VERNACULAR TyPoGrApHy

I was walking down a high street last week and I spotted this. The well known Costa coffee shop sign seemed to have been suffering from old age or bad weather conditions. The ‘O’ had fallen off and had left lights behind it, resembling the shape of the ‘O’ itself. Although the designer had not intended to have the missing ‘O’, I think that in this case, it works really well. In my opinion, the fact that the letter differs from the others, makes the whole logo stand out, hence the reason I noticed it to begin with. I also noted that the prominence and national recognition of the logo due to the composition of typography (especially the ‘S’) and colour,  meant that the fact the real ‘O’ is missing is not relevant.

I was recently a very well behaved passenger in a car, and I became quite intrigued by various road signs. At one point I noticed a sign that marked very simply in white letters on a red background, H A&E. I am fascinated as to how these letters became nationally recognized. I assume they must be, afterall, it’s a pretty important sign. These letters don’t look like a great deal of effort went into them, a very plain Sans Serif Type, However, these four minimalistic symbols get their point across very well and the purpose of the sign has become recognized.

In the background I also see a sign for a “lane closure ahead”.  I was thinking about the nationally and possibly universally recognized gesture or signal that indicates the end of something. In the two road signs below you see clearly that the ‘T’, symbolizes closure.  The colour red, symbolizes, danger or awareness. The Letter ‘T’ is a simple Sans Serif letter but is clearly recognized by the viewer for its purpose. Another example of the letter ‘T’ used in the environment in order to signify closure, can be found after the road signs below.

This road sign is similarly self explanatory and with the use of the ‘X’, signifies a sort of ‘DON’T” message. I guess you’d have to know your driving theory in order to know exactly what it means but the sign is clearly warning you off something! (Don't ask how I ever got my licence!!)

I was wondering around a shopping centre last week, when a window design caught my eye. I really like this typography. The composition of text and subtle portrayal of texture depicts a feeling of “WINTER IS HERE”! As much as that depresses us all, I think that this attention-grabbing typeface is a very good advert for the winter selection and draws you into the shop bringing on the feeling that you want to snuggle up with your knitwear by the fire!

The only criticism I would have is that the letter spacing or tracking could have been improved in order to portray the message and theme in a better light . If the letters were all slightly closer together, a better feeling of warmth would be perceived.

I was sitting on the tube on the way home from Uni and I decided to look closely at the map of the London Underground. I started sketching a part of it and something specific caught my attention. I never really thought about the design before but I pondered over all the little ‘O’s dotted around the map. The letter ‘O’ is essentially a circle. I have always thought circles to be open, friendly and welcoming. If one wants a piece of design to come across as friendly, the use of circles portray that warmth.

The function of these circles on the map is to inform the traveler that there is more to offer at that specific station and is welcoming the traveler to recognize his options. In my mind these little circles are now ‘O’’s that shout out “your Options are Open!”

I passed a building near my house that was covered with scaffolding and I noticed a big black and orange taped ‘X’ across two poles. This isn’t an actual typeface, but the resemblance of an ‘X’ makes the message very clear!- “STEER CLEAR.. NO ENTRY” need say no more! 

I was rushing around a shopping centre and the big ‘M’ caught my eye on a directive board, pointing customers to Mcdonalds . It’s amazing how one simple letter in one very plain colour (+black) can be so effective! Why is it that wherever you are in the world you’ll see that ‘M’ and know that you are in for a whiff of fried food?

It’s mainly down to it’s successful marketing, but The logo is brilliant! The ‘M’ is a simple sans serif produced letter, with a perfectly formed shadow and is recognizable from miles away. Even my awful sketch of the letter is identifiable because of the colour and overall shape.

I decided to crop the ‘M’ so that the full letter is not on show, and I am fascinated to see that it is STILL identifiable! This is a really good example of successful typography in the environment! 

The Samsumg logo is Natinally recognized. Even wih it’s interestingly deformed ‘A’, it is still easy enough to read and has evidently been popular and sold products.

I passed this shop and it was the first time I had encountered it. I had an awful lot of difficulty tying to read the name. Which doesn’t seem like a good starts to me. It seems as though they have copied Samsung’s idea with the missing part of the ‘A’, but in my opinion they overdid by about a mile or two! For starters there are three ‘A’s in the name making it virtually impossible to read at a glance. I found I had to almost study it in order to get the name right! I don’t think that the “A’ situation would have been such an issue if the letters were more distinct. The use of a darker colour would definitely help with the legibility.

