Theres a restaurant in Toronto called “Quotes” with inch marks in the logo.

Drives me nuts!

The prime mark makes me crazy!

ESPECIALLY in an italic.

Google and ye shall find, Luke! Yikes!

Tell me about it, Patty. And like their sign says, they are all over London! Eeek!

Thanks for tracking that down, Andi. I was about to ask where it was. How could they. There is one good point ... it makes the mistake in not using S for St less noticeable. I read it as southwest, as they do in Calgary and was thinking ... King Street does not go southwest.

It just disgusts me every time I pass by a business or ad with some typical typeface that has nothing to do with what it should convey. Around where I live Papyrus seems to be the default for hair/beauty businesses, and Copperplate is now used on a bunch of signage! My all time make me throw up font is Comic sans. A local burger place uses that to advertise their “Western Bacon Cheeseburger”..since when did that convey burgers?! Something needs to be done, before my eyes burn off!

Hmmm. Catastrophe did not read the rules on size of ID picture.

Comic sans is often used as a “different” font by people who see all serif and all sans as identical. I once worked with a teacher in a college program that printed all her tests and her assignment sheets in comic sans.

The kicker: it was an Internet Graphic Design course (she was the programming teacher, I was the design teacher).

Haha sorry, I just signed up for this, so i’m getting used to it. I’ll have to adjust that..thanks Don!

It’s amazing to see how many people abuse comic sans. I’ve just seen it used one too many times in the wrong places.

Ever been to bancomicsans.com?

I once saw a photo of a video store called “FLICKS” but the L and I were so close together it ended up spelling somthing quite different. That may have been intentional.
; )

That is being generous Dennis.

Was it in West Hollywood? :)

peace

This is a nice one. I guess someone confused the ampersand with the german double s…

You gotta also love B•A•R…

peace

Oh noooo, is that even possible?! Here’s another priceless sign but it has more to do with proximity than anything else. At first glance, how do you read it?

I think the person who used the German double s must have been dyslexic. If you look at it backwards, it does resemble an “Et” style ampersand.

I hate it when the car products are off, and I’m a little low on “care now” and I’ve been looking for some at a good price.

Thanks.

Here it is, I just googled it.

Can it get any worse than that?

I was right on the bumper an Audi Allroad the other day for several miles in slow traffic. I couldn’t figure out the model name for at least three miles. Thought “oiirood” was a very strange motor moniker.

quote - Can it get any worse than that?

Yes, I believe it can… :)

peace

I saw a sign that said said: RUGS AND BROADLOOMS. The neon was bad and at night it said RUGS AND BAD LOOMS

A thread of dreadful combination stores could be fun. There was a local place that always made me roll that sold:

Propane Gas & Porcelain Dolls

There’s a great store in downtown LA that has two display windows. One side is bridal gowns and the other side is cheap childrens toys. Makes perfect sense, but the visual is really incoherent…

peace

The ol’ “liquor, guns and ammo” store signs are my personal favourites. I can’t even imagine selling all 3 in one place. I mean, recipe for disaster?

There used to be a place in our community called Carpet & Burgers - known to the locals as Carpet Burgers. Sadly, I have no photo. It was gone before we moved here.

ew.

There used to be a place in our community called Carpet & Burgers - known to the locals as Carpet Burgers. Sadly, I have no photo. It was gone before we moved here.

Lovely

I’ll have a Berber with cheese.

At a mall near my home, there used to be a big sign for a “Chock full o’Nuts” store. The “h” in the neon sign was out for months.

Made for a NSFW sign at night... :-)

—Michael.

———————————————————————————
// love what you do or do something else. //
Michael Ebert — graphic designer, jazz saxophonist, horror movie devotee
http://homepage.mac.com/mwebert
mwebert@mac.com
———————

There was a local place that always made me roll that sold:
Propane Gas & Porcelain Dolls

I always thought a Lingerie & Bait store would make a fun match. I have seen some unlikely combinations with bait near the beach, which is what made me think of that one as a consummate pairing.

Being a full time sign designer, I share the disgust in typographical errors and other acts which I call “font murder” displayed on signs.

However, we’re getting our money’s worth when it comes to our commercial outdoor landscape. The sign industry has little if any glamour to attract lots of talented people. Good paying sign design jobs are rare. If we really care about the visually electric nature of our commercial streets we should be willing to invest more in them.

