Liquid Agency restroom signs are designed to make you smile!

April 18, 2012 at 4:24 pm

Let’s face it, standard bathroom signs are...well...boring. So, while we were working on our latest remodeling project, we decided to have a little fun and design a set of custom signs that would make us smile on the way to the bathroom. We think the signs are fun – but we admit they’ve been a little controversial. Some people laugh out loud when they see them. Others don’t know what to make of them. But the only ones we really worry about are those that can’t tell the men’s room from the ladies’.

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There is nothing wrong with these signs. Except that they are boring.
Truly. We don’t mean to insinuate that the design of these signs is not good. In fact, they are excellent examples of international style wayfinding signage. The generic man and woman can be recognized by people from different cultures, regardless of language, age or education. Just in case you can’t tell the difference, we appreciate the fact that “MEN” and WOMEN” are spelled out under each respective icon. And, the blue background with white imagery and type can be seen from far away – which is especially helpful when you really need to go. The only thing we thought we could do was to add a branded touch – and design a set of signs that captured our culture and personality.

Let us introduce you to Ms. Martini and Mr. Brew.
The signs started out with a simple sketch that captured the concept – and they ended up looking exactly like the original drawing. A strategically placed iconic martini glass defines the women’s bathroom image, while a bottle of beer suggesting the male anatomy is used to represent the men’s restroom. Internally, we call them Ms. Martini and Mr. Brew but decided that it was not necessary to label the actual doors, and let the visuals speak for themselves.

We created the design and built the signs ourselves.
We’re a crafty bunch at Liquid. Occasionally, we like to actually build the stuff that we design, and so we did in the case of these signs. It was fun going to the lumber yard, picking out just the right shade of wood, and building the files that would allow us to cut the wood, the acrylic panels, and the vinyl. The only thing we could not do ourselves was to bend the aluminum edging, but one of our fabrication partners came to the rescue and helped us complete the project.

Ladies and gentlemen, here are your restrooms.
This was by no means a large or important project. But we had fun with it! And most of the folks that feel the call of Mother Nature while at Liquid get a kick out of the signs. Seeing them smile as they walk through that door reminds us that design has the ability to add a bit of fun to our lives, and that even the small details can make a positive difference in our daily experience.

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