Typomat!

another theater

2010-09-30T14:31:00.002-04:00

it's pronounced thee-ey-ter.
at least by the uneducated, according to the internets.

but yes, yes, there are some great theater signs up in the theater district, here in nyc.
in fact, these signs are probably my favorite part of broadway.

>n

DYNAMO!!!

2010-09-29T15:47:00.002-04:00

this shot is from a billiards table at one of my favorite bars in brooklyn.
i've been seeing it for years and just never managed to snag a decent shot of it.

i love the structured script as a logo.
it's pretty tight.

>n

i love this

2010-09-21T10:28:00.002-04:00

seriously.
back in my youth, i did certain... things.
but never anything like this.
never at this scale, or this skill.

as a graphic designer nowadays, i spend my days TRYING to do things like this. just, not in the language of graff.

i love words. type.
i think letter forms are beautiful.
and they have a language all their own, independent of meaning.

but aside from all the bla bla bla.
it's just a really fucking cool looking wall.

i could seriously gush about this all day.
but in the interest of time, i'll stop here.

enjoy!

>n

theater district, nyc

2010-09-09T16:31:00.002-04:00

ok, there are actually tons of great theater signs in and around broadway/42nd street.
i've got a few old ones in my phone here and there, but the shots never look as cool as the signs [same is true here].

but there are some real gems out there.
bigger stars than on the stage.

gotta love 'em.

>n

one more shot from spain

2010-09-09T16:29:00.004-04:00

this one feels a little like the crummy type doodles i was doing a couple months back. only, you know... good.

i think it's from san sebastian.
it looks like basque language. they love "x's" over there. all up in everything.

>n

down in dumbo

2010-09-02T10:25:00.003-04:00

this is in a lobby in an old building in dumbo.
i think it's pretty neat.

and you know what else is pretty neat?
gettin' paaaaaaaaaid!

it had been so long since i visited my own blog, i had no idea there were ads on it.
well, now there are.

maybe if you click on one, i'll make a few bucks?

go on, DO IT!

thank you in advance.

>n

spain, part ll

2010-09-02T10:23:00.002-04:00

more good stuff.

enjoy!

>n

the long overdue spain post

2010-09-02T10:18:00.002-04:00

yes yes yes, it's been a long, long time since i posted anything.
so, hopefully these images will make up for some of it. i do consider them to be among the best on this blog. they are all from spain. some from barcelona, some from san sebastian, and some from madrid.

i hope you enjoy.
oh, that roca, with the dope R?
it's from the bidet in the hotel room.

gotta love that shit.
good. clean. fun.

>n

fa fa philly...

2010-01-27T10:14:00.002-05:00

couple of shots form my weekend trip to philly.
these are from the jewelry district. hence, the "diamonds".

pretty.

>n

font basd on statue

2009-11-30T21:49:00.005-05:00

hey,
so this is a sketch based on that statue lettering in the previous post. and by sketch, i mean me dicking around in font lab.

it's a weird little font. it could easily go in two directions... it'd make total sense to do that sort of straight and rounded type of font that GQ used a few years back, sort of like this: http://www.stormtype.com/typefaces-fonts-shop/typefaces-688-politic-c [amazingly, i might add... i really love his work.] mr. františek [i think he designed this for storm type foundry] took it in that direction. beautifully.

ok, back to mine. it's the "O"... that's what throws me off a little. but, oddly, i kind of like it. it's easy enough to just ignore it and make the typeface all straights and curves with counters being all squared off and whatnot, but i think that great big round "O" really makes it different, and hence the different "C" as well.

and there are all these inconsistent stroke weights, too. [check out how faithful i was to the statue type]. but i love it! it's these weird little eccentricities that make it a beautiful carving.

so, will i ever finish this exploration?
probably not. but it's still a fun exercise.

>n

budapest 1

2009-11-24T00:24:00.002-05:00

i really love this lettering.
i want to make a font of it. i know there are ones out there that are similar, but maybe i can give it a new, more up to date feel? dunno... in any case, it certainly has a central european flair that i totally dig.

it makes me want to drink beer.

it's from a monument in budapest.

i've got a few more type pics to come.

>n

more sketch book stuff

2009-08-11T22:55:00.001-04:00

more sketch book stuff

2009-08-11T22:53:00.001-04:00

more sketch book stuff

2009-08-11T22:51:00.002-04:00

more sketch book stuff

2009-08-11T22:44:00.003-04:00

FAIL

2009-08-05T18:17:00.001-04:00

yup, it says... Fail.

>n

what i want to do...

2009-07-22T21:53:00.001-04:00

as you can see from my sketch book, this is the sort of thing that i like to doodle.

i was thinking about trying to do posters like this. more detailed, more... stuff to it. but the basic concept of this.

whadda ya think?

