There's Gotta Be a Better Way to Say That...

Plenty of logos and messages come through our office since we specialize in imprinting promotional products. No one has a better idea of all the interesting imprints that have passed through Motivators than our very own Art Department Supervisor, Keri. It's because of this that Keri is always dumbfounded when she sees an imprinted message that's confusing. About two weekends ago she and I were getting some lunch, and as we pulled into the parking lot we saw the following sign:



Now I'm not sure if it was the wording, or the fact that Keri and I had already had a weird and random morning, but we just stared at the sign. We completely understood the intended messages: "Don't park here overnight, don't park your car here for extended periods of time and go elsewhere," but the wording of the sign itself just made us burst out laughing. To quote Michael Bluth from Arrested Development, "There's gotta be a better way to say that."

So with that in mind, I heed this warning. Choose your words carefully. Make sure the messages that you choose for your promotional items and trade show giveaways are clear and concise. So many people try to have clever messages on their promos and because of unclear wording, the messages get lost in translation. And from that confusing sign, it's clear that even people who are just trying to send a message can have difficulty with simple sentences.