Exploration #13: Collecting Type

Exploration #13
Collecting Type
Document lettering you find out in the world. Take notes about where and when you found the samples.

I'm always taking pictures of signs, lettering and text. Sometimes it's just because the sign, words or colors are visually appealing to me or I might see a use for the text or lettering in digital art. Here are some "types of type" I have found, some old, some new. I tried to post a varied sample of different lettering styles. I've also posted where I found them.

Letters painted onto book covers and displayed in a bookstore window in Charleston, South Carolina

I love the type on this Art-o-mat machine. It reminds me of The Jetsons. If you've never had the experience of an Art-o-mat machine you must find one quick! Old cigarette machines are turned into art dispensers. For $5 you can pull out an original piece of art work from various artists around the world. It's so much fun to see what you get. Sometimes, the artists put little secret extras inside. It's almost like Cracker Jacks but without the calories! This one is located at The William Hasley Art Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Long Branch Saloon. I love the Western Type and I love the saloon. Whenever I take a trip back to my home town of Dodge City (yes, it's a real place and when I said I was going to "Get the hell out of Dodge" I actually meant it!) I come here to get a bottle of Sasparilla. And not the fake crap they sell at the grocery store. This is the real thing baby! and it's super delicious. I wish I had one right now.

Oh Boy! Schanpper's Hots!

A little roadside diner on Sanibel Island, Florida. They have delicious burgers and dogs but they don't have tables, chairs or booths. It's standing room only. I'm not a fan of standing around eating a dripping dog.

Well, now...I think the sign says it all. Cartoonish Type don't ya think?

Taken on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. No, I did not have one. I don't want a big ass!

Graffiti done with a typewriter type font which is one of my favorites. This was found on a wall in Charleston, South Carolina. Obviously, it's a good little city for this Exploration task!

I love this freely handwritten type. It was found on a pillow at The Paris Market in Savannah, Georgia.

I've used it to create visual art:

One good kiss can last a lifetime.

Drop shadow type which seems a bit whimsical for such a somber place!

Taken on Front Street, Dodge City, Kansas

Block Type which is paired with some cursive type, standard type and handwritten type. Whew.

With the colors added in my brain is on visual overload. I'll tell you a secret..shh..I like visual overload. :)

I love the type on this cafe sign. It's so Parisian even though it was taken in Conwy, Wales.

And, I must add...they serve best wild mushroom risotto ever. I'll be lucky enough to revisit here in the Springtime and you can bet I'll be ordering the risotto again!

I don't know what kind of Type this is but it reminds me of ancient Greece. Maybe because the "M" looks like the Parthenon? I actually took this for my friend Jackie because it's her last name and she's Scottish.

It was taken at  a centuries old pub in Aberdeen, Scotland. You know the kind...dark wood, big fireplaces, local characters with so many stories written on their faces...so haunted that patrons don't even bat an eye when a glass moves down the bar by itself. My mom and I were feeling the chills of souls gone by all during our meal. And, yes we enjoyed every minute of it!

Stenciled type taken with Lita during a Creative Saturday near Pompano Pier, Pompano Beach, Florida.

We'll have to take a trip back so I can stand on this parking block wearing a pair of cowboy boots. :)

Yay! It's Medieval type! And a great message..one I'm going to heed this holiday season!

Taken at the Florida Renaissance Festival, Coconut Creek, Florida.

Scallywag Type? I don't know what you call it so that's what I'm naming it. I love the curly cues on the end of some of the letters. Of course, everyone knows this is the sign above the entrance to Disney World's Pirates of the Caribbean. One of my favorite rides ever. When I was a child and we would go to the one at Disneyland in California, there was this huge pile of treasure that you would ride by at the very beginning. I was mesmerized by all that shimmering gold. I think I may have actually drooled. Now that I'm thinking about it, I realize I must have been a pirate in another life. Yes, that's it. I'm sure of it. :)

A fitting way to end this blog post, don't ya think? Taken with Lita last Creative Friday in the parking lot of Champs Restaurant in Pompano Beach, Florida.

I hope this Exploration tasks helps you to look at type with new eyes. Now, grab your trusty camera and head out to take some pictures of signs! :)