>n

sketch book crap

2009-07-06T17:17:00.000-04:00

ok, so it's been a while.
a long while, since i've done an update.

i got lazy. then i got an iphone, and got all excited that i could snap pics and just upload nice and easy right to my blog, but well, i still can't figure out how, or if, it's even possible.

so i decided to show some of my sketch book crap.
this is going to be sort of a megapost. it's not very good, but maybe some of it is kind of funny. this is all from the past 2 or 3 months. i think i lost one book, but it's mostly the same kind of crap in that lost book anyway.

i did a posting on facebook a ways back, where it was all about "a new career!!!", just the idea of me drawing letters all the time. i still get really excited at the idea of it. but, well... i guess i just haven't tried hard enough to make this happen? or perhaps, i'm just not skilled enough at this particular craft, as much as i might enjoy it. though i do hold out hope that i might be able to draw some headlines for magazines [the few that will be left] or newspapers or what have you in the printed realm, one of these days. or i've been kicking around some ideas for posters too. but i guess we'll see what happens with that.

i did the majority, if not all of these while riding on the subway. i chose words that i thought were funny, or just ones that popped into my head.

enjoy?

sketch book crap

2009-07-06T17:15:00.000-04:00

sketch book crap

2009-07-06T17:14:00.001-04:00

sketch book crap

2009-07-06T17:13:00.001-04:00

sketch book crap

2009-07-06T17:12:00.001-04:00

sketch book crap

2009-07-06T17:03:00.000-04:00

2009-04-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

i have nothing to say about this black & mild cigar.
absolutely nothing at all. really.

that new orleans copper thing is funny, to me at least, because it's very similar to that lettering that is all over california, the one in los felize, which an emigre font is based on.

i did a posting on that a ways back.
i saw a few examples in new orleans, and it always makes me smile.
[i think they owe a lot to cooper black as well, but that's another story i guess]

i've got a mega-post of a bunch of shots from the pharmacy museum that i've been sitting on. there are scores of them to get through. so hopefully soon. they really are quite stellar.

so check back soon!

>n

batch 3

2009-03-24T11:51:00.001-04:00

more coming at you!
i love the antique store crest, but especially the cruddy looking gold blackletter type on teh window. ugh, i fucking LOVE that!

lots of crests in this town... lots of crests.

>n

batch 2

2009-03-20T11:39:00.001-04:00

i love that top one.
the S was... HUGE.
really.

all i kept thinking of was if it ever came off and fell on a bus, an entire group of people would be eliminated by one giant S.

more tk.

and thanks for the props, doug!
the food was AMAZING!
i can't wait to tell you guys about it...

>n

batch 1

2009-03-19T17:46:00.000-04:00

some of what i've started to edit down...

>n

and i'm sorry,

2009-03-19T13:42:00.001-04:00

but this pic deserves its own post.

hotard?
really?

what, cum dumpster was taken?

hotard is a tour bus company in louisiana.
http://www.hotard.com/site.php

wtf?

as my girlfriend and i said, repeatedly after seeing this. well, it was more a lament that anything. we've been alive a combined 67 years on this planet. and in this time, we've been aware of the existance and usage of the two words that make up this linguistic wonder. but much to our chagrin, we never put the two together.

ho-tard.

fucking genius.

>n

this is a first...

2009-03-19T11:37:00.001-04:00

i'm posting something that's not a sign or anything like that.
i saw this type in an advertisement online.
i really, REALLY like it.

it's got this whole bent paper thing going.
and it looks like the same font that wired magazine is using in its front of the book section.

whom ever designed this, well done!

>n

i'm BACK!

2009-03-19T09:54:00.000-04:00

hey y'all, i'm back from new orleans. and while i go through the hundreds, yes... HUNDREDS of photos i took to separate the wheat from the chaff, let me just post a few that i've been meaning to get in there.

these are old, mostly brooklyn types. the sleds are a storefront window in manhattan. the building... who the fuck knows. all i know is that it's on atlantic ave in brooklyn, and that crest, it's on a garage door in windsor terrace. funny, right?

so yeah, check back soon for some southern deep fried cajun creole types.

>n

aw, fuck...

2009-03-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

it's been quite some time since my last post. i'd love to say that it's because i've been out and about in the world taking pics of type from here to dubai. but the fact of the matter is that i've been just plain lazy.

my bad.

but that's all going to change!

for the moment at least.

next week my girlfriend and i are going to new orleans. i am so excited about it, i really am! and i'm going to have my camera strapped to my dick so i don't miss a minute of the action.

er... yeah, didn't mean that porn style.
just that i'll be strapped and will shoot every piece of sweet sweet type that i come across.

so check back here in a couple of weeks, and i'll hopefully have posted some tasty tidbits of type.

in the mean time, i'm going to check my archives for SOMETHING to post, and hopefully get that up by the end of the weekend.

and to all of you that wrote in with concern about my lack of posts in '09, i thank you, and i appologize for my lazyness.

nah, just kidding.
no one ever wrote in.

fuckers.

stay tuned!

