Pokémon Signpost Project

What happens when a nerdy creative gets bored

As a kid who definitely wanted to become a Pokémon master, I was way too excited about the glorified resurgence of nerddom that took place with the launch of Pokémon Go.

When I saw the impact that the app was having I wanted to create something physical that would allow players to feel like their favorite game had really come to life.

With just 50 bucks worth of material and a stroll around the city, the resulting project garnered hundreds of thousands of views, major news coverage, and some stern words from Boston’s Mayor and Police Commissioner…

SIGN ONE, SQURTILE: Of course, Pokémon aren’t real, but we all know that if they were we’d put them to work. If these creatures were to join the world we would use them for every task, from the menial to the heroic, like a modern-day Flintstones. Located outside a fire station this sign imagined that Pokémon would be proud to work alongside Boston’s finest as they fight blazes or give our heroes a much-needed rest.

SIGN TWO, EXEGGUTE: It will forever escape me how a little cluster of eggs can have psychic powers, but then again Pokémon has always required the suspension of disbelief. But I’d imagine in a world full of eggs with psychic abilities a few of the rotten ones would try and take over human minds, and what better place to pray on unsuspecting victims than a local Whole Foods…

SIGN THREE, DODRIO: This sign was placed outside a row of Boston bars because each head has its own working brain and distinct personality, representing and expressing sorrow, anger, and joy respectively, making it the most enjoyable bird to have a drink with. A few too many shots of whiskey and Dodrio will start crying about its latest heartbreak, try and start a bar brawl, and perform karaoke to his favorite beastie boys jam, all at the same time.

SIGN FOUR, HYPNO: Perhaps the most controversial of the signs (and the first one to get stolen impressively quickly) was placed in the Boston Commons. It played on the political turmoil in America, which was imagined as the likely result of mischievous Pokémon with the power of hypnosis.

In a matter of hours, this simple stunt had blown to epic proportions. Every major local news source picked up the story, and it gained thousands of likes, retweets, and comments on social. In fact, the story had become such a moment that reporters asked the former mayor and current Labor Secretary, Marty Walsh what he thought about the signs. Here’s just a quick collection of the coverage.