ire proof

my favorite bit of poetic signage in cambridge

ciech

i think this is a bank building

sanyo housing

If nothing else, the modular architecture forced them to choose badass colorschemes to give these towerblocks character.

electricity

um, don’t touch ... really.

thirteen

let’s hear it for appropriately obsessive labeling

what we need more of is science

apparently books were radioactive in the old days

signage (in bilious green)

and odd mix of glyphic serifs and gothic caps. terrific colors to boot. (and yes, i’m clueless as to what it says)

thirty six

one of the stalls at the ‘russian market’

polska

the state emblem. looking even more oppressive than usual at 3 meters tall

standardized numerals

these street numbers are all over the city. i don’t think i saw a single one that actually lit up though....

arrivals/departures

lo-tech plasma screen infodisplay

fading blackletter

seifen

maschinenhaus

at the kulturbrauerei

steamhouse

this was across the street from the sonambiente gallery by ostbahnhof. don’t ask me what goes on in there, but it sure looks like a bowl of soup.

steamhouse logo

mystery logo. pretty fantastic though

pal or ntsc?

good old neon. no clue what it was originally advertising but it sure looks like videotape.

fading berlin signage

bauhaus money shot

korbwaren

wasser mit gas (ii)

wasser mit gas (i)

closed bookstore

bar

welcome to bratislava

address

i guess bratislava went through a renumbering at some point not too long ago. duplicate address signs were everywhere.

know where you are

number sixty eight

madrid metro

greatest smokelines ever

happy

spring shop sign

even the logo looks like a spring

trashy script

it may look like an emigre font, but this crazy fat - yet loopy - script style was all over spain in a billion hand-lettered variations

antialiased blackletter pixelfont signage

I would recommend printing at greater than 6 DPI, but that’s just me....

parking colors

pharmacy mosaic (i)

pharmacy mosaic (ii)

electrical

the power company in amsterdam has one of my all-time favorite logos. no gödel escher bach connection though ... or is there?

teutonic gothic lettering

there’s something really unique about the sans serifs in europe that i can’t quite put my finger on. narrowness? rectangularness mixed with super-roundness? dunno....

return address

the street where i live(d)

church

the upcoming sermons list is sparse

sister

i swear the sign looks better today than when it actually had neon up there....

ice cream man

the script is so sweet my teeth hurt

this space is not for you

just move along yo

bakery

if memory serves this sign is actually over a store in nolita full of goods for rich people

peeling message

it warms my heart that even transfer lettering gets interesting if left outside for long enough

novelty co (i)

where did all the laughter go?

novelty co (ii)

fifty five

helvetica and surveillance go hand in hand

sirloin

recently uncovered in downtown providence. how on earth it survived since the days when a meal went for 40 cents is a mystery to me.

bedford

the place with kielbasy

walk dont run

those LEDs are hard to reach

name in lights

embracing pixelation

for rent

long live the hand

beautiful k

that curved lower leg is so jaunty

gone for good

waiting for cvs to gut yet another classic dc theater....

local chains