>n

uss texas

2008-12-28T21:02:00.000-05:00

hi,
so this isn't really my posting, but that makes it all the better for me.

it's a bunch of really dope shots from the uss texas, a battleship that my friend doug went to visit out in, well... texas.

i'm going to give a little rundown of what in particular i dig, then doug is going to chime in and say a little something about something. it's funny, he sends me so much good shit that i never would have found myself, and somehow, some way, i always fail to say thank you.

so doug, thanks for sending this my way, and for all the other excellent little tasty bits that you've shared with me.

on to the type!

ok, so i'm a sucker for all of this old packaging and painted on hand done type.

i love how someone took the time to paint the type in the arrows in a vaguely art deco style. it truly warms my heart. and anyone who's ever read anything else on this blog knows that i'm a sucker for a beautiful script, so that hearts dice box is a thing of beauty to me. not to mention that i find it more than a little surprising to see dice and condoms and smokes so easily available on a 1940's american warship.

sort of like the ATF, you know... alcohol, tobacco and firearms.
dice, smokes and condoms... NOW we've got a party! i wonder if it's like that today?

doug, what's your favorite? did i post it?

from doug...

The Battleship Texas was built in 1912 and served in both World Wars. It's now a floating museum on the outskirts of Houston. The cigarettes and combs come from the ship's store, which they keep stocked with period pieces to give a more authentic flavor during the tours. Being a sucker for penguins, I naturally loved the Kool cartons. The condoms were on display in the medical supply room, along with a chemical prophylactic kit that was too far away to photograph well. The chemical kits involved what looked like a small tube of some gel-like substance and a needle. Not sure where you were supposed to stick it and I am not
too keen to find out.

I love all the directional arrow signs painted on the walls of the ship, though I was slightly disappointed that I never found an "UP" arrow. One of my favorites (not posted -- it's at
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/3106539434_e56643b6b3.jpg) shows the hand-painted signage directly next to stenciled lettering. "Officers' Country" refers to the front section of the lower deck, where all the officer staterooms were located.

My other favorite is the "Hand Off!" sign (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3105712721_75d3bf9e96.jpg). It was done freehand, it's unusually phrased (most people just say "Hands off!", to relieve the potential offender of any doubt), and it's located right in the middle of a wall. Still, there is a nice flow to the lettering, and someone thought it was important enough to preserve it through the many, many times the interior of the ship has been repainted.

The dice game wasn't actually on the battleship. It was in a display inside the San Jacinto Monument, which is directly across from the battleship. I took the picture for both the great packaging and the fact it was manufactured in Brooklyn (right around the corner from
Hank's Saloon).

another rudy's

2008-11-14T17:26:00.001-05:00

classic!

>n

rosebud

2008-11-14T17:24:00.000-05:00

these old sleds are actually in the window display for an anthropologie store near me.

cool type on these old bastards!

>n

what it's all about

2008-10-24T17:59:00.000-04:00

this is another quick one, but i do have to take a minute to write about that national neon script. i fucking LOVE that script. it's neon. and it's a cool looking script. what more do i need in life?

if i could, i'd wear that shit, ALL the time.

and the other thing, well, it's a bunch of name plate necklaces.
i became mildly obsessed with these after my girlfriend made me a tie clip that says "Mr. Russo", in script no less!

all dope.

>n

image dump

2008-10-24T17:55:00.001-04:00

it's been a while since i've done a post, so i'll just dump what i've been shooting, then write about it later.

actually, guess i'll call this one the neon image dump.

cool?

>n

cali type

2008-10-01T00:28:00.001-04:00

hey,
my friends cicero and katie were just out west in cali and they took a couple of shots for me. i really dig them, they speak volumes beyond words.

i'm hoping i can get ros to do a little guest blogging, but i haven't even asked him yet, so i suppose i should get around to that.

in any case, enjoy the shots!
thanks ros and katie!

>n

rudy's

2008-09-17T06:11:00.000-04:00

i love the hand painted sign.
i'm a sucker for it.
that script is so adorable!
and the typeface for "BASS", well... i could design an entire font family based on that. in fact, it sort of reminds me of tarzana, the emigre font.

but more importantly, i love to see that signs like this still exist in midtown.

from my very limited exposure to it, one of the things i loved most about LA, and i think i mentioned this is my LA blog post, but one of the things i loved about that place was the old signage.

it's funny how on the west coast, it feels like they are more inclined to preserve that old stuff, where in NY, it's all about the new.

i had an interesting conversation with my friend cicero about this today on our lunch hour. we went to this really great german place on 9th ave near 50th st. and he was telling me about an old article that he came across, it was an interview with the guys from alleged gallery on the LES [lower east side of manhattan] and there was this bit where, once they got a little more successful, once they had a little cash, a little time, every now and again, they would come across an old painted sign on a building off a sidewalk or something in the neighborhood, and they'd offer their services to the shopkeeper to repaint it. because to them, it was preserving the feel of the neighborhood. it was an investment in what was there, not what you wanted to come. a bunch of new vinyl awnings or gaudy shiny things would have detracted from the character of the place.

ros, or anyone else that has read about this, can you chime in if my facts are wrong? i don't really know much about alleged and wouldn't want to get something like that wrong.

ugh, i better get to sleep...

