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8 Comments

news

Crap-A-Pillar’s Revenge

By Rob Shostak

inane infopole inexplicably illustrious
Apparently, the INFOTOGO pillars that are strewn across our city are getting a lot of… positive… attention. The ‘first-ever interactive, stylized street-level furniture’ has won a prestigious international award from The Society for Environmental Graphic Design. the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers.
For those who are not in the know, “Environmental Graphic Design embraces many design disciplines including graphic, architectural, interior, landscape, and industrial design, all concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communicating identity and information, and shaping the idea of place.” (source: segd.org) … Idea of place… Right.
Astral Media was quick to highlight its duty to Toronto citing that they “believe that street furniture is a civic trust and must deliver excellent service to the public as a first priority. Astral Media Outdoor welcomes the opportunity to continue to offer the City of Toronto street furniture that is practical, accessible and reflects the city’s urban landscape.” They seem to be doing a good job of ‘reflecting,’ since the city’s urban landscape is already quite ad-heavy. This Torontoist is fine with admitting that it took him tens of passes of Queens Park before realizing there was a map on the pillar, thus not shaping his idea of place.
Torontoist and our friends at Spacing have already mentioned the negativity of this ‘info’pillar. But with more international attention (and Toronto’s enjoyment in basking in it,) will this be the face of our Coordinated Street Furniture endeavor?
Note: as a cartography dilettante, this Torontoist is pro-maps.
[image: INFOTOGO Pole - Toronto.ca]

Comments

  • rek

    I’ve never seen anyone *use* one of these ad pillars.

  • Rob

    Well, how often does one stand and stare at a billboard or advertisement (unless it’s on a bus shelter…)
    hey… wouldn’t THAT be a great place for a tourist centred city map? But then again that would mean LESS ad space, and that’s not the goal here.
    Meanwhile, in other cities, there usually is an ad-free tourist map every so often (Montreal & Boston for example) that is often bigger and more widly used (even though the Montreal ones are never oriented properly!)

  • http://poolsmap Rajio

    I’m still surprised I haven’t seen more ‘upgrading’ (read: constructive usurpation ….vandalism) of these crass obelisks. The ones at queens park is of particular annoyance.

  • Jameso

    Unless someone smartened up, the ones in the Beaches… don’t actually show the Beaches, being maps of the downtown core. And of course, the map part doesn’t face the street. Their functionality seems pretty close to a fig-leaf at this point.

  • DNA

    I think they’re attractive and useful for tourists whom we’re consistently trying to attract to the city.
    FYI just because something has an ad on it doesn’t necessarily make it “evil” or poor design. Lets be a little more unbiased.

  • Rob

    It’s true. Ads aren’t necessarily evil (although those Lamb Condo ones are close.) It’s more that the pillar is touted as a map that happens to have revenue generating ads, when in reality, it functions more as revenue generating ads……….. oh right, and there’s a map on it. Making money is not evil, but the object should be useful, un-encroaching, and with a readily identifiable service. I’m in Montreal today, and there are these new garbage cans on telephone poles that are the size of a jumbo cereal box, and with a mouth half the size. Every day they are stuffed to the brim, overflow, and muck up the beautiful city. There are NO ads on it, but i would GLADLY trade them for a larger one, with an ad.. but not the Eucan monsterbin.

  • dabusan

    >I think they’re attractive and useful for >tourists whom we’re consistently trying to >attract to the city.
    >FYI just because something has an ad on it >doesn’t necessarily make it “evil” or poor >design.
    I disagree. This is a classic case of “bait and switch”. Council was sold on these ad pillars with just such a belief in a “maps for tourists” promise. The reality however is quite different. I pass the ad pillar at Dundas and University every day. It’s located in public green space (no adverstising in parks?!) in the centre island along University. What’s “evil” is how it is placed. The map faces north and is totally hidden from pedestrian (read “Tourist”) traffic. This maximizes ad placement for viewing by the car traffic streaming up and down University Ave.
    This is especially galling in that the AGO, one of Toronto’s biggest draws, is about 3 blocks away and hidden from view at this point. I regularly encounter tourists at this exact location who are have come up from the subway and who are trying to figure out where the AGO is. Imagine if there were a “map” nearby which they could use. Nada. They literally stand in front of the ad pillar trying to figure out which way to go. They see the ad pillar for what it is, an ad, and miss the tiny lettering telling them to go BEHIND the pillar to view a map. In my books this is evil.
    When you then read about similar problems in the Beaches (as above) and hear about the Rosedale park location (no tourists there) you realize that this is a commerce driven exercise utilizing public land to present ads to street (read “car” traffic nearby. This initiative is a fraud and if council didn’t have the old saw “we’re broke and need the money” they might actually get some spine and correct the situation.
    I’m still stunned that they allowed advertising in city parks. This is unethical behaviour. When someone knocks on your door canvassing for the next municipal election ask them out they voted on this issue and why advertising is allowed in these public spaces.

  • anonymous commenter

    Someone ought to start pulling them down…