When Signifiers go wrong and Signals aren't Natural: a door

The Wrong Door Dilemma

What Would You Do?

This is the main entrance of an hospital, in Milan, Italy, seen from outside. Yes, entrance.

Think again, what would you do?

Or let's say what went wrong with a simple door?

It goes wrong when you extend the signifier from the door section to the whole door apparatus. How could we create a conceptual framework that will immediately notify the possibile misinterpretation of our signs and affordances?

Let's impersonate an automata

state 1: we see a door

this door has 4 sections, with no evident clue on any mouvement

state 2: we see the 2 signs

this door has 2 signs on 2 sections

we focus on the 2 signs, we cannot enter;

there isn't any other sign to counteract the prohibition;

state 3: we make an inference. We cannot enter.

Solution to The Wrong Door Dilemma

When using a prohibition sign, in absence of any other positive sign or affordance, add a positive sign or affordance

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