>n

crests

2008-09-16T00:24:00.000-04:00

hey,
so this is sort of off topic of what i usually do here at this blog. well, not that there is generally a topic, but if there was, this would be off of it.

i realized the other day that i needed a new logo for myself. i recently quit my job and am doing a bunch of freelance work and decided that it was about time that i re-did my website [not done yet!] and made a better effort at marketing myself.

part of that process is business cards, new logo, etc. and for this logo, i was stumped. yeah, nothing. no ideas. blank. YUK. but in joking conversations with friends, i thought aloud that i'd love to have my own crest. so as i was discussing the objects on my crest with my friend chris while we were fishing, i thought why the fuck not make this crest my logo.

feeling all ultra creative, i sketched for a couple of days, discussed with other friends over lunches, then finally came home and started designing my dope ass crest.

only to realize that, well... i was not alone in thinking that a crest would be a dope logo.

the top pic is from a building in midtown manhattan. it's a part of rockefeller center. yeah, crests. old ass crests too. very anglo, but none the less a crest.

and the second shot of from an inget of gold. a new inget of gold. my girlfriend is a jewler and shot this little camera phone pic of another crest.

also they're on a garage door down the block from where she lives as well. but i'll get to that another day maybe.

and this final pic, well... that's my logo. the, what's the word, heraldy? the heraldy is as such: the book is for portfolio, the "R" is for fonts, the hat is for a bio, and the brass knuckles are for contact. also the colored backgrounds, CMYK, and the stars, RGB.

i'm not really sure if i'm going to keep my logo. i worked on it for a minute, but there are some other examples out there that are really amazing.

check these out:
http://scionspeak.com/
i think a firm called strawberry frog did this. it's amazing. they did such a fucking great job on this! seriously, it's smart and funny and slick as all fuck.

and then there's these guys:
http://youworkforthem.com
search for "crest". they really did their homework on this too. all such great adornments!

so in conclusion, i did a crest, but lots of people did better crests than me. but that's ok, because it's good to see talented people in this world doing great work. and someday, maybe i'll do some great work too.

more posts on other stuff soon!

>n

UPDATE:
new crest as top pic. i saw this on my german lunch hour [see previous post] and used ciceros iphone to snap a quick pic of it. it's fucking RAD! i love the shit out of that!

brooklyn vs. LA

2008-09-04T11:44:00.000-04:00

kinda funny.
one's a bodega type place in brooklyn, the other a church in LA. it's funny, because LA is sort of known for this type of... type. a number of years ago, a guy named christian schwartz designed a font called los felitz based on this sort of lettering.

emigre did a really great essay/interview about the whole thing. you can read it here:
http://www.emigre.com/EFfeature.php?di=102

it's much more interesting than anything else i can write about it. well, other than the fact that i found something similar in brooklyn.

i love brooklyn.

>n

more transit type hilarity

2008-09-04T00:01:00.001-04:00

when i first read this ben-gay ad, i read it as "ben-gay rubs out peter pan", as in, you know, ben-gay gives peter pan a hand job. well, that's quite the fucking image to place in ones head!

anyway, i do love this typography. that "to" thing is from old subway cars. i adore the style of it. it's actually quite contemporary in an odd way. being an art director, i'm totally going to steal the shit out of that style where applicable!

that "R" is from some old token or something. it's so beautiful and ornate!

and well, that other thing is for a pack of raleighies, or some other crap smoke that i can't spell. and nostrand ave, well, that's just the signage for nostrand ave. i just dig it as a prime example of a really excellent compressed weight font.

in any case, i've got a lot more entries TK over the next few days, so check back soon!

best,
>n

apologies

2008-08-14T21:30:00.001-04:00

it's been a while since i've done an update.
while yes, i'm usually a lazy sack, this time around it's actually a different reason, it's sort of technical... i've been snapping away taking type shots all over the place, but i haven't been able to download them off my camera. i can't find the wire, and i lent my mom my card reader.

yes, that's a lame excuse for an excuse, but it's also the truth.

SO, as soon as i get back my card reader [this weekend i hope!!!] i'll drop some new type shots.

again, my apologies.
please check back soon!

nest,
>neil

jewelry store

2008-06-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

i sweat this script SO hard!
it's so elegant and lovely and just absolutely beautiful. it's the type of script i'd sit around writing lazily in a notebook if i didn't have to work at a job to eat.

i just kind of picture myself sitting under a tree, near a lake, with a cold beer, grass between my toes, girlfriend near by, sketch pad in hand, just doodling scripts like this one.

it's got that beautiful hand quality that i love, and the metalic finish adhered to glass just makes me smile.

i've never even been in the store. [i don't even think i've been around it when it's open!] but it reaks of gaudy, over the top, old lady jewelry. old money, and class you can't buy.

ok, i'll stop the gushing here.

best,
>n

windsor terrace

2008-06-25T23:03:00.000-04:00

so these are some shots from a section of brooklyn that's not my own.

i'm sort of hooked on this whole "working type" idea. i don't know why, but it's some weird philosophical thing that i can't seem to get past.

in any case, these are a few examples of some excellent signage that's in an area of brooklyn called windsor terrace. it's considered quite working class, i mean, as far as any area in brooklyn goes these days. but its super close to prospect park, so it's actually quite beautiful. well, the park is quite beautiful.

ugh, enough with the socioeconomic crap, i'm not in the mood.

enjoy the shots.
maybe ill update this post at some other point when i'm not feeling like a complete tool.

>n

workin' font

2008-06-23T23:24:00.000-04:00

yeah, like a prostitute...

