# The accidental brilliance of makeshift signs

- Institution: TED
- Department: TEDNext 2025
- Speaker: Kate Canales
- Year: 2025
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Art, architecture and design
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_canales_the_accidental_brilliance_of_makeshift_signs)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

What happens when the design of everyday things misses the mark? People fill in the blanks. Designer Kate Canales has spent more than 20 years photographing the handmade, improvised signs that appear when the original falls short. From perplexing bathroom directions to our struggles with doors and point-of-sale machines, her photos capture something technology can't replace: our instinct to look out for each other and leave a few instructions behind.

## Lectures

1. [The accidental brilliance of makeshift signs](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/kate_canales_the_accidental_brilliance_of_makeshift_signs/99d3f2968f13), 8 min (TED's player)