During the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, the use of “propaganda posters” were popular for encouraging good behavior — teaching safety, boosting worker morale, and rousing wartime sacrifice. I’ve always enjoyed the art and design of these posters, and decided to have Ted whip up a set of originals to address an area of behavior where modern society is often lacking: smartphone etiquette. Enjoy.
Did you enjoy these posters? Now you can buy them for your home, office, classroom, etc.
Posters illustrated and designed by Ted Slampyak
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{ 98 comments… read them below or add one }
I love it.
Let’s all print these off and plaster them all over the world.
Leaves the question: Where are these gone? Doesn’t the state think he has a traditional, cultural mission anymore? This is especially important in times of globalization, rather more important than in the 40s, to create a convergence of values.
These are awesome, going up in the classroom. If that’s okay
That was excellent.
I really like all of these, but the “Be Discreet” poster is definitely my favorite one from a design stand point.
Awesome. :)
I love them. Keep ‘em coming.
Awesome.
Sending the link out.
Need to make these into full size posters.
Esteemed Kate, Brett, and Readers,
These posters appeal to my tastes, but I wonder, given that I am an old curmudgeon, whether they appeal to the wrong audience. I am considering having one on the wall of my office; not because I think that they would reach my students, but because they would remind those same students that these issues are on an authority’s mind (me) – someone who bars the gates to better things. Whether this is true wants a David Ogilvy to direct the research.
Each time I teach a course the first paragraph of my syllabus tells students that I will dock 5% of their grade if their phone sounds audibly during a lecture. Every semester student students come to my office hours asking why their papers and tests have a “-5%” on the score. I tell them in a calm voice that they need to read the @*$% syllabus and get the *&!@ out of my office. I lost my first faculty position for refusing to compromise on this. Too @&!%# bad. Each year I get emails of thanks from previous students for setting this standard, among others, and SOME of them aren’t nosing around for a letter of recommendation.
It will surprise knowing readers that I am not a professor of law or economics or business, but rather, of cellular biology/biochemistry where professional standards are much lower than among business people though most of my colleagues are loathe to admit it.
“Leave a message on my phone or preferably email me at “——“and I’ll get back to you at my earliest convenience.”
With kind regards,
Jim Collins
Being in high school, I think most us have done these especially when talking to others. I don’t mind others having a quick check, but it’s another thing to have to ignore someone completely for just a text – which happens to me quite often.
These need to be incorporated into a Public Service Campaign!
Sorry for the anonymous, but I’m hoping this link will eventually wend its way towards some particular people…
I have friends who do this. Some of them are particularly bad about it. Like, stopping in the middle of a damned sentance to check that text that just came in bad.
I’m generally pretty easygoing about etiquette stuff, but damn, that’s just disrespectful.
“Texting is for Cowards!”
I’m gonna put some of these on my binders now. Thanks Brett, Kate, and especially Ted!
Go Ted!
Here’s an interesting idea:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=395501973871264&set=a.241542939267169.61301.215820338506096&type=1&relevant_count=1
If these were available as prints…there is money to be had. Just show me the link.
These are great. Can you get some made for other areas of modern etiquette? I’d love to see a downloadable form of these so I could purchase them printed!
Concerning “KEEP IT CLASSY” — Take away the top text & music notes and that guy is farting in church!
(Note to self: make poster for self reminding not to point out fart things. Poster should say, “keep it classy.”)
I like all your rules and would add silencing your phone and limiting your conversations on the golf course.
Great posters. True enough, texting is for cowards. However, we cannot blame other people if they are like that. Even texting musters a lot of courage from them.
I love these. I was glad to see that I am not a frequent violator of any of these. I am occasionally guilty of looking at my phone during conversation. I realize how rude this is and have made a conscious effort to keep my phone in my pocket.
Gotta admit, I fall at the obnoxious/vulgar ringtone one. The girlfriend’s ringtone is Ass and Titties.
It really irks me when people sit down to eat a meal and use one hand for transporting food from plate to mouth, and the other hand never lets go of their phone. That is doubly true if somebody is with you.
These are awesome. They really need to be publicized around the world, and especially around the U.S.
Great creativity!
I was once in the grocery store and this woman was talking so loudly on her cell phone in the front of the store I could hear her all the way in the back section. I left my cart, walked up to her, and just stood there staring at her. She finally asked, “Do you need something?” I said, “Oh, I just thought you wanted me to listen in on your conversation since you’re talking so loudly.” She told me that if she didn’t have her baby with her she would punch me out. I said, “You are full of class,” and walked away.
I have friends with this problem. We compromise, by having a 2 minute “phone time” session every few hours. So everyone can get on their phones at once, for a few minutes and then return to a phone free discussion, dinner, drink, etc.
