We try too hard in the US to design temporary signage solutions. Why not just cover it up with a big paper printout or use a dry erase marker? It’s comforting to know that we all have the same problems on either side of the “pond!” Temporary messaging is a… Read more »
At maybe 200 sq.ft., this elegant and richly appointed store in Tribeca is how all cigar stores should be: intimate, colorful and layered with the patina of use. Stopping in here is like going back to a time when men were men, and cigars and the requisite accoutrement combined to… Read more »
We’ll vote for you if you agree not to degrade the landscape with trashy signs. Littering is illegal; so is installing non-permitted signs. So why do we put up with this tacky and environmentally demeaning visual clutter all over our country every election season? These (17!) particularly egregious examples are… Read more »
Yeah? So did every other kid. All the restaurants we go to seem to have an A rating. No grading on a curve here – everyone seems to get an A from the Los Angeles Department of Health. There are apparently a lot of good restaurants with clean kitchens and… Read more »
Okay, it’s really in Santa Monica. But as an entrance to a unique and energetic place — the pier — in a colorful seaside city, this 1940’s commercial archway has become an inadvertent regional icon.
The Federal Highway Administration has ordered NYC to replace all of their existing street signs from those with all capital letters to ones with upper-lower case letters. So “BROADWAY” will soon read “Broadway”. Clearview will be the typeface of choice on the new signs. Upper-lower case typography is much more legible… Read more »
Santa Monica held its second biannual nighttime art extravaganza, GLOW, Saturday night but the results were underwhelming. Of the twenty light-based installations scattered on and around the Santa Monica Pier, only three or four appeared to resonate with the huge wandering crowd. Most of the displays suffered from one or… Read more »
There are many things about cities that make them memorable to us; shopping centers, restaurants, museums, parks or simply good friends. The city of North Hollywood has many notable qualities but nothing makes it more memorable to me than their city gateway. With so many EGD studios in Los Angeles,… Read more »
It’s easy to get lost in Italy. Not a lot of straight streets, logical urban grids or intuitive addressing. The hilly topography doesn’t help either. Being disoriented a couple times a day is part of the Italian experience. Fortunately, as shown here, there is not much enforcement to prevent private… Read more »
Nearly every city sign code prohibits these freestanding folding signs, but nearly every city looks the other way when it comes to enforcement. Yes, these impromptu marketing signs can be unsightly, and yes, they often partially interrupt smooth pedestrian flow on downtown sidewalks. But show me a street with lots of… Read more »