least told you it is.

Advertising-wise, it's the balance and genius of Volkswagen's fun theory campaign. There's a way of telling people, let's think about how we do that - with humour, like fun theory, or directly, or warning, or guilt it. Like UK government AIDS ads in the mid 1980s - grim reaper, you will die, to lighter touch ads in later years. It's basic communication I guess - you want to communicate something, there's several ways to go about it. Get it right, and you'll win - get it wrong and you'll need to get it right sometime. All in the language.