I walk by this pretty much every single day, and it's definitely something that if I had not been through type class it wouldn't stand out to me. We just expect these signs to be up and everywhere like the batheroom or exit signs and because of this they tend to blend in and not really by closely looked at. But as you all have probably noticed this particular "stairs" sign has problem that can drive someone who has been in a type class crazy. This is of course the kerning between the letters which seems to have no rhyme or reason at all. The kerning is different between each set of letters. It definitely stands out between the 'T' and the 'A' but the rest are equally as horrible. This is definitely something I would not have noticed had I not been in a type class.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Up the Stairs
I walk by this pretty much every single day, and it's definitely something that if I had not been through type class it wouldn't stand out to me. We just expect these signs to be up and everywhere like the batheroom or exit signs and because of this they tend to blend in and not really by closely looked at. But as you all have probably noticed this particular "stairs" sign has problem that can drive someone who has been in a type class crazy. This is of course the kerning between the letters which seems to have no rhyme or reason at all. The kerning is different between each set of letters. It definitely stands out between the 'T' and the 'A' but the rest are equally as horrible. This is definitely something I would not have noticed had I not been in a type class.
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10 comments:
Saint Airs? It sounds like a luxurious resort somewhere. On a private zigzag island according to the map in the picture.
I never noticed that before but the spacing is really bad. I guess I tend to look at the image more so than the word. I bet there are a bunch of generic signs like this especially in office buildings and schools.
HAHA your post makes me laugh! The kerning is really horrible! I wonder how these signs are made and if they go through a process where designers check the final steps of tracking and kerning.
I never noticed that until now but yah the letter spacing is horrible!
Wow, I never realized how terrible this sign is with its horrible kerning!! The amazing thing is that no one with type knowledge would notice this, yet to us graphic designers, it is an absolute abomination!! It makes me wonder: does an actual graphic designer help with the layout of such signs in a building, or does someone else just slap it on there without thinking whether it's correctly arranged or not? I would think so after learning about the many jobs of designers in our visual communication class last spring, but this sign makes me think twice!
wow, I never noticed that either. Good catch! This makes me wonder if any of the people who put this up noticed it... probably not because they don't specialize in typography. The kerning definitely needs to be fixed. Makes me wonder now how many more signs are there like this around campus.
The letter spacing is horrible. I guess they figured you wouldn't be paying too much attention to it while you were walking so it wasn't worth fixing. I have definitely overlooked this probably because such signs have become so second nature to me that I just assume the sign near the stairs says stairs, so I maybe glance at it, but never really look at the details.
Oh my gosh, I was just complaining about one of these signs to my friends the other day. The kerning is extremely horrible! I guess since these kinds of signs are massed produced they figure no one would mind the spacing...
haha this is terrible, i do remember that bugging me last year. they look so old, can we say upgrade?
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