>n

cursive

2008-06-19T00:18:00.000-04:00

quite a broad title, i agree.

but cursive is such an nyc institution almost.

it's seriously been a passion of mine for years now. no joke, i have the worst, no really, THE WORST hand writing in the world. ok, well, in the english language. but i've spent more time doodling proper scripts than i care to admit.

in any case, there are soooooo many amazing examples of beautiful scripts throughout the city, that i can not possibly attempt to document them all.

soooooo... if anyone had any, send 'em in!!!

these 2 are some fine examples of cursives that are quite common in this fair city. they are in the common, work a day function of type that i love so much.

one is from the front of a souvenir shop near the empire state building, and the other is from the pediment of a luxury [now at least] building not far off washington square park.

they are both working examples of type.

i fucking LOVE this shit!!!

>n

cool book

2008-05-29T17:39:00.000-04:00

i've never done a plug or anything like that, because that's not really what this site is about. [but what IS this site all about you may ask yourself. and i do too!]

but seriously, this book is amazing:
http://www.parallelstrokes.com/

i've never met ian. he's a friend of a friend, but we had a really excellent email exchange a couple of weeks ago, and i got his book in the mail today and am simply blown away by it.

i've done some crappy fonts and used to do a spat of graff here and there, and always told friends about teh connections between graffiti and typography, but ian has actually done something about it.

he wrote a fucking book about it.

so check it out, because it's really a great book and i can't wait to finish it.

>n

QUEENS!!!

2008-05-29T17:24:00.000-04:00

yes, queens.
some of this stuff looks like it's from another country, and that's what i love about it.

in fact, that's one of the things i love most about nyc. you can travel for less than an hour in any direction and be immersed in a culture that is totally different than your own.

it's truly astonishing, the effect that this can have on one's sense of place and home.
in a good way, i assure you.

in any case, a lot of this stuff isn't partucularly some genius typography or anything, but actually just some really cool culturally different stuff. for me at least. i'm sure it's normal to the people that shop in these spots.

without further delay, here's some cool queens packaging stuff.

>n

day off...

2008-04-27T14:35:00.000-04:00

so i took a well deserved day off from the grind the other day, with a very special lady friend. and whilst we were strolling through our fair city, there were many neighborhoods and enclaves that we came across. from the diamond district, to the east village, and everything in between.

all sorts of socio-economic groups were represented on that walk, and you can see SOME of it in the signage and typography, but it's something that certainly needs a deeper look.

it's something i've always been curious about, money, typography, power, marketing, etc. it's evident on the city streets, in the magazines we read, everyone one cares to train their eye to tell the truth.

but, another day for that whole piece.
because for this post, it's about some cool fucking pics.

i love, love, LOVE this black letter R. i'm sorry that i couldn't get a better pic of it. as you can see, it's mirrored, and therefore was unbelievably difficult to shoot. but, you get the gist of it.

the old west neon looking letters are just so beautiful as well.
and anyone that's ever looked at this blog knows that i've got such a hard-on for neon.

yeah, take a look at these, and hopefully you'll enjoy.

all the best,
>n

no vegas shots

2008-04-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

i'm terribly sorry.
i know i promised the sign graveyard the next time i was out here, but, sadly, i've been deathly ill for the entirety of my trip out here.

so, it's with a heavy heart that i say next time, i'll get em.

i've just got to ask this, has any of my 2 loyal readers ever been to the sign graveyard?
if so, can you send me some pics?

best,
>n

old coffee place on smith street

2008-04-15T16:57:00.000-04:00

this shot is pretty rad.
i've lived off smith street for a couple of years now, and really haven't done a lot of sign inspection there, so hopefully there's more! but i love the script. it's so heavy and authoritative!

so if there's more, i'll post it soon.
but probably not until next week.
[i'm off to las vegas again on monday! sign graveyard...here i come!!!]

>n

las vegas 2

2008-04-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

i thought i had more shots than this.
hopefully i'll get more next time.

in any case, i do love the classic ones.
and i'll make sure that i get more of them on the next trip.

word.

>n

las vegas

2008-03-31T21:49:00.000-04:00

ok, so this is part 1 of my vegas posting.
as i stated a moment ago, vegas is one messed up place.

but it's spectacular!
well, the signage is spectacular.

it's legendary for good reason.
seriously.

i only caught a small portion of the strip, and didn't even head downtown where i think the older, cruddier places are. [with the dope, old crazy signs]

there are also legends of sort of the eldorado of sign geeks... the sign graveyard. it's where all of the old places that are part of a bygone era, rest in typography in the desert.

so, hopefully, next time, i'll be able to check that one out.

in the mean time, i wanted to say that i don;t know if i was stupid for not knowing this, but the old west style of typography is still pretty evident out there. a lot of familiar fonts, like ponderossa and rosewood.

also, that amazing flamingo script. i always thought house industries did such an amazing job with their interpretation of vegas fonts.

but please check back over the course of the next few days, because there are plenty more pics for me to go through.

enjoy!

>n

cheap and easy

2008-03-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

this is actually a food product.
and i took this pic in a place called "terribles". it was a gas station and mini-mart. and they also have a casino.

i think it's some sort of dulce du leche product.

vegas is one messed up place.
even the foods are whores.

