Amsterdam!

Last weekend a few of us traveled by bus (10 hours in the middle of the night) to go to Amsterdam! It  was my second time going to Amsterdam, and this time was a lot different than the first. This trip was a little more relaxed and we spent time freely doing what we wanted to do. We visited the Heineken museum where we were able to see the brewery and taste their beer. After that we hung out in the beautiful city, took a canal tour, and later went on a pub crawl with some locals. On our last day we visited the famous "I Amsterdam" sign and took some pictures with the san serif letters. Amsterdam was a lot of fun and I am glad that I was able to travel back their and spend some time with friends.

The Hunt for Cheese Toasties

Yesterday a few of us traveled an hour to get to the town of Islington to visit a small cheese shop called Pistachio & Pickle. We went there earlier in the trip after going to the New Designer's Exhibition and had amazing cheese toasties. We were dying for these yummy sandwiches so we made the journey there especially for that. When we arrived at the small cheese shop they informed us that they had not received their shipment of bread today so they referred us to their other shop located half a mile away. After walking in the pouring rain to this next shop they too informed us that they had run out of cheese toasties. Disappointed and sad, we instead ordered different types of snacks from the deli and I also bought their chili jam that they use on the cheese toasties. I loved the decorative type face that was used on the jam label and I am so excited to reinvent my own cheese toasties when I return to the states.

Wayfinding

This week we went on a taste safari as a class. This was a very fun activity where we were toured around downtown London in search of different typography. It was very educational and eye opening towards the importance of signs. One importance that I recently discovered is something called wayfinding. Wayfinding occurs on signs that direct you to the specific places that you need to go. These signs could be department store directories, street signs, or simple directions. One sign that I found was on the walk back to my flat. This sign shows the different streets and the direction of where they are in proportion to you. Without wayfinding people would be very lost and also confused. Wayfinding should be very straight forward and should easily point the person in the direction that they need to go. If the sign is too busy then it will be difficult to read and understand.

Borough Market- Signage

This week I spent time at the Borough Market after completing out Taste Testing Safari. We discovered the market randomly as we were walking home and took time to venture through the stands. There were amazing booths set up all displaying a variety of food items ranging from truffles, to cheese, or to salami. The signage displayed inside of the market area was very simple but thoroughly communicated the name of the market. The importance of this signage was to communicate to the public what the surrounding area was. Signage is very important when identifying certain landmarks or venues. Signages can sometimes have symbols that represent what they are communicating or in this case, can have only words. Signage can communicate also the different hazards that the viewer should watch out for. Different examples of signage include bathroom symbols, caution signs, and more. My favorite type of signage is one that communicates to the public their surroundings or the object they are identifying but also does it in a way that is beautiful. The market sign is one example of signage that does just that.     

Walking Tour of Brick Lane

Today Professor Makey took our class on a short walking tour of Brick Lane. Brick lane is a road located close by to Shoreditch and is filled with many Indian and Bangladesh restaurants. A couple of us stopped to eat dinner at one restaurant and it was one of the best meals that I have ever eaten! After the walking tour we went down to Shoreditch to catch the nearest tube. On the way there I came across two really interesting signs. The first was of a restaurant named Mojo. This font was decorative and I really loved it! I thought that the bright turquoise coloring of the building was special as well. The next sign that I came across was of an old Jewish Soup kitchen. I felt that the font of this building was really interesting and gave the building an overall old style vibe. The font was decorative as well and I feel that decorative fonts so far are my favorite!

Trip to the Tower Bridge

Last week we went as a class to the Design Museum located next to Shoreditch. After touring through the New Design Museum we walked down the boardwalk to the oldest pub in London called the Anchor. On the walk there I found this bar that was called the London Riviera. I loved the bright colors and retro signage that the bar displayed. The font of the word "London" on the sign was sans serif  and the font of the word "Riviera" was a type of script. I loved the contrast of colors along with the contrast of fonts. Once we got to the pub I stopped to take a photo of the bar itself. It was an old building built in 1615 and survived the Great Fire of 1666. The font of their sign was slab serif and was old-fashioned and very unique. It was a subtle font but still made the building look simple and elegant. I had a great day eating and talking with my friends and we can't wait to go back to that area to explore!

My favorite place that we have visited so far in London has to be Oxford. We took a day trip and traveled by train to Oxford University where one of our teacher's John Mackey guided us around the campus and town. The buildings were so remarkable because of the detailed architecture and their overall size. There were also a number of vast, green lawns that were stunning. In the heart of the town there was a pub that was tucked away behind some buildings. My friends and I went to grab a bite to eat and we sat on their beautiful outdoor patio. I ordered a fresh summer salad and we also ordered a pitcher of Pimms for all of us to enjoy and escape the heat. Just outside the bar there were a few chalk signs that advertised the different drinks that they offered inside. The one sign that I loved was one titled "G is for Gin." The sign was so captivating and creative. They applied contrast to their sign by having an assortment of different types as opposed to just one singular type. This strategy caught my attention and drew my eyes to the message. Some of the fonts were serifs, some were sans serifs, and some were even script and decorative fonts. This sign so far is my favorite that I have seen and the pub didn't possess the typical pub vibe that comes along with most pubs. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and thought that I was eating at a restaurant that you would find on Pinterest.

 

Field Trip to Notting Hill Gate and the Museum of Brands

This week was filled with different field trips where our class had the opportunity to "learn by going." Instead of sitting inside a classroom for six hours we took a short tube ride to Notting Hill Gate to visit the town and the Museum of Brands. The museum was small but still held an incredible amount of products from the Victorian age all the way to present day. While there I saw this store that had the cutest sign above the door. The store was named "Alice's." What I really enjoyed about this typography was the fun, whimsical font and colors used in the design. The blue shadowing on the title "Alice's" helps to contrast the red type against the red background. The font overall was an exciting and creative decorative font. The use of serifs and white decorative drawing inside of the letters helped to give the type an overall old-fashioned look. I thought that this store's appearance was unique and also simple.