Customer Reviews

Warning

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I went into this purchase thinking that the illustrations were going to be photographs of actual signs. It's not a problem that they aren't, it was just a slight disappointment when the book arrived. The book is funny none-the-less. It's likely that the specs tell us that it's illustrated and I just read over that point.

My big issue was that ordering this book NEW should mean that there are no marks or damage - Not in this case. There was a large black mark on the lower edge of the books pages. This mark appears to have been made with a huge Sharpie marker. The mark then bled to each page inside the book. Being that I bought this for a Christmas gift, there was not time to return it for another copy. It's not a huge deal, but when you buy something "new" you expect it to be in new condition.

As a graphic artist, I'm intrigued by iconography and see several hilarious examples of such everywhere. "No Breakdancing" would be a perfect slogan for a recently spotted Wet Floor sign.

Ms. Recchia's book is intriguing entertainment. The book boasts high quality printing and thick, durable covers. What I missed, though, was that there is no narrative and little explanation of the bizarre warning symbols. Perhaps more research would have led to some narrative.

All in all, I'm glad I bought it and will be loaning it to friends. The symbols are wonderful and baffling. You will be wondering why they were created and who created them. But I probably won't keep this book as a permanent fixture of my library; it's worth looking through a few times, but that will probably be sufficent for me!