>n

um... sorry.

2008-03-27T10:35:00.001-04:00

yeah, it's been a minute since i've done any posting, and i'm really sorry for that. my internet's been acting up again, and i was out of town on business for a few days as well [las vegas!]. but fear not! i will be back with at least 2 new posts after saturday [the cable guy is coming then]. so please check back soon!

thanks,
>neil

old [neil] new york

2008-02-26T07:12:00.000-05:00

so i've got this archive of weird typographic shots i've taken over the years. it's not huge by any stretch of the imagination. nor is it any good to be perfecly honest. well, maybe a couple of shots here and there aren't that bad. so i'm going to post those in the coming days.

these particular shots are as folows:
the gothic mosaic "R" is in my local subway station. it's a sign for something something the redeamer church. and while the church has never held my attention, that R is just sublime.

the bayer milk truck is just an old, not so well done script. which, i love.

that last R was taken many years ago out at floyd bennett field in brooklyn. it's painted on the side of an old airplane hangar. the site itself is amazing. it's this old, decomissioned airfield from WWII, and is just sick with history. but this R is one of my favorite images from the decay there.

i'm sure there's more to say about all of this, but i'm trying to set up a 401k and it's confusing the shit out of me, so i should try and get back to that.

>n

Casa D'Ice Restaurant

2008-02-25T23:15:00.000-05:00

again, this post is not in the realm of fine or innovative typography, but more of a cultural observation i think. i got these in my email today from my sister, but i think it must be some sort of popular forward. though, i must tell, for those of you that have seen all of the photos in this forward, that i will not now, nor will i ever publish some of them, due to their horribly racist, ignorant content, but the ones that i did choose to show are kind of neat, not knowing that this guy is such a prick.

these shots were taken by someone that i don't know. so if it's you, then i'm sorry for "stealing" them.

FYI, the restaurant is located 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in North Versailles, PA. it's called Casa D'Ice Restaurant

sonoma

2008-02-22T08:05:00.000-05:00

i like this 2.
it was painted on the side of a building in sonoma, california.

>n

from the archive... san francisco

2008-02-21T21:19:00.000-05:00

i went to san francisco. once. years ago. and it was amazing. in fact, it made me want to move there. and i tried, for a long time to move to SF. but somehow, fate always put the kibosh on it. i probably spelled kibosh wrong.

in any case, enough about my west coast lovefest and spelling errors. lets just take a look at these really excellent SF signs. from the archives.

california is so cool for some things...
[but i hear portugal might be even better!]

>n

ugh... sorry

2008-02-21T15:00:00.000-05:00

i'm so sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks. my internet at home has been out and it's always a stretch to do anything at work.

so i know that this isn't exactly an example of fine typography, but it's damn funny.

once my internet is up and regular, i've got at least 3 posts to drop. so check back soon!

>n

LA

2008-02-02T15:55:00.001-05:00

LA is a wonderland for a typegeek. no joke. almost everywhere you look, there is some prime example of amazing typography and/or signage. be it manufactured, hand drawn, whatever. it's a magical thing really.

it took me 31 years to finally get to there. and sadly, the 2 times that i've been, it's been for business. so i haven't had the chance to really dig deeper and explore the areas that i'd like to and to take a minute to take a great pic. most of my shots here, and from the san antonio post as well, are taken from a car.

it was a really amazing treat for me to see where some of the greatness and influence on a generation of designers and typographers had their roots... the cal arts crowd, emigre... god, emigre had such an influence on me as a designer and just on how i see and think about the space around me.

i could write volumes here, on the subject of influences, and how my thought process has grown, etc., but that's for another blog i think.

so what i'm getting at about LA is that i guess i'll just have to take a minute to get there one day and really take the time to get some great shots and truly see everything that i can of so much of this spectacular stuff.

>n

moving truck

2008-01-27T21:43:00.000-05:00

cool script!
i love dramatic scripts like this.
i went on a jag a few years ago where i was drawing all these scripts like 24/7. i was so into the hand feel of some of them. it was actually right before house industries came out with their vegas set, which is very well done.

anyway, another cool truck.

>n

american legion

2008-01-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

what is it with my new fixation on neon?

>n

shoe shine/repair

2008-01-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

the logo is sort of interesting, but i really like the simple condensed type of the word "shoe". yeah, it's boring as sin, but i like it's usage. as an old mentor of mine once said, put it on an angle, and it looks good.

i also really like the sheer volume of things this guy does! is he going to come to my house and unclog my sink too?

i admit, this isn't the best post ever.
but cut me some slack, jack, i've got the flu.

san antonio

2008-01-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

i was in san antonio on business for a few days. it's a lovely town. nice folks, some cool signs, etc. but i'm kind of pissed off at myself for the quality of photos. because i have numerous others, but these are the best. you believe that? these are the best quality!

i don't know, maybe i need a better camera?

there was one that i did not get though. it was a really rad design for some gas station/bodega in a really rough part of town. i think it was called "pinks"? i did not get it because i thought i would get stabbed if i tried. but all in all, it was a cute little city. and being from new york, that possibility of being stabbed feeling was a constant at one time in the cities history, so though i'd go far from saying that it was a welcome thrill, it was almost like an old friend.

does any of that make sense?

in any case, here are some shots from san antonio. yes, they are all restaurants oddly enough. and no, i didn't eat at any of them. but maybe if i ever go back?

as far as the type goes, i especially like the little details on the hand done stuff. like the almost copperplate-ish semi serifs on the las dos naciones sign, and the weird 3-d... it's quite the pair. and i really like how that mando's sign type kind of looks like the emigre font "los felitz", which is based on hand painted signage in the los felize area of los angeles. but i prattle on.

enjoy!

