All the shops on Le Trong Tan Street have only red or blue signage

The street, which is often called the street of two centuries because it was planned some 30 years ago and took 13 years to build, was eagerly anticipated as supposedly portraying the future of urban living in the capital.

However, things have not gone smoothly when it comes to their decision to force the shops on the street to use identical signage for all the shops.

Many shop owners, customers, experts and the general public have lampooned the decision and dismissed it as ridiculous, narrow-minded and completely counter-intuitive in terms of brand building.

However, some people welcomed the approach.

Fields Medal winner Maths Professor Ngo Bao Chau is among the supporters. He wrote on his facebook in support of the controversial decision, "Many of my friends are against the new appearance of Le Trong Tan street and criticising the decision of local authorities. But I appreciate the efforts by Hanoi leaders. The street may look a bit funny at first, but it is neat and tidy. And what's more important is that it shows the efforts from local people and authorities to improve the street."

Indeed, many streets in Hanoi are seeing an increasing number of sign boards of all shapes and sizes. New bigger boards cover older ones, while nobody bothers to take the already torn, out-dated ones down.

It is good that the state of the capital’s streets are beginning to be tackled, and perhaps after public consultation a fair compromise will be reached which combines branding benefits for the shops with better and cleaner streets.