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Vernacular Typography

Letterforms in the Urban Environment

  • EVENTS,  PHOTOS,  SIGNS

    June 4, 2020

    June 4, 2020

    Signs from today’s George Floyd memorial in Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn.

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    VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY AT USAGI NY

    September 30, 2015

    Signs of Protest & Empowerment

    January 24, 2017
  • CORONAVIRUS,  PHOTOS,  SIGNS

    Signs of the Coronavirus in New York

    March 21, 2020

    Some signs, headlines, and notices posted about the coronavirus in the (sparsely populated) streets of New York.

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    Nearly Empty Streets of New York

    March 18, 2020
  • CORONAVIRUS,  PHOTOS

    Nearly Empty Streets of New York

    March 18, 2020

    Some photos from the past few days in the nearly empty streets of New York (taken while standing an appropriate distance away from anybody else). New York is filled with public spaces that have all essentially turned private.

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    Signs of the Coronavirus in New York

    March 21, 2020
  • EVENTS,  PHOTOS,  SIGNS

    Signs of Protest & Empowerment

    January 24, 2017

    A few of the thousands and thousands of signs from Saturday’s Women’s March in New York. I have never seen so many signs or people in one place.

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    June 4, 2020

    June 4, 2020

    VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY AT USAGI NY

    September 30, 2015
  • EVENTS,  PHOTOS

    VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY AT USAGI NY

    September 30, 2015

    In October 2015, UsagiNY will present the first exhibition of Vernacular Typography. Found lettering and other forms of urban communication have a way of creating and preserving a sense of place and local identity. Vernacular Typography is a celebration of the symbols and icons that surround us every day–the texture of a city that often goes overlooked or ignored. Usagi NY is a new 2,800 sq ft concept store in DUMBO Brooklyn, which houses a gallery, cafe, and library. Offering a marketplace for creators, the shop opens its doors to creative practitioners working in the differ- ent fields, presenting the work and process of emerging, influential creative thinkers and specialists such as artists, designers, architects,…

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    June 4, 2020

    June 4, 2020

    Signs of Protest & Empowerment

    January 24, 2017
  • PHOTOS,  SIGNS,  TRAVEL

    VERNACULAR MEATOGRAPHY

    March 11, 2015

    Vegetarians, avert your gaze. Fewer things go better together than meat and whatever is next to meat. In the open dining rooms of many a Texas meatery, that companion to meat just so happens to be typography (printed, painted, scrawled, drawn, lettered, what have you). The signs of these establishments are honest and direct. In all shapes, styles, and formats (and sometimes obscured by decades of smokey oak) they unequivocally point the way to meat. What follows is a pictorial survey of the meat and corresponding typography & lettering of some of the finest BBQ I have ever known.

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    ICE

    September 2, 2013

    2014 SIGNS, LETTERS, AND THINGS

    January 14, 2015

    PHILADELPHIA PREVIEW

    January 21, 2014
  • PHOTOS,  SIGNS

    2014 SIGNS, LETTERS, AND THINGS

    January 14, 2015

    Photos and things from January – December, 2014

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    Nearly Empty Streets of New York

    March 18, 2020

    VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY AT USAGI NY

    September 30, 2015

    June 4, 2020

    June 4, 2020
  • PHOTOS,  SIGNS

    FAUX OLD TIMEY SIGNAGE

    September 12, 2014

    The streets of DUMBO turned into a Cold War-era film set via anachronistic signage for the filming of Steven Spielberg’s St. James Place.

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    WOODSIDE PRESS

    July 23, 2012

    2014 SIGNS, LETTERS, AND THINGS

    January 14, 2015

    BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

    October 17, 2013
  • Woodward_Vernacular Typography_Montreal_026
    PHOTOS,  SIGNS,  TRAVEL

    MONTRÉAL PREVIEW

    June 26, 2014

    A quick preview of lettering and vernacular typography in Montréal. Because of Quebec’s strict language laws, French is the dominant language on street signs and in commercial signage. Multi-lingual signs in Israel (here & here) and Ireland (here).

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    Signs of the Coronavirus in New York

    March 21, 2020

    BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

    October 17, 2013

    GOODBYE CONEY ISLAND

    October 5, 2012
  • Molly Woodward Vernacular Typography New Orleans Royal Pharmacy Storefront Sign
    PHOTOS,  SIGNS,  TRAVEL

    NEW ORLEANS PREVIEW

    May 30, 2014

    An assorted sample of vernacular typography and lettering found recently in New Orleans. There’s no single dominant style of lettering, but rather a mix of everything (hand painted, hand scrawled, fading ghost ads–many layered over even older ghost signs, tile, neon, and about any other type of signage imaginable). The connecting thread seems to be the omnipresent plastic beaded necklaces twisted and dangling over most signs. Also, beignets. Follow @VernacularType

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    Signs of the Coronavirus in New York

    March 21, 2020

    VENICE PREVIEW

    November 13, 2013

    PHILADELPHIA PREVIEW

    January 21, 2014
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vernaculartypography

Sunset Cocktail Lounge. One of my favorite signs f Sunset Cocktail Lounge. One of my favorite signs from West Palm Beach, Florida.