I’ve been looking for posters just like this for my new place. Are there more?
Don’t walk down the street with your nose in your phone and expect approaching pedestrians to avoid you.
Use vibrate to signal a call whenever possible.
If you must speak in public, turn toward a wall or find a semi-secluded place.
Texting is for cowards poster made my day. LOL
Amen!
I’m not sure if these ever got big in Germany or central Europe in general but I’d love having some like these with a ‘modern flair’ around.
Also, these are spot on – especially the first and the third. I can’t stand it when people – for whatever reason – raise their voice when talking on the phone in public. And if somebody would answer a text message while talking to me I’d break up the conversation and walk away.
Love it,
“Give your full attention,” rings deepest with me. I like to think I have good manners, but I find it so frustrating when I’m speaking and someone is on their phone and not paying attention that I’ve completely walked away from conversations (usually at work). I suppose I just don’t understand the immediate importance of reading every Facebook status update or mundane text message.
Perhaps the fear of missing out.
Oh, Matt. Really? Your girlfriend deserves better than that…
Love these, especially the first one. I was in a meeting a couple of years ago, and a woman (senior to me) was checking her email. I turned to her and said “Shut off your Crackberry. It’s rude.” She smiled ruefully, and turned it off.
Please provide pdfs, so we can print them out.
I understand that the point of these is to educate in courtesy, but most of these are negative in the approach. Why not make positive statements? I think positive approaches can stir people more. Or at the least leave your audience with a positive statement as you do with “Keep it classy” and “Be Discreet”.
Young Lawyers are notorious for “checking” their smart phones while trying to have a conversation. They’re trying to look important with fancy phones and “important” calls. Instead, they just look sad, and it is really annoying when they do it during a conversation with me. Thank you for posting this.
Is it possible to do an article on cell phone etiquette in the near future? I believe the existence of our species depends on it.
Thank you for all you do.
The only missing one I see is the one pertaining to the use of a speakerphone in the workplace. Nothing infuriates me as much as this.
These should be everywhere.
Not an etiquette but just as important: dont use cell phone while driving. Maybe there should be a complementary set for safety?!
This is really sad. All of these.
It just shows that people are too attached to their phoneboxes and don’t know how to use them.
I’d love it if these were higher resolution so they’d actually be worth printing as posters.
Yes, agree with these, but leaving your phone off or on vibrate in church, at meals, theatres, etc. isn’t only about about not ruining the experience for others. It’s also about being respectful to people and place.
We were at a play last weekend and even after a very clear announcement reminding people to put their phones on vibrate, someone’s phone went off with the iPhone “klaxon’ tone right in the middle of the first act.
If I were an actor, I’d have a hard time NOT breaking character and throttling the person.
Brett,
(Concerning Jim Collins comment) I am of a somewhat younger generation, 26; and I love these posters and believe they are long overdue. When cell phones and especially texting came on the scene it seems as though all conversational eticique went out the window. You should make these available for purchase as full size high quality poster, AOM reader like high quality!
Side note: I think you should come up with some manly and classy ringtones, and make the available for purchase or free download so that AOM readers will have easy access to be classy. Although; AOM readers should be self sufficient enough as men to come up with and use classy ringtones on their own. Thanks for the hard work and keep it up!
These are great! Sadly I’m guilty of the first one. However, you can now consider my wrist well and truly smacked.
Within the last few years there was a poster campaign on London buses and tubes with a similar intent, albeit a slightly less authoritarian tone.
Here’s one of the original posters:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/plaidleaf/2335193474/
On a daily ride in the elevator to the office, a guy was always on his cell phone and no one would ever say anything. One day he was talking about his fathers prostate surgery, so imagine the uncomfortableness we all felt, so I finally go the nerve to say something in a polite manner. I said, “My dad went through the same thing and recovered perfectly”, the guy on phone turned to me and said, “Do you mind, I’m having a private conversation here” to which I replied, “then you shouldn’t do it in a public place.” He hung up his phone and ever since he has not used his phone in the elevator when our group is heading to the 36th floor.
So, that being said, I love these posters and I would love to see them plastered all over town.
I like the suggestion for classy ringtones. Are there any suggestions for some good ones? I don’t particularly like music ones, but that’s what I have because I don’t like any that came on the phone either.
Brett & Kate,
Kudos to you both for a timely and much needed post! The posters are great. These are values I am trying to instill in my 13 y/o as he enters the world cell phone ownership.
(RE: Jim Collins comment) Mr. Collins, my compliments to you for sticking by your VERY reasonable rule with your students. Hopefully they will learn the value of manners and THOROUGHLY reading all information given to them by instructors.