Sitting in a house, babysitting for a friend (not doing anything awfully productive), I started looking around the room for a sudden need of inspiration. It didn’t seem to help. I see a few  plants. Chairs perched nonchalantly round the room.  Toys scattered across the floor being the evidence that there actually are kids living here.  A Coca Cola can perched on a used newspaper. Well that’s a good start! Oh what a genius John Pemberton was!

This logo is truly legendary! The typeface used is known as Spencerian script. It was created in the middle of the 19th century and was the most popular style of formal handwriting in the United States during that period. For decades, coke had been one of the most popular drinks in over 200 countries!!

If you ask me, that’s not nooooormal! And the logo, well it’s just incredible! So much so, rendering it doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference! You’ll find with a lot of logos and corporate identities, the colour and entirety of the design can either make or break it. Coca Cola seems to be superior. Although traditionally, red and white are the colours of Coke, no colour is needed to make it recognizable as the typography is so incredibly strong! The logo could be rendered a million times over and would still be recognizable. Regardless of the colour, size, entirety of the logo (lack of entire logo/cropped), location and class or age of the viewer, the ever unique typeface will be recognized in an instant.

The unparalleled strength of this logo absolutely blows me away and I certainly got my dose of inspiration for the night! 

I passed these garages when I was in the Shoreditch area and I noticed the use of typography. I found out after I returned home that 'OurHistory" presented a new ‘pop up’ art space in Hoxton called RED. The art space, over the time period of two months, provided a social hub, acting as a home to 'OurHistory’s' exhibitions and events. The typography here represents this temporary home of exhibition work. I was drawn to it because of it's use of colour and the fact that even though it seems like a broad type of graffiti, it is obviously representing something more than just ordinary vandalism. The sign on the wall with more information on it may play a small part in this but I think that the typefaces used portray a more "professional" look, even though at first glance it seems like it has some sort of destructive nature. 

To be honest, I'm not actually if I would categorise this style as graffiti, retro street art, or something entirely different, however it serves the purpose well. I love the use of colour. It would seem so obvious to have just used the colour red and although it does have a hint of red in it, the fact that it mainly uses other colours makes it all the more eye catching! 

I also love the way the typeface of the 'R' differs from that of the'E' and the 'D'. It is slightly rounder and as the actual letter is smaller (due to available space),to the eye, it comes across as slightly different in style. This makes it more eye catching and draws the viewer closer towards the "situation".

I saw this on my travels and I didn't know what it was. I came home and looked it up online and.. well.. I'm still not entirely sure. The "made to play" website seems quite professional but it doesn't actually inform new viewer of what it's all about. I can't comment on this design in terms of how well it represents "made to play" because through no fault of my own, I know next to nothing about it. I can however say that I really happen to like this. The shape of the 5 has been created through the mere copying and pasting of the existing logo. It was most likely extremely easy to create and the result very effective. It is not obvious what the number represents which makes the viewer (if they don't know already) want to find out more about it. Although it didn't inform me very well, it managed to let me know that it was celebrating it's 5th anniversary. That's about all I do know! 

I love the use of colour. These specific colours also seems to be a theme that runs through their website. I like the way they have matched the shape of the number to the logo itself thereby making it rounded! As an independent design, without the knowledge that the website is disappointingly uninformative, I would say that this is very eye catching and would definitely make the viewer curious and want to pursue it to find out what the 5 represents.. as I did! 

Let's begin by testifying to the fact that I absolutely despise graffiti! Firstly, I never understand why people feel the need to go and vandalise the streets! Secondly, I must admit that some of the things you see out there really are potential works of art and have been created by deeply talented people. I never understand why these ever gifted individuals degrade themselves by resorting to vandalism. If channelled in the right direction, some of these people could seriously become famous street artists! And some of the graffiti that you see out there is actually phenomenal! "But you messed up my opinion now cause you splattered it on a public street when you know it's against the law!"

"You obviously have the desire to express yourself publicly, so why not express yourself in a way that your work would be really acknowledged and appreciated as real art? Hang it up in a museum mate and gain from your talent!"

Enough of my passion. Apart from the fact that I'm not a fan of vandalism, the desire was fulfilled. Yes, you caught my eye. That's about it though. As for the graffiti higher up in this image, well in my opinion... it's just useless! I don't actually care about your foot or anyones foot for that matter so don't publicise it! 

So to end off, I probably wouldn't classify this as typography. Or art. Or anything of significance. At least not until I see it up on a wall in a gallery somewhere with a great feeling of prestigious stature.