Category: Typography

Big Letters, No Sign

big letters

Sometimes a sign needs only letters – no actual sign panel. Think Hollywood Sign. And these sets of large letters not only provide identification, they lend an artistic, even sculptural feel to the streetscape.   Armory Arts Center and Cisco Home, both in Pasadena

Animated Water

Using a “water printer” to control the droplets, this fountain not only displays time and station information, but shows a wide range of artistic patterns and visual tricks to sustain the interest while waiting for your metro to arrive. This has to be one of the coolest clocks to ever… Read more »

First a Sign; then Streetscape Icon; Now Art

Designed around 1900 by architect Hector Guimard, this art nouveau subway design has been defining Parisian streetscapes ever since – over 80 of these elegant gateways survive. This original example now holds court in the sculpture garden at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, sharing the stage with… Read more »

Historic Building Marker – Shanghai-style

This elaborate bronze casting identifies and celebrates a historic building in Shanghai’s Jingan neighborhood. Quite a contrast with the simple rectangular markers seen on historic structures in the US.

Type on the Go

In this era of digital printing and dynamic messaging, the simple picket sign still manages to attract attention and deliver eye-catching content. Made from inexpensive materials, the signs can be produced quickly and scaled to fit any message. The objective is to deliver a message that will not be eclipsed… 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 »

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 »

M&Ms – the Best-designed Candy

Embodying many of the characteristics of the trendy term ‘total design,’ M&Ms are surely one of the best-designed candies. First, M&Ms are colorful, a rainbow of pure primary and secondary hues enhanced by a gleaming high gloss finish. M&Ms are modular — each piece is a perfect round and sculptural… Read more »

Lost in Translation

Around this office, we have some projects which are bi-lingual, some trilingual and even one which has over seven languages involved. Multi-lingual signage for hospitals, airports, and casinos often challenges the designer to layout text before knowing the meaning and translation of the words involved. With Chinese characters, the designer… Read more »

Something Happened Here

They’re everywhere. On walls, in the sidewalk, on bridges, in parks and on statues. Bronze plaques commemorating somebody or something are familiar and friendly elements of the streetscape. Easy to overlook, and sometimes boring to read, these cast metal panels tell the stories of a place’s past. Who did what… Read more »