>n

cool neon arabic type

2008-01-07T23:44:00.000-05:00

i took this in my neighborhood.
it's pretty cool, right?

>n

lawrence weiner show

2008-01-06T00:48:00.000-05:00

wow... i've been thinking about this post for quite some time now, hence the delay. it's about the lawrence weiner show at the whitney museum, here in nyc.

in fact, i TRIED to go last weekend, but ended up just getting drunk on a saturday afternoon.

and after seeing the show today, i regretted that decision.

i've been a fan of mr. weiners for a number of years now, and was so excited to learn of the show at the whitney, which, if i'm not mistaken, is his first major american retrospective, EVER.

in any case, this posting has a weird place in the admittedly brief history of this blog. as in, how does it fit in? how does, what basically amounts to a sort of art criticism fit into a geeky type blog?

well, it just does, ok?

but seriously, as i said earlier, i've been a fan for years now, but for the life of me, i seriously don't get this art work.

i love it because of his design approach, how he puts certain words on angles, his color and typeface selections, his sense of spacing... all very graphic design-ey types of things for a fine artist.

but again, in all seriousness, i do not get his work. i wish for the life of me that i did. but i don't.

so that's why the works of lawrence weiner fit on this type geek blog so well. because i'm not approaching it from an art criticism sort of base, i'm just looking at it from a graphic, type geek sensability.

but even beyond that, i don't know, i feel like this work speaks to me. it's on a primal level or something. perhaps it's my time in the publishing industry, that better part of a decade spent working with words and images in such close quarters. i feel like this work is the distillation of a lot of lesser artists and speakers and poets, etc. i feel like it's filtering out a lot of crap, and just giving you the good.

there was a show many years ago, i think it was on comedy central, many, many years ago now. but they basically took some lame 2 hour movie, cut out all the crap, amd made it like 25 minutes long. it's a genius idea. one that's ripe for another visit i think actually.

but that's what lawrence weiners work reminds me of.

i'll fess up though, i read the pamphlet that accompanied the show, and i even bought the catalog. so after a brief skim of each, while i still can't say that i get mr. weiners works, i do have a better understanding, even greater than the graphic sort of agreement.

one cool point that i think i picked up was that the works that i sweat so hard, are merely vehicles to deliver a message. the work is actually the idea, or so to paraphrase the shows pamphlet.

cool, right?

most of the photos in this posting are from the catalog that i bought from the whitney. so if the publisher of the book, or some other chump has a beef, let me know, and i'll take them down.

the other photos are of things that i own.

and i do apologize for the quality of the photos.
though it seems like i say that a lot.

anyway, enjoy!

>n

ps, now if i can only find a mark lombardi retrospective close by, i'll be set!

old subway advertisements

2007-12-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

so i had the pleasure of riding a 1940's subway yesterday. and aside from the smell of the grease, the childlike looks on peoples faces, and my excellent flask drinking and well dressed company, the absolute joy that i experienced looking at these old ads will last a lifetime.

i had been to the transit museum before, in fact, not too long ago. but i never saw one of these trains in context, i never got to ride one.

i do apologize for the quality, they're a little crooked or ill cropped, or blurry even in some spots. but you get to see some great examples of early to mid 20th century typographic advertising and lettering.

anyway, i'll leave this post here and just put up the damn pics already.

my favorite i think is the grape nuts ad.
what's yours?

enjoy!

>n

photos of type on trucks

2007-12-29T12:12:00.000-05:00

ok so once again, i'm going into the archives for this one. in fact, the very idea for this series is very, very old for me. now i can't take total credit for the idea. i'm pretty sure someone, somewhere thought of it before i did.

in any case, here's a bunch of photos taken of typography on trucks.

if anyone has any out there, i'd love to see them.

>n

amazing...

2007-12-26T19:37:00.000-05:00

holy shit this is amazing!
http://www.vicalecorporation.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=31

>n

bar signs

2007-12-26T18:25:00.000-05:00

here are a couple of shots of some of my favorite nyc dive bars. like my friend marcus and i were talking about the other day, they have that old times square neon sign vibe that i miss about the disneyfied, too crowded, too clean, too corporate, non prostitute and xxx thearter new times square.

that subway inn sign is really cool though. it's got such style! it makes almost no sense. the word subway is on a slight arch, that s is a different style completely, and the inn is in italic. but somehow, SOMEHOW, it all works out beautifully.

and the old town sign. it's just so... to the point! its no frills style fits the charecter of the place just perfectly.

one more note of interest, i went to old town the other day, and noticed that the sign was no longer up. i freaked! but i asked around, and well, it's out for repairs.

hopefully they won't screw it up!