There is a small minority of talented artists doing very good quality work in the sign industry. They know “storefront personality” matters. They know the responsibility they have in their work, knowing if they sluff off uninspired dreck they’ll be reminded of it everytime they drive past it, possibly for many years to come. At the same time they must fight from growing disillusioned by all the poor quality sign work they see others doing.

Today, most sign designers have no formal training, no art degree and are often terribly lacking in talent. But there are legions of such people who are willing to work for little pay. To most of them, it’s just a job until they get something better -probably something not even art related. Since most business people still believe computers and software are creating the artwork they feel there is no need to pay extra for someone armed with an art degree and competent portfolio of work.

Man, I love folk signage.

peace

You shore got a purty sign.

This reminds me of the point-of-interest signs I saw while driving through Nebraska over the weekend. The design isn’t exactly flat-out horrible—I think they’re rather quaint—but lets just say it hasn’t aged well over the years (not to mention the physical condition of the signs!)

You know James, that’s just scary (I can hear the deliverance dueling banjo music being played in the background).

Brian, those are classic signs! And I agree, there *is* something quaint about them - and the different typestyles that are in use. Definitely a reflection of the time that they were made in.

James’ “fixturs for sale” sign is quite honest and unpretentious. It does not bother me one bit. It is just some poor uneducated guy selling his stuff as best he can. The bad stuff is that done by people getting paid for signage and doing a poor job of it. Bobby is right in his post above and he echos the problems faced in all kinds of design work—where the perception is the computer just does it by itself.

ChrisL

Wherever you have text signs, you get concerns over crap spelling and proofreading as well as crap design and punctuation. There’s a business in our town centre with “LETTINGS AND MANAGMENT” etched in 4-inch caps on the front window. I keep wanting to go and draw an insertion mark and an “E” with a felt-tip but never have the guts. Etched lettering can’t be cheap, surely somebody okayed the job before it was done?

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James’ “fixturs for sale” sign is quite honest and unpretentious. It does not bother me one bit. It is just some poor uneducated guy selling his stuff as best he can.

That sign is at the end of my street. I’ve been wanting to snap a photo for a month now. I’m with you—I really love things like this, and marvel at the character of it. The painter didn’t need to use three colors of paint. You can tell is was a very honest and joyful expression.

For some reason in Minneapolis you can find several tanning/video stores. I never understood that combination.

Here’s something “on topic”, Enjoy!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOYvP136LlI&mode=related&search=signs%20s...

Chinese Hamburger Donut

Ok, I saw this Wed. and went back to get a photo for this thread. Do you think it conveys the image that they probably wanted?

(Is it Pro Spa, or Pro Vivid Spa?)

I wanted to let that one sink in as a prelude to this:

The signmaker’s masterpeas:

As I was walking back to my car, an oriental man comes out saying, “Why you take-ah dah photo?” I replied, “As an example of bad sign-making. An internet group is discussing bad signs, and I wanted yours to show them.”- He looked back at it with a consternated look, as I decided that 95 degrees was just to hot to stand in a parking lot trying to make someone who doesn’t speak English very well to understand that using all the fonts in the computer can not be equated with any kind of classiness.

Dennis, I’ll be your P.C. guide so you don’t get in trouble anymore. It’s “Asian”, not oriental, and “take-ah dah”, while funny, could cause a visit from our monitor.

But GOD DANG IT!!! what a sign!!! That Asian’s got style! He really got his money’s worth, sort of.

Now, how about a corporate sign, where it’s a really high class joint, and they still don’t get it. That would be fun to see. The graphics on the murals at a Panera sandwich place near my house drive me nuts. They’re about 10 feet tall, all bitmapped, multi layered goo that tries to look sophisticated. I like the muffins though. er

and “take-ah dah”, while funny, could cause a visit from our monitor.

I was phonetically translating as best I could. (P.C. isn’t spoken on the planet I come from).
; )

Btw, I can just imagine a designer rear-ending someone at that intersection, and having to explain to the police that he went into typophilic shock when he saw it.

Excellent post from Jessica Helfand on Design Observer last year...I made my students read it and made for a great discussion about what makes for “effective” typographic strategies ( or lack there of).

it’s Dutch, eh....Den Haag

Chill out, ER.

The Pro Spa banners and window graphics are a riot! That just about qualifies as ransom note signage.

One cannot even attempt to make sense of the combinations in fonts chosen. It’s like someone pouring a big glob of mustard on top of chocolate ice cream. The “PRO” letters set in script and all caps is the mark of a true amateur, one without talent, one who doesn’t care about how things look or all of the above. However, I can say one nice thing about those samples. They don’t appear to have Arial in them.

