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The Story behind the ERP Sign Collection
- WAI (Wonder and Intention)
- Jul 26
- 5 min read
a familiar sign, pointing somewhere new
The Signs We Stop Seeing
Some objects become so familiar that we stop looking at them. They remain in the background of the everyday: passed through bus windows, noticed from the passenger seat, or glimpsed during the familiar journey between home and work.
Singapore’s ERP sign is one of them.
Its blue panel, black display and bold white lettering form part of the visual language of moving through the city. It was designed to communicate quickly and clearly, appearing above roads travelled by thousands of people each day.
Over time, it became more than a piece of transport infrastructure. It became part of the commute itself.
The early morning drive before the roads begin to fill. The quiet ride home after a long day. The familiar route taken so often that the turns no longer require thought. The conversations, songs, silences and small decisions that happen somewhere between leaving and arriving.
The sign is always pointing towards movement. That idea of direction is what inspired this collection.
The Space Between Here and There
A commute is rarely just a way of reaching a destination. It is a space between one part of life and the next. A brief interval in which we prepare, reflect, replay conversations or wonder what might be waiting ahead.
We may know the road we are taking without knowing exactly where everything else is going. Some journeys have clear destinations. Others unfold slowly, one decision at a time.
During those moments, the directions we need are not always physical.
Keep going.
Trust yourself.
Take your time.
Look ahead.
These are not instructions found on ordinary road signs, but they are often the ones worth carrying.
The ERP Sign Keychain Collection began with the idea that a familiar sign could offer a different kind of direction. Instead of telling us how to move through the road ahead, it could remind us how we might move through the day.
Familiar Abbreviations, New Directions
Abbreviations are part of the language of modern life.
BRB. FYI. ETA. POV.
They appear in messages and conversations as quick ways of saying something understood almost immediately. Like road signs, they communicate through familiarity. We recognise them before we consciously read them.
For this collection, we gave each abbreviation another meaning.
The original letters remain, but the message changes. What first appears familiar reveals something more thoughtful on a second look.
This small shift sits at the heart of the collection: an everyday object reimagined without losing what made it recognisable. What once organised movement through the city now offers a little perspective for the journey.
The Collection
The ERP Sign Keychain Collection transforms the familiar road sign into a miniature object designed to travel with you.
Each piece preserves the clear, graphic character of the original sign while replacing its expected language with one of ten thoughtfully chosen reminders.
BRB — You’ve Got This
A little confidence for the moments when you need to step away and begin again.
BTW — Enjoy The Journey
A reminder that the space between destinations can matter as much as the arrival.
ETA — Everything Takes Time
For plans, progress and paths that cannot be rushed.
FYI — Follow Your Instincts
A quiet prompt to listen to the part of you that already knows.
IMO — Choose What Matters
For returning your attention to the things worth carrying forward.
KIV — Stay The Course
A reminder to remain steady, even when the route is still unfolding.
OTW — Good Things Ahead
A small expression of optimism for wherever you may be going next.
POV — Keep Looking Ahead
For shifting perspective without losing sight of the road in front of you.
TBD — Anything Is Possible
A celebration of plans that have not been decided and stories that have not yet been written.
TBH — Keep It Real
A simple reminder to move through the world with honesty and remain true to yourself.
Together, the ten designs offer different forms of encouragement.
Some are for beginnings. Some are for uncertainty. Some are for the days when progress feels slow, and others are simply reminders not to miss the view along the way.
Made to Move With You
A road sign remains in one place.
A keychain does the opposite.
It travels between homes, workplaces, classrooms, airports and unfamiliar streets. It hangs from the objects we reach for before leaving and returns with us at the end of the day.
This made the keychain a natural form for the collection.
Attached to a set of keys or a favourite bag, each miniature sign becomes part of the wearer’s own route. It may be chosen for the message they need, the milestone they are approaching, or simply because the words bring one particular person to mind.
A graduation may call for TBD — Anything Is Possible.
A new beginning may feel like OTW — Good Things Ahead.
A demanding season might need ETA — Everything Takes Time.
And sometimes, the right message is simply BRB — You’ve Got This.
Each keychain comes attached to a Little Reminders back tag, with space for a handwritten note.
The message on the sign begins the thought. The words written behind it make the gift personal.
A congratulations. A thank-you. An inside joke. A sentence someone can return to when they need it again.
A Sign Worth Keeping
The ERP sign was never designed to be sentimental. It belongs to a system: direct, functional and built for movement. Yet this is often how familiar objects become meaningful. They remain around us long enough to absorb the rhythm of the lives taking place beside them.
The daily commute.
The route to school.
The first drive to a new job.
The road taken home.
By reducing the sign to something that can be held and carried, its familiarity becomes easier to notice. Its language becomes playful. Its purpose changes.
The result is not simply a miniature road sign, but a small reminder that direction can come from unexpected places.
Designed in Singapore
Singapore is a city shaped by movement. Roads, gantries, signs and systems quietly guide people through a landscape that is constantly changing. They are practical objects, but they also form part of the shared visual memory of living here.
The ERP Sign Keychain Collection begins with one of those familiar objects and gives it a new role.
Not to reproduce it exactly, and not simply to look backwards, but to preserve its recognisability while creating something relevant to the present.
The original sign belongs above the road.
These miniature signs belong wherever the next journey takes you.
Because the best directions are not always found on the road.
Small enough for every day. Meaningful enough to keep.
Designed and made in Singapore.
Shop the collection — https://www.thewaicompany.com/charms
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