those were the days...

Here are a few examples I found of a historical typeface reused in our modern society- while they were manufactured present day, the overall design of these tins have a very nostalgic/historical ambiance to them. The typefaces & colors play important roles in achieving this feeling. My mom, who loves collecting & shopping for antiques, found these to be worthy of a spot on top of her kitchen cabinet. It just so happens that both of these examples come from novelty gift packaging tins, one is Hershey's milk chocolate and the other is Carnation brand hot chocolate- these companies both date back to the early 1900's.

While they may not choose to use these old-timed designs for their primary packaging and products. I still think it is interesting that they are bringing the past into the present by revisiting their successful designs from their earlier years for these novelty gift items. The embellishments on the serif Hershey typeface seem very historical as do the colors used and overall feeling of the Carnation tin. In addition to these examples I also think of the Campbell's Soup campaign and the Pepsi Throwback which are along the same lines. It would be interesting to see other brands that have done this! Feel free to leave comments!

Pepsi Throwback | Campbell's Soup Mug

a local celebration

During the trip to my hometown's annual heritage festival I strolled in & out of local arts & crafts booths, watched slate splitting demonstrations and of course was on the lookout for interesting local flavor typography amongst the hustle & bustle. Delta, PA is a small quarry town with rich Welsh history, the town was settled by immigrants from Wales that came to work in the slate quarries. The Welsh origins can still be seen today; the main street is lined with slate sidewalks, many of the homes have original slate roofs and a historic Welsh Chapel is still used today. The street signs also call attention to the town's history. The photo above is an example of one of the many street signs...the street name- Pendyrus, a name from Welsh history- is written in a celtic/welsh typeface which is directly reminiscent of the local history and displays a little local flavor in a very normal way- I love the fact that there is a normal street sign directly underneath this one, it makes for a nice comparison- it makes it clear that some local flare is added with the red symbol of the welsh dragon as well as the unique typeface. The use of this typeface is key to bringing that Welsh/historical feeling into the street signs. Incorporating something like this into the townscape really sets Delta aside from the hundreds of other small towns in southern Pennsylvania, pulls all aspects of the town together and celebrates its history on a daily basis in a cool way!

light up the town!

I'm sure I've come across thousands of examples of neon typography before I started this type hunt, but something had now sparked my curiosity. So after tons of encounters with neons that barely dared to step outside of the box, I was on the hunt for something more unique- my curiousity led me to this unique neon sign for a honky-tonk music hot spot in Nashville, TN, called The Stage. This really caught my eye, it may be the juxtaposition of the flashy neon lights and the down to earth feeling of the wood and barbed wire that are incorporated into the sign. One thing I found interesting was that the letters are outlined by the lights and filled in with a "faux board" look, portraying more depth than your normal neon sign advertising cocktails. Also, the letters of "STAGE" don't have perfectly shaped letters like many neon signs do, (compare with the "on broadway" below the sign)...these more rugged feeling letters really capture the look and feel of the venue- a honky tonk country music club, I don't think this sign would be able to achieve quite the same effect without the neon, it makes for a very effective, unique and eye-catching sign!

I found this display of the alphabet, I think it's interesting to see how many variations of each letter can be created with neon lights, there are always choices in typography! Even if you're writing with lights!

WASABI

This packaging for Wasabi caught my eye in the grocery store earlier this evening...I enjoyed the fact that I found it like this on the shelf- two separate packages, one turned to the English typography on the package and the other turned to the Asian typography. The packaging with different shades of neon green color (perhaps to mimic the wasabi itself) is exactly the same on both packages, however, the typography is a different story; the letterforms are obviously very different, but the manner in which they are treated is the same. They both feature a white outline with a brushstroke effect which feels bold, pungent & noisy- just right for the Wasabi! The two typographic languages are being inadvertently compared and contrasted on the grocery store shelf. Even though the American and Asian versions are very different letterforms, the brushstroke feeling helps them gain similar characteristics and they both fit within the product's packaging design well.