Form and Content 6

Katie Wrobel

Typography II

Section 001

Good:

1.   House of Blues:  This sign is not only successful in its use of type, but also in its use of graphics.  There is a good sense of balance with the placement of the heart in the center of the words.  There is repetition in the black shapes behind each letter.  I like the way the word “of” is placed vertically in the center as well.  The interesting design of the ragged black squares with white type on top stands out from other signs where type is simply spelled out and graphics aren’t used.  Another reason that this sign works is that the font works well with the style of the shapes around it.

2.  Urban Outfitters: The Urban Outfitters sign is probably one of my favorite uses of typography in signage.  The font is simple and in all caps, keeping the sign from becoming too complicated.  The counterforms of the letters are filled in and a bright green color is used for the entire sign.  Though simple, the style of this sign is somewhat trendy and the style along with the color attracts the age group that the store targets.  The design itself is well done, but the fact that it works with the store it is representing is what makes it even more successful.

3    Journeys: This sign is successful because of the attention it draws to itself and because of its use of movement.  As Journeys is store primarily for shoes, the sign is appropriate with its inclusion of arrows and dotted lines, indicated direction and movement that would be part of a journey taken on foot.  Various parts of the letters in the sign are extended as well, adding more movement to the piece.  The somewhat transparent dotted lines work as a continuation of the strokes of the letters.  The compass graphic coming out from the “o” leads the eye across the word and brings much visual interest.  The exaggeration of some lines is equally balanced in the word.  The colors and the expressive lines of the type make the sign feel younger to target the age group of the store.

Bad:

1.   Gelato Café:  Though this isn’t an awful example of typography, I don’t find it to be very successful either.  The color of the script type is fairly dull and doesn’t attract the viewer’s eye very well.  The red circle behind the type draws more attention than the main words.  The sign for a business should get the potential customer to see the name of the business and attract them; a red circle being the first thing the viewer notices won’t grab someone’s attention to go there.  Another small issue with this sign is that the type inside of the red circle is slightly cut off; the first and last letters of the word in the top half of the circle are covered by the larger type.  There’s really no reason for that and makes the word look like it doesn’t fit.

2.   Super Tan:  I found both the sign and the logo for this tanning salon very unsuccessful.   The font isn’t interesting; there is no reason for it to be italic and it doesn’t have any relationship to the type of business it is.  It is not aesthetically pleasing; it looks more like it was put together quickly than designed.

3.   P. Graham Dunn:  This sign isn’t horrible but I’m not particularly fond of it.  The combination of handwritten style type with a serif type doesn’t work well, at least in this case, nor does it make sense for this store.  In my opinion, this sign lacks interest and would not succeed in pulling me into the store; I would most likely overlook it.  I also do not understand why the first half of the sign uses both upper and lowercase letters while the last part is in all caps.