To learn more about the sign or buy a print, meander on over to https://vernaculartypography.bigcartel.com.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #lettering #letterforms #storefront #signage #westpalmbeach #palmbeach #sunset #cocktail #mintgreen #jazzhistory
Dublin House Tap Room, Upper West Side. #vernacul Dublin House Tap Room, Upper West Side.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #nyctypography #typography #signage #letterforms #vintagesign #neonsign #neon #storefront #disappearingnewyork #upperwestside #dublinhouse
Block Drug Store of 2nd Avenue. #vernaculartypogr Block Drug Store of 2nd Avenue.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #storefront #disappearingnewyork #neonsign #neon #blockdrugstore #eastvillage
Conformal Personalized Shoes for Women. Hand paint Conformal Personalized Shoes for Women. Hand painted window sign.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #alwayshandpaint #script #handpaintedsigns
Farouk A. Elsebaie, Accountant & Tax Consultant in Farouk A. Elsebaie, Accountant & Tax Consultant in Park Slope. One of my favorite hand painted signs in Brooklyn.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #brooklyntype #handpaintedsigns #ampersand #alwayshandpaint
Errol's Auto Repairs. Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. #ve Errol's Auto Repairs. Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #brooklyntype #alwayshandpaint #handpaintedsigns
Syrup of Figs ghost sign, now covered up by new co Syrup of Figs ghost sign, now covered up by new construction in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #brooklyntype #greenpoint #ghostsign #fadingad #syrupoffigs
Trenton China Pottery ghost sign in Philadelphia. Trenton China Pottery ghost sign in Philadelphia.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #phillytype #ghostsign #fadingad #philadelphia
Ghost signs on ghost signs. Friendly Frost /Furnit Ghost signs on ghost signs. Friendly Frost /Furniture / Outlet palimpsest on the corner of 19th & 5th in South Park Slope.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #brooklyntype #ghostsign #fadingad #parkslope
El Arte, hanging neon sign outside of a former pho El Arte, hanging neon sign outside of a former photography studio on Calle Galiano, Havana, Cuba. 2001.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #storefront #cubantype #tipografiacubana #havana #lahabana #cuba #35mm #trix400 #filmphotographic #neonsign #elarte
Cafeteria El Polo. Neon sign minus the neon. Havan Cafeteria El Polo. Neon sign minus the neon. Havana, Cuba. 2001.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #storefront #cubantype #tipografiacubana #havana #lahabana #cuba #35mm #trix400 #filmphotographic #neonsign
Partagás factory neon sign. Cigars had been hand- Partagás factory neon sign. Cigars had been hand-rolled in this Cuban factory since 1845. The building was recently converted into a museum. 
One of my favorites from Havana. Shot on 35mm film in 2001.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #storefront #cubantype #tipografiacubana #havana #lahabana #cuba #35mm #filmphotographic #trix400 #neonsign #partagas
Shalom Chai Pizza Falafel Ice Cream on Grand Stree Shalom Chai Pizza Falafel Ice Cream on Grand Street was closed several times by the Department of Health and struggled to reopen. They were ultimately evicted in 2014.

The cleanliness always seemed questionable, but the people watching was fantastic and the hand painted sign even better.

The storefront is now home to a barbecue spot (health inspection grade pending). #vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #lowereastside #alwayshandpaint #shadowtype #storefront #pizzatype #כשר
Falafel Ice Cream, 2/3 of a classic trio. #vernac Falafel Ice Cream, 2/3 of a classic trio.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #lowereastside #alwayshandpaint #shadowtype #storefront #icycaps #כשר #falafel
Kosher Ice Cream on the Lower East Side. Shalom Ch Kosher Ice Cream on the Lower East Side. Shalom Chai closed for good in 2014, one of the last kosher spots in the neighborhood.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #lowereastside #alwayshandpaint #shadowtype #storefront #icycaps #כשר
Not Just Pizza. Home of the Small Pie. Fulton Stre Not Just Pizza. Home of the Small Pie. Fulton Street, Bed-Stuy.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #brooklyntype #storefront #disappearingnewyork #pizza #pizzeria #nycpizza #pizzatype
Di Fara Pizza. A New York classic. #vernaculartyp Di Fara Pizza. A New York classic. 
#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #brooklyntype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #storefront #disappearingnewyork #pizza #pizzeria #nycpizza #pizzatype #difara
John's Pizzeria in Elmhurst, Queens. #vernaculart John's Pizzeria in Elmhurst, Queens.

#vernaculartypography #vernacularlettering #vernacular #vernaculartype #foundtype #urbantypography #urbantype #typography #signage #letterforms #nyctypography #queenstype #storefront #disappearingnewyork #pizza #pizzeria #nycpizza #pizzatype
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