The phrase “grand cru” carries a deep resonance in French wine culture. Literally, it means “great vineyard.” It has deeper resonance when the first quote is backwards and at the bottom.

Thanks, that’s just what I wanted to see! Perfect. ER

The “PRO” letters set in script and all caps is the mark of a true amateur

That is an insult to true amateurs! I am an amateur, and I couldn’t dream of concocting something like that. I believe it is more a case of being clueless. Like the people in the first weeks of American Idol trials who can’t carry a tune, but get pissed at the judges for not recognizing real talent when they see it.

Regarding crazy combination shops:

I took a vacation in rural Hocking Hills, Ohio about two years ago and drove through a tiny town on the way with a “Beauty Salon and Chainsaw Repair” and almost soiled myself with glee!

I had to stop at the grocery next door and ask what was up, and actually, the explanation is rather interesting. It seems that the common denominator is BLADE SHARPENING!

There are actually people who drive around the countryside to small rural towns every few months and sharpen all kinds of blades for people: restaurant knives, barber’s shears, chainsaws, farmer’s equipment, etc.....Who knew?!

So, there could be method behind the madness of some of these places.....

Cheers and Happy 4th

8. I think Helvetica is used twice there.

+
Ryan Ford

@ER.. the quotes in Grand Cru are correct for Dutch but there is a real mistake in the letters.

Vince, you mean the “A” being flipped horizontally.
But to me it’s only a “real mistake” to ductus junkies.
Using Helvetica alongside is much worse, especially
for a [wannabe] fancy place.

> Seven fonts on one sign.

Peanuts. I “own” the undispooted champeen:

http://www.themicrofoundry.com/other/typorgy.jpg

And I didn’t even have to travel.

hhp

I “own” the undispooted champeen:
Complete with typo; I like the &WINE

It’s very near Clancy’s Crab Broiler, a fish house I can appreciate…

peace

I just returned home from a trip to Quebec City and picked up these 2 gems along the way to add to my collection. Not nearly as impressive as Hrant’s ad, but I’m still on the look out for my own “champeen”.

I thought it meant “great vintage” but you could be right.

Great vintage? Perhaps... but from what eras?? : )

Looks like you were more correct... literal translation is “great growth” - but “great vineyard” is the wine world’s meaning.

http://www.epicurious.com/drinking/wine_dictionary/entry?id=6599

http://info.detnews.com/wine/columns/johnson/details.cfm?id=22

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_cru

Although my experience with the term relates exclusively to this product... http://www.beermania.be/sales/hoegaard_g_cru.htm :-)

sorry for the diversion

Oh, Si—we all know what genré of product you most desire :-)

ChrisL

Here’s one I saw while driving last week. If the kerning doesn’t grab your attention, maybe the odd font change will.

“C” no evil ;-)

ChrisL

I think that would be the C-change everyone is talking about.

the 7 is and upside down L

Looks to me like they originally planned for it to say 1941 but thenthe war intervened and they let things go a few years. When they were ready to finish the 1 was “cast in stone” so they just faked the 7 out of it.

ChrisL

it’s possible. The spacing seems to support that idea, but then, the spacing is uniformly quirky, so that can also mean nothing in particular. They are cast concrete, so chiseling a 1 into a 7 seems unlikely (cast on site, I understand). The bridges were built and dedicated in ’47, when that portion of the 401 was opened. There four bridges on Hwy 401 which had those exact same plaques, and they were built in ’47.

edit: sorry to be like a dog with a bone over this, ( :o) )...
but here is the whole thing .

and...

ER - don’t chill out. I have a few Asian friends who are deeply offended when people call them Oriental. For those of you who don’t know why, it’s because the word Oriental is meant to modify a noun (like oriental rug or vase.) To them, it’s like being referred to as not really human. Another friend I have says it’s because “oriental” is a word that Europeans created during a period of European exploitation of Asia — it defines Asia through the eyes of a culture that disrespected them. Kinda the same reason Native Americans hate being called Indians ... (well, up here they do.)

I’m just saying ... it’s not overly PC to respect people.

And hey, as I’m typing this, I noticed there’s a whole second page to this thread that I haven’t read.
Posting anyway...
AK

Not a bad sign, but kinda fun...

oriental, occidental.

So, now we have occidental Asians and and oriental Caucasians. Mostly we’re just people.
R

“oriental”

I was trained in an era that precedes “political correctness”. Old habits die hard sometimes. To me there is no negative connotation, so it is hard to anticipate offense.

