Signs of Travel
by Bennett Holzworth, (4 comments)
If you ask many designers what they love to do, you will undoubtedly find a great deal that love to travel. There is no great mystery here. We designers love to see new things. To be visually challenged and stimulated by what we see on our travels. We get accustomed to our familiar surroundings and don’t “really” see the beauty (or ugly) around us. Travel awakens us from our visual slumber.
What follows is a photo journal of what I saw on my week vacation to Oregon a couple of months ago. The landscape was probably the most inspiring part of all, but we’ve all seen photos of mountains and waterfalls. Some of what I have included is inspiring, some of it is mundane and others are kind of funny. All of them just happen to be signs.
Just in case you missed my photo on our BADG photo blog. Remember to keep the wildlife “Wild”. Maybe we should just feed them Mountain Dew and Slim Jims and they can not only be wild, but EXTREME!
One of the first things that I saw was the fire hydrant sign posted along the freeways in Portland. I couldn’t help seeing more than just a hydrant. I thought these signs would work better as a Vin Diesel crossing than a fire hydrant marker. I have showed other friends and they didn’t see Mr. Diesel, but a couple came up with Bender from Futurama.
When I made it to downtown Portland I walked past a food court in a mall. What is McDonald’s thinking? One of the most recognized symbols in the world and it is nowhere to be found in this store’s signage. Why do they try so hard to be “hip”?
I couldn’t help but to feel a little bit inspired when I saw this unassuming Wieden + Kennedy sign. It is only a garage door, but I expected a little more grandeur for these guys. Leave it to Wieden + Kennedy to do the unexpected.
Six hours down the interstate from Portland I found myself in a small mountain town. One thing that is alive and well in small mountain towns is the hand carved or hand painted sign. They might not all be perfect, but they all have a unique character that is rarely found in most modern signage.
I am stooping low for this one. I assume this has been up for some time and apparently none of the locals see what this lonely designer saw driving by at 55 mph. If the average person doesn’t see anything wrong with this symbol, is it really all that bad? It is just another example of logos like the one I posted here and the ones posted on Speak Up several months ago.
Is it me or was this font designed for very small body copy, not large signs? Please advise. I saw the same font used in a headline in a Snack Wells ad in Reader’s Digest. Yes … I do occasionally read Readers Digest. Back off!
For some reason the Oregon speed limit signs seemed a little off to me. They appear to be the font Interstate, but of the condensed order. I think my state uses Interstate as well, but not condensed. These signs just didn’t sit right with me. Maybe it was just because they were different. Maybe they just need to be a little bolder and a little more authoritative. Of course, I have never been in a major city like Portland and witnessed so many people drive at (or below) the speed limit. It is like the Bizarro Chicago.
Just in case you didn’t notice, a couple of the above photos do have BAs in them. They will eventually end up in the ever-growing BA collection.
Comments (4)
Bennett said:
OK, I’m going to sort of answer my own question. Thanks to My Font’s, “What the Font” I now know that the Baji photo font is “Bell Centennial Bold Listing” designed by Matthew Carter in 1976 for Bell Telephone. I still assume that this “listing” version was made for small type on cheap paper, (i.e. yellow pages).
Posted on October 6, 2005
DC1974 said:
Although, I’ve never liked that incarnation of the McDonald’s logo. It’s fairly prevalent on the West Coast. It was never really the dominant fast food burger chain — Jack and the Box and Carl’s Jr. are. So I believe they thought at some point that they had the opportunity to be “different” as they grew in 90s (?)
You don’t see many of the stores with the 70s-era hip roof either. They just didn’t exist. So it’s almost like a different company, different logo, different store design.
Posted on October 6, 2005
Kyle said:
I can’t stand traffic signs that could be using “normal” (like Interstate) type but instead have been recreated (dare I say “updated”?) with an extra-bold-condensed face. I am currently thinking of a No U-turn sign as well as a Do Not Enter sign around town. I’ll see if I can remember to bring my camera and track down the signs. They’re so much harder to read than their predessors. Bold type, and especially extra-bold CONDENSED type, and especially especially extra-bold condensed type WITH NO LINESPACING does not automatically make signs easier to read.
Posted on October 6, 2005
':: michael nielsen ::' said:
ALRIGHT - this is bad to admit, but i can’t remember the last time i noticed a speed limit sign here in nebraska…i don’t usually abide i guess.
HERE IS MY THEORY… I don’t see the signs because i’ve become immune, due to their lack of visual stimulation. We need new signs.
HERE IS MY PROPOSAL… lets change the signs every couple months or so. This will give people something new to look at and increase readability among the masses. Let’s put the FUN back in going the speed limit!
HERE IS THE PROBLEM… I know there are probably people out there that look for every speed limit sign and follow them sternly, so we can’t displease them…because they won’t know what sign to look for, and they might….dare I say….speed. Oh well.
Posted on October 6, 2005