We know about seeing-eye dogs, but can they read, too?
You Figure it Out – No.4
Sticker Shock
Graffiti is bad and deservedly gets its share of public shame, and, hopefully, legal penalties, but what about those awful stickers? The self-adhesive promotional stickers handed out at clubs, skateboard shops and music stores have become a new kind of urban blight. Ironically, the slacker kids that stick them on… Read more »
Modern Fossil?
Organic objects often leave their marks long after nature or decay has taken the originals away. We usually think of fossils as prehistoric, but the process is continuous and, if you look carefully, can be seen everywhere.
Gas Price Signs – Lose the Tenths
The price for an average tank of gas is $59.62 for the sign on the left and $59.64 for the other one. Yes, the fourteen-gallon fill-up would cost you only 2 cents more if they just dropped the 9/10s charade and simplified the price signs. Okay, who’s first? Chevron? BP?… Read more »
Designer’s Inspiration #1
There’s a beautiful sculpture in Glendale CA, not far from Hunt Design. The simple structure is a 24-foot tall, stacked address number, in Helvetica Bold, and painted lime green. There are many address numbers that blur the line between signage and sculpture, but this one stands out because of its… Read more »
Pay Phones – a Lonely Remnant
Another vanishing piece of the streetscape is the pay phone. Over thirty years or so we’ve gone from Superman-style phone booths to compact aluminum phone boxes to, well, nothing. The mobile phone has finally killed off this formerly friendly and reliable form of street furniture. The few remaining pay phones… Read more »
LetterMpress
Have you have ever wished to build your own WANTED posters from old wooden type? Or, to design a logo using the worn faces of carved wood? With the determined work of a passionate type collector and a big sum of crowdsourced fundraising, letterpress design may soon be at your… Read more »
You Figure it Out — No.3
Which way to the Metro?
Avoiding ambiguity is an obligation of good wayfinding. These mismatched and haphazard signs not only exhibit a lack of clarity, but also don’t do a lot for the Metro image.
What happened to the parking meter?
2013, Anytown, USA. Grandpa: You know Timmy, they used have parking meters all over town. Timmy: Gee, Gramps, what are parking meters? Grandpa: Coin collection boxes on steel posts and every parking space had one. There were millions of ‘em. On every block. And each one had a timer to… Read more »