Regards,
Jeff
My ringtone is Harry Reser’s “I Do Not Choose to Run” (1928), a parody of my favorite president, Calvin Coolidge. I can’t decide if it’s “cheesy” and “obnoxious,” or if it’s “classy.” (It seems a little of both, or else I would not have obtained it.) Can I get a second opinion?
I had a t-shirt from Big Dogs that had on it’s back “Your cell phone makes you twice as annoying” and I got lots of positive comments when I would wear it. A little “in your face” maybe but so is cell phone use without manners.
Can we get one that actually says “I Want You….To Put Away Your Smartphone” I would put it up in my office!
Dusty,
As for classy ring tones, I like to use sounds that are pleasing, church bells, bird calls (not the obnoxious ones of course), a thunderstorm, some nice mellow piano music – maybe Dave Brubeck, a beautiful song sung by a beautiful voice – I’ve used an Ave Maria before, things that are not harsh on the ears so that other don’t mind the sound.
These are wonderful! It would be great if they were printed out. I would most likely buy one or two.
This is just an overall lovely article. Short and entertaining. Keep up the good work, Brett and Kate! It is most certainly appreciated.
Being an IT guy that deals with smartphone daily….I NEED to put these up in my office :)
Love these! I was so frustrated the other evening when my family went out to eat with our in-laws. 3 of them decided playing games on their phones were more important, while another was checking in at work on her Ipad. My wife and I felt completely alienated so we decided to ignore them as well and act as if we were on a date together…alone. Be present! Especially when you’re with your families people!!!
Please make one for the dude in the airport who’s got his headphones on and using his laptop to Skype. Everyone else is quiet and he sounds like a damn jackhammer. Not smartphone etiquette, specifically, but the same principle.
Awesome! Either having them for sale or as high quality PDFs to print would be great (or even both!). I think being downloadable print quality would get them out there the most and do the most good. It would be a public service.
Second on the idea for a smartphone poster!
There is literally no reason for most people to have a ringtone at all. :Unless you’re expecting an important call that you can’t afford to miss, leave it on vibrate. If you’re somewhere that a call would be disruptive, leave it on vibrate anyway. The default on all phones should be vibrate.
Phones when out to dinner is a problem. My solution: first one to look at their phone pays for everyone’s meal.
Where’s the PDF downloads? Or where is the “order print” link?!? WTF?
These are awesome. I love when people tackle the topic of smartphone etiquette. It doesn’t happen enough. Thanks!
I would like to purchase these as full-size prints. Do you want my money now, or shall I pay upon shipment? Not available, you say? Well, as a famous captain once said, “Make it so.”
Thank you.
These are great.
K, bye
Thanks so much for making these. I cannot believe some of the things people do with their phones in public. It irritates the hell out of me.
I’d like a couple of these too if they were for sale. With regard to that, will AOM look at shipping overseas soon?
It’s 2013, not 1813…
These posters are excellent! I could not agree with the messages of them any more than I do. I’ve always been quite annoyed by our smart phone imbued culture.
My favorite is the “Don’t Pester a Captive Audience” poster because the lady in it looks so embarrassed!
This is great. I would love to see this continue. Even some of the basics would make good posters: Removing your hat upon entering a building, saying please and thank you, etc.
I love them, though I have broken up with a girl over a text, It wasn’t so much cowardice as personal safety. She was certifiable and I am sure I was better off to break it off clean rather than being stabbed or pleading to stay with her… this is after one date too.
GREAT!
I love them all!
+1 to the requests to have these printable. Any chance you guys could upload high-res versions to imagekind.com or someplace that allows folks to order prints?
So nice to see these making a comeback. I miss the “art” of a man truly acting like a man and women acting like ladies. I was raised in a moral and traditionally valued home where honor and respect were of the utmost importance and these qualities still are instilled in our family today.
Absolutely love these. They need to be put in every business, especially the first one.
Great Job man, particularly like the last one, I’m tired off technology addiction around me
These are pretty fantastic. I read a comment near the top where someone, presumably a teacher, said they were going up in his classroom.
Yes, please. Do that.
Does the artist have a website where we can order prints? These are great!
“Texting is for cowards!”
Now what I’d like to know is, what does a gentlemen do when a young lady wants to have a serious conversation over text, and you can’t get her to talk with you over the phone about it?
These are excellent posters!
It would be great to see them posted around the place as reminder prompts.
Telstra had something similar in the 1990s on mobile phone etiquette.
My favorite is “Don’t pester a captive audience”. A funny twist on the old “loose lips sink ships” posters.
Cell phones have really taken the meaning out of what it means to connect with others. WE ARE SACRIFICING HUMAN INTERACTION FOR EFFICIENCY!
