Imagining a New Terrorism Threat Level System

You know that ridiculous color-coded terrorism threat level chart? The Department of Homeland Security is reevaluating whether a vague system for panicking the public that nobody pays attention to anyway makes sense.

To mark the return to sanity, The New York Times asked four graphic designers to imagine a new warning system. Their designs range from the cheeky to the possibly useful. Kurt Anderson provides commentary and explains why the current system is a joke.