Monday, September 6, 2010

The Color of Bureaucracy

The only color bureaucracy brings to mind (aside from drab gray) is red, for red tape. In fact, bureaucracy is way more colorful than we might think.

Residents of various summer communities proudly display the annual town-issued stickers for beach parking. Since each year’s sticker is a different color from the previous one, car windows of many long-time summer residents become collages on glass, with their own regional color palettes. (Read 'Sticker Shock' in the Boston Globe about how passionately residents reacted to Wellfleet’s enforcement of its law against displaying old windshield decals.)

Sheffield Massachusetts in the Berkshires has the most beautiful “transfer station” (dump) permit stickers I’ve ever seen. Each year’s design involves not only a different color background, but different colored ink as well. Elsewhere, colored stickers can be found diplayed by businesses in their storefronts for assorted memberships, inspections, and permits.

It’s Labor Day weekend and summer is winding down. You are sitting in traffic, a bit wistful, your car packed up with the remains of the season. Perhaps the thing to do is think about next summer, and wonder—what color will it be?

The Berkshires

The Hamptons

The Jersey Shore

Empty storefront, Yonkers, New York

Cleaners, NYC

Hardware store, NYC

1 comment:

  1. These look great, some more than others. People of always loved stickers. (except a friend of mine who hates them, especially the ones on fruit)

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