Souvenir platter from the Century 21 Exhibition / 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, scored on eBay.
Seattle World’s Fair Platter
Categories: Inspiration
Tag Archives: lettering
Manzanar Sign Follow-Up
Categories: Rants
After I posted my article about the Manzanar War Relocation Center’s entrance sign, I received this email: Josh: I ran across your Dec 24 entry regarding the Manzanar relocation sign. My father, who was interned there, painted the sign. He passed away four years ago but was a graphic artist who did a lot calligraphic […]
What’s in a Font—The Manzanar War Relocation Center Sign
Categories: Rants
Update (January 5, 2010): After posting this article, I received an email from Mark Matsumoto, whose father, Akio Matsumoto, was a commercial artist interned at Manzanar during the War. According to Mark, Akio Matsumoto was the person who painted the sign. Needless to say, this information drastically affects my original theories about the sign’s lettering! […]
More vintage matchbooks
Categories: Inspiration
After the last treasure trove of matchbooks I came across, the idea of starting a collection of my own has been on my radar. I found a few on eBay that were from Torrance, California, the current location of three steps ahead and a subject of particular interest to me. The same seller had a […]
Josh & Alyssa Wedding “Save the Date” Postcard
Categories: Case studies
My fiancée Alyssa and I are not typical when it comes to our wedding planning. For one thing, we’re getting married at an unconventional venue, the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Moreover, we both work in design, and there’s no chance in heck that we’d buy any prepackaged save-the-dates or invitations. No sir. So we’ve […]
Metal architectural lettering
Categories: Inspiration
One of my favorite aspects of living in Southern California is the local architecture and its accompanying signage. Many of the schools in my area were built in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and lots of them utilize gorgeous, low x-height, geometric titling faces like the ones on which Neutraface is based. The Southern California […]
Another day, another Ed Rondthaler quote
Categories: Inspiration, Rants
Avid readers of this blog will remember one of the first posts I made, over a year ago, about a redesign of the Star Waggons logo that I had completed at the time. There may have been some hubris, on my part, in comparing my work to that of the lettering genius Ed Benguiat, but […]
Barton Bee Line Legs Box
Categories: Inspiration
I just love packaging from the ’60s. This one may have been printed later (it says “Series ’76”), but I’m pretty sure it had to have been designed in the 1960s and used a few years beyond its intended shelf life.
The Connie Dial Web Presence
Categories: Case studies, Inspiration
A few months ago I posted a teaser image from a project I was not yet ready to announce. The project has actually been complete for a little while now, so I can finally go into detail about it, as I am wont to do. Connie Dial is author living in Los Angeles county, and […]
The Heritage Club—gorgeous book design
Categories: Inspiration
I’m a sucker for well-designed books—the paper, the printing, the typography, the illustration, the binding. Yum. Unfortunately, well-designed, well-printed, well-typeset books are the exception nowadays, not the rule. I learned by watching the Antiques Roadshow that it became common practice in previous centuries for publishers of expensive books to sell them by subscription or in […]
