Warning (Hardcover)

~ Nicole Recchia (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Warning labels have become ubiquitous. From take-out coffee cups to heavy machinery, they constantly caution in wordless pictures against potential injury or death. Unnoticed, often unheeded, the design of warning labels contains a special graphic language. Their visual simplicity is often uneasily juxtaposed with a desire to achieve clarity of message, making their meaning clear but frequently awkward and often comical. The human figures in warning labels have perfectly round heads, rarely with a neck, and almost always a stick body. Movement is shown through ellipses used to indicate crushing or flinging of the head and body. Fire is portrayed as a cloud of red, exploding out in all directions, and filling the lungs of the victim. Crushing is often displayed by distorting the stick figure's shape to mimic the crushing object. Frequently the human figures throw their hands in the air in a dramatic, silent "Oh no!" "Oh no!" indeed, Warning is a collection of some 160 macabre warning labels from around the world, depicting the worst hazards imaginable. Be entertained, be amused, but most of all, be forewarned!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Mark Batty Publisher (June 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972563695
• ISBN-13: 978-0972563697
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #698,683 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Signs, Signs, Everywhere there's Signs, August 19, 2005

By	Elliott Riggs - See all my reviews

Really great literature is often both funny and sad all at once. And while this little gem of a book can't qualify as literature (there aren't any words, save for the intro!) it's certainly both horrible and hilarious. I had to re-read the intro twice to make sure I wasn't dreaming, these are REAL warning signs collected from all over the world that graphically depict a million-and-one ways to die, lose limbs, get mangled, or generally become incapacitated.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These poor little stick men, bruised, battered, cut, crushed..., August 23, 2005

By	Reevo "www.ektopia.co.uk" (UK) - See all my reviews

So I've become obsessive about signs and signals! They're here to help us so why aren't we all obsessive about them? Why aren't there more books about them so we can study them at home? Hang on...Warning by Nicole Recchia and published by Mark Batty is a newly published book that's about to save your life! Well they might do, they may also make you laugh or make you look at them with a bemused and confused expression on your face! So here's a collection of warning labels, bold and high contrast images of machinery, cogs, blades, boxes, vehicles & toilets! Oh, no incident is complete without a victim. These poor little stick men, bruised, battered, cut, crushed...I wonder if they have a union...probably not or signs like these, and books like Warning I guess, would never be made.

Warning labels are there to eliminate the risk of us coming to any harm, at least to minimise the risk, so why are they so abstract and confusing sometimes? To minimise the confusion these warning labels are neatly laid out into sections. Death and disaster by: Electrocution, Falling Objects, Blades, Fire, Crushing, Falling and The Truly Bizarre. You can work out what many of the warnings are trying to tell you not to avoid but this last chapter? Jeez, anything could happen with signs like these! For example, if I had to give a name to some of these images they would be something like - "Head-butting businessmen ahead" and "Don't feed the wheelchair bound to the alligators!" I guess you'll have to take a look at the book to see their accompanying images but when you see them you'll know which ones they are! Just like the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Warning also has a useful hint on its front cover, "Failure to buy this book could result in death or serious injury" and I guess it may just be true!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique guide to contemporary disaster prevention, October 5, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Nicole Recchia's Warning gathers wordless warning signs from common sources, organizing 'Death and Disaster' chapters by fire, crushing, falling and others, and adding a 'truly bizarre' section for those which fit nowhere else. Having the graphic warning labels side by side allows for some intriguing comparisons of design styles in this unique guide to contemporary disaster prevention.