Fantastic!
Also: if you’re using your phone while waiting in line, the call is over when you reach the head of the line. At that point, do the thing you’ve been waiting for: place your order, put your card into the slot, check out, talk to the man, whatever it is that the line’s for. Don’t keep yakking. Don’t expect everyone behind you to wait while you do.
PLEASE say there is a downloadable file or print we can purchase of these!
Don’t own a smart phone, and never will! I even avoid the internet when I can. That stuff’s distracting!
-27 year old, ie, not an old man yet!
I agree with Freeman.. It would be great if there was a possibilty to download or buy these! I have _LOTS_
of places that I would want to hang these.
Make these available for purchase and donate profits to charity like Hurricane Sandy relief.
I have to agree with Robin. Some of these are unnecessarily negative. I agree with the message but I wouldn’t use these in fear of appearing smug. We shouldn’t shame people for not understanding proper etiquette. Most of these are mild but the last one is just too over the top. Either way, I hope you do continue to make these mock propaganda posters but maybe next time make it a little more positive?
@Robin and Nom-
Have we really turned into such big weenies that people can look at these posters and complain they’re not “positive” enough? They’re supposed to be fun, but even so, 1) shame isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s a powerful social force that gets people to behave well. Please see this series on honor for more details. 2) propaganda posters have always used shame to get people to do the right thing. If you think these posters are negative, check out these from WWII!
http://sas.guidespot.com/bundles/guides_0d/assets/widget_d7NTWUQdblbRBGXyeWJBPd.jpg
http://sas.guidespot.com/bundles/guides_0d/assets/widget_bBdhow_pXgqzz_nW8nHlCj.jpg
http://www.cruachan.net/bf1942/propaganda/ww1646-11.jpg
http://sas.guidespot.com/bundles/guides_0d/assets/widget_cItD0h60LaTOZb2aMguoIJ.jpg
Shame is the essence of the propaganda poster!
For those clamoring for some prints, we hope to have some ready for purchase next month.
Lol! totally loved all of those posters. I think we do still really need these kinds of social rules because it seems that people are starting to not really care with the existence of other people around them anymore.
Nom De Plume – Your skirt is showing.
Here’s an idea for another……how about “Discretely check your spelling!”
Awesome posters, many people doesn’t really care about these, now they have to!
I like these posters, specially from an aesthetic point of view. And I deeply agree with some of their statements.
But I’m a bit concerned about people pointig cellphones and smartphones as culprits of this lack of etiquette, when many of these situations could easily be translated to no-phone ones, replacing the phone with another person or group of people.
Private conversations on public places are a common thing, either by phone or in person. Loud talking and noises on movies or libraries are not exclusive to cellphones. And lots of people don’t pay real attention to what most of the others say, when in a group.
The problem with smartphones is that you are ALWAYS in a group. Even if you’re just talking to your boss one-on-one, you have your whole pack of friends and relatives in your pocket. Sometimes even asking for constant attention.
But still, even if it means an added amount of distraction and potential noise source, the same old rules apply. They just have to be updated to INCLUDE cellphones, but not to be FOCUSED on them.
Deep thoughts apart, I found them funny and witty!
Excellent work! I would like to hang these in every classroom in existence.
These are great, they should be commissioned to appear on buses and trains.
I wrote a blog on similar issues –
“Holding out the smart: Things that keep me with a £20 phone.”
Read here: http://bit.ly/11yJDN5
Could you please add one suggesting that people NOT talk on the phone in the bathroom?
Thanks for these, guys! Cell phone usage has thrown conventional courtesy to the wayside in favor of convienience. I know many people who could heed this advice (not that I’m entirely innocent of being impersonal from time to time).
I was in line at the post office a few weeks ago. The guy a few places in front of me made a phone call, talking loudly in an otherwise quiet room. I started playing along, speaking just as loudly in response to what the guy on the phone was saying.
Annoyed him, but the others in line thought it funny. The guy ended the phone call, giving me a “you win” look.
Are you guys going to print these, or can we get higher resolution posters so we can print them out on our own?
Perhaps people could suggest when eating out that whoever checks their phone or reads a text is the one who picks up the bill for the entire group? The group might not agree to it, but at least it is a fun way to make a point.
Great etiquette advice for the 21st Century.
Great… now as psd-files to translate it in every language :D that would be perfect….
greetz from germany
For the modern age–really? I love the sentiments, but I really dislike the designs that show no originality at all, just an ability to copy a style that was originally popular more than fifty years ago. Give me something that will resonate with my students, not something that will make them think their parents are lecturing them again! These pictures just scream “Old people talking!”