>n

FREE FONT!

2007-12-25T12:15:00.000-05:00

merry x-mas everyone.
yes, i'm giving you all one of my crappy old fonts for free.

click on this link to download it:
http://typomat.com/tm.copycat.bmap.zip

if you try and use it and it doesn't work, let me know.
i THINK it's mac only, but i really have no fucking idea.

anyway, if you ever use it in a project, please, send shots!

that other thing is a poster i did for it that never went anywhere.
as in, i never tried to really sell it or anything.

>n

UPDATE!
it SHOULD work now.
try this link:
http://typomat.com/tm.copycat.zip

sorry for anyone out there that tried it and it didn't work.
here's a BONUS font for your troubles:
http://typomat.com/TM_TrubitSerif.sit

it's a bitmap font that's optimized [sp?] for 8pt usage in flash. if you'd like to see it in action, take a look at my website. all of the buttons are set in trubit serif.

subway R's

2007-12-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

so once again, i'm going to go through the archive a bit for this one. it was a project i did a few years ago where i took shots of a bunch of mosaic r's throughout the nyc subway system. the r is my favorite letter. there's an elegance to it that few, if any other letters in the english alphabet have.

if there are equally graceful letters in other languages, i'd love to see them. so please, send 'em in!

>n

ancient roman graff

2007-12-24T07:18:00.000-05:00

i used to be one of those graffiti kids way back when. i did some crazy shit, from freight trains to subway shit, some real nutso stuff... things that i'd never have the sack for today.

in fact, it's what got me interested in typography and design. there's such a great correlation there, that i've always been fascinated with, and to be perfectly honest, have been quite shocked that there's never been [to my knowledge at least] a proper, academic or "literary" investigation of.

in fact, if i ever get to grad school, it's probably going to end up in my thesis somehow.

in any case, here are some quite recent shots of ancient roman graff. that sentance reads funny. i shot these shots of ancient roman graff pretty recently. there... a LITTLE better. these pics are from a church oddly enough. they had this collection on their facade.

not only is the type beautiful in its quirks and eccentricities, but i'm sure it's somewhat political in nature. not to mention the best part for me is just picturing some guy [or girl? think there were any lady pinks or claws back then?] chisiling away in the middle of the night on this piece of stone wall saying something like "caesar is an ass!", [dump bush!] or "stay out of germania!" [leave iraq now!].

can anyone read latin?

so if anyone else out there has any shots of some other old assed graff, i'd love to see and post it.

and i'm sure i'll get around to doing a proper graffiti posting as well at some point. so if you want to send any of that in, i'd love to see that as well.

>n

japanese signs

2007-12-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

so these shots are also on the older side. but they're still pretty rad. my favorite is the giant smoke. it'd take him a whole day to get through that thing!

as always, if you've got 'em, send 'em!

thanks,
>n

coney island

2007-12-23T12:08:00.000-05:00

i took these pics a long, long time ago in coney island. coney has a special place in my heart. i grew up in brooklyn, and for a long, long time in my youth, coney island was off limits. it was a shithole where if you went to visit, you weren't coming back.

be it the subway gangs or the gangs on the boardwalk [yes, they were different turfs] or the rotten clams from the food stalls on the boardwalk, something was going to get you. and you weren't going home.

but in the last decade and a half or so, like most places in ny, walking through coney island is no longer an extreme sport, a place to risk your life. [unless you want it to be. the cyclone is still amazing and dangerous.]

i think its really cool that coney island has kind become noted for its typography and signage. there was that project a few years ago where the dreamland artists club [http://creativetime.org/programs/archive/2005/dreamland/index.php] did some typographic restorations on the cyclone and some of the game stalls in and around astroland and dinos.

and they did a really spectacular job!

but all i all, i feel like there's a lot more to see and document out there, before they tear it down i mean. i've done a few "typographic walks" and seen some cool crap, but i'd love to see what you all have in the way of coney island type shots, or any other great circus or freakshow or great american carnival typography shots.

>n

UPDATE
my friend marcus sent along these REALLY dope shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/utensil-ed/sets/72157603535942742/

thanks marcus!!!

my first post...

2007-12-23T12:05:00.001-05:00

so this is my first post, and i can already see how people write crap on their blogs that gets them fired, dumped, arrested, or worse even [whatever that own personal hell that everyone has].

so i guess this is the time for me to state whatever it is that my goal of this blog endeavour.

the goal of typomat is to simply offer some sort of commentary on design/culture/surroundings, and hopefully, just for my own sake, i hope it helps me to see the world better. i'm a designer by trade, so this blog might end up being a little heavy on the design side. but i also love art, music, architechture, and most things creative really.

i'd love it if this blog does take off, if people started to read it, or better still, started contributing!

but even if it doesn't, and they don't, i'll have accomplished something if i get off my lazy ass and say something, like i've wanted to do for a long, long time now.

so hopefully in the coming days months and years, these web log pages will be filled with my thoughts and findings in our visual world, but also your opinions and commentaries as well.

oh, i'm a crap speller, and have pretty terrible language. both of which i'll try to tone down in an effort to be more civilized.

happy reading, ballbags!

>n