Member Article

When it comes to toilet signs Brits prefer a bog standard

IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of ironmongery products, has banned confusing toilet signs from its range after research found that such signs had fallen out of favour with the British public.

The poll[1] found that as many as 60 per cent of people in the UK had wandered into the wrong loo by mistake because the signage wasn’t clear enough and 83 per cent said that they found complicated toilet signs irritating. Less than 10 per cent of Brits said that they had seen a modern take on a toilet sign that was clever or funny.

IronmongeryDirect is hoping its actions will encourage restaurants, pubs and other public venues across the UK to take its ‘Bog Standard’ pledge, replacing confusing toilet signs with the classic Ladies and Gents symbols. It is offering free toilet signs to the establishment with the most confusing signage.

Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: “Modern toilet signs are a joke that is in danger of getting out of hand. The traditional stick figures of a man and woman to denote which toilet is which, is a British design classic that should be celebrated for both its simplicity and elegance.”

“We pride ourselves on stocking a vast range of ironmongery that meets every tradesperson’s needs. By taking this stand we hope to make the point that in some areas extra choice isn’t necessary or even desirable. We hope others will join our stand and create a ‘Bog Standard’ for toilet doors across the country.”

Facts about the classic toilet sign:

It was designed in the 1960s for British Rail. Its creators were the DRU (Design Research Unit) and designers Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir (who also created the template for the UK’s road signs). This original style was developed further in the 1970s by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, developing 34 signs for use within US transport networks to denote elevators, escalators, babies’ changing rooms and toilets.

For more information, visit http://www.ironmongerydirect.com/bog and join in the debate on social media using #BogStandard

[1] Survey of 1,000 people

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ursula Hutchinson .