In any case, if I hear something enough times, there is a chance I will remember. Oriental = bad. Asian = Good, if I understand correctly.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

>>Not a bad sign, but kinda fun...
!NUF said!

Is “Asian” not also an adjective?

- Lex

!NUF said!

It took me a while, but I just got it. Good one!
; )

why won’t smartypants do a backwards F?

R

Howdy y’all, did you see this font?
I saw the sign and took the photo in Minneapolis.
David Buck aka Sparky made it into a font.

http://www.sparkytype.com/fonts.php?font=Lowery-Auto

I found this on my computer. I don’t recall where it came from. Seems to fit here though.

R

Well on those grounds... it’s not necessarily a typographical professional needed here - just someone with a grasp of their own language:

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The “Wellness Center” photo I posted some time ago has been amended. Maybe they got wind of us making fun of them:

OK - honestly...

With these kinds of threads, I keep hoping none of my past blunders will surface :o\

Not that there are any :o) (All I’ll admit to is that our past typeface was Swiss 721 BT.)

Here’s one that happened when an other department decided to circumvent the ’sign department’: They went to El-Cheapo sign shop for a bunch of signs with place names. Never mind that the signs looked like a dog’s breakfast, the sign shop put all the names through a spell checker.

They were up for a few weeks when it surfaced that someone was blogging about them.

R

Finally - someone’s taking action: www.thedesignfirm.ca/blog

Well these places all look like ,,A great place to eat’ ’. . .

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have something to add

This beauty has delighted me for years:

And this sign is in the same crossing:

Fixing cars, second hand cars and tyre services on offer.

The second one isn’t so bad, but the first one, while very quaint, is practically illegible. I can just about make out that the phone number is 0400-409931, but what the number underneath it ends in, I have no idea.

Good to know you can get “vaihto autoja halval
la”, though. Better than “vaihto autoja Valhalla”, I assume.

«@ER.. the quotes in Grand Cru are correct for Dutch but there is a real mistake in the letters.»

I realise I’m asking a question about something someone posted nearly two years ago, but bear with me here. Is it really correct for Dutch to use „these quotes”? Shouldn’t it be „like this“ instead, as in German and the Scandinavian languages?

The shop the top sign advertises might as well be in Valhalla, it’s so tempting when you see it.

I thought such signs were limited to rural America. Nice to see that Finnland has its share as well.

ChrisL

I think such signs are limited to rural everywhere, and even in cities, a few will inevitably crop up here and there.

Those Finnish signs are less than 10 km from the heart of the capital.

Yes, so, basically in rural Finland. :-þ

Great thread! If there’s not already one for positive examples of local signs, I think I need to start one... For now, I just want to re-orient the conversation towards Asian signage in my beloved Oakland:

An Occident? (on flickr)

A genuinely beautiful set of signs, unfortunately in disrepair: (on flickr)

ugh, formatting not working! CSS is not allowed, I assume?

—-
eeblet.com

This is not a typographic sign, but it is definitely in need of help! It is in the parking lot of the apartment next to mine in Winnipeg:

Ouch. Quite nice Ns though... ;-D

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This one inspires confidence:

Nick Cooke

Nick, that is a beauty! Slogan and all, oh my.

Reminds me of a childhood “newspaper” I used to make with my cousins in our summer place. There was always an ad for a fine red second hand car, with which we meant one ancient wreck that was kept inside an old shed. There was also a green Sunbeam, but that one still had tyres and potentially still moved.

“Wherefore art thou, Romeo?”
:-)

ChrisL

Tobago actually. :^)

Nick Cooke

Under yon window falls in Tobago :-)

ChrisL

extended meaning through keming

On the positive side, it’s the beautiful old display cut of Helvetica, the one you rarely see anymore.

Heh “femtrans” gives a lot of meaning to that graphic, which manages to be both yonic & phallic simultaneously. Sorry to gutter-fy the thread - but I couldn’t help myself.

I do agree with Mark that the type looks beautiful, besides the kerning.

—-
eeblet.com

*bump—again*

An overzealous attempt at ‘Spanifying’ a sign:

Someone who needs to learn the difference between a grave accent and an apostrophe, not to mention how not to warp text.

-=®=-

Why not just create a group of flickr?

You know how schools have a sign at the front giving the school’s name, that of the head teacher, perhaps the trustees or whatever, and maybe some contact phone numbers? Watching the national news on TV last night, I saw a report that happened to come from outside a school where all the above was done in Comic Sans. That raised a laugh.
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