A Mystery Font That Took Over New York

Post by dboreham » Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 9:26 PM UTC

ssadler wrote: post #26

toyg wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don’t have a legal way. FTFY

We have a technical method to do so, but the site has not been created, that I know of. For example: * A domain name like ipfs://nytimesmirror.com that mirrors nytimes articles (at the same relative URLs) * Some kind of crowdsourced process for content curation. I'm aware that it's not legal, but I wouldn't be against it. Content piracy has been a catalyst for change. I simultaneously would be willing to pay nytimes…

Post by rustcharm » Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 9:51 PM UTC

52-6F-62 wrote: post #33

rustcharm wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those "Honest Ed" signs are beautiful, and remind me of the hand-painted signs I'd still see in Brooklyn in the late 60s and early 70s (probably nearing the end of the era for hand-painted signs)

Oh that place was the thing of a bygone era, undoubtedly. Some of those signs are probably from back then, but they retained the style right up until they closed in 2016. The place was a godsend when I was younger—you could get hygiene products and some food items for dirt cheap. And the sight from the street was even more wild than those hand-painted signs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honest_Ed%27s

Post by vanderZwan » Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 10:40 PM UTC

fermienrico wrote: post #29

vanderZwan wrote: post #8

> “There’s an unmistakable energy in all the designs that [Roger Excoffon] does,” said Tobias Frere-Jones, a Brooklyn-based typeface designer. “They project their personality so clearly. And it’s very obviously not Helvetica or not Times or any other generic thing that might be on the awning next door.” Excoffon’s most popular typeface is probably Mistral, which was modeled after his own handwriting. Both this passag…

“There’s an unmistakable energy in all the designs that [Roger Excoffon] does” This type of analysis bugs me. Yes, with hindsight you can say it has "energy". Give this font in a controlled experiment with many "energetic" fonts to choose from and you'd not say the same thing. There is probably a word for this type of bias - perhaps confirmation bias? There is nothing more to read into this. When a font gets popular…

Post by 52-6F-62 » Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 10:52 PM UTC

vanderZwan wrote: post #37

52-6F-62 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny! Reminds me of the old Honest Ed's signage here in Toronto (since shut down). https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/04/01/8-of-honest-eds-... https://toronto.citynews.ca/2016/10/19/iconic-honest-eds-sig...

Gorgeous, the connection is pretty clear, yeah! Makes me wonder if the handwritten signs from the last century couldn't be considered one of those kind of undocumented, almost subconscious arts "traditions". Kind of like how all kebab places seem to follow the exact same horrible aesthetic without it being a coordinated effort.

Post by egypturnash » Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 11:05 PM UTC

vanderZwan wrote: post #37

52-6F-62 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny! Reminds me of the old Honest Ed's signage here in Toronto (since shut down). https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/04/01/8-of-honest-eds-... https://toronto.citynews.ca/2016/10/19/iconic-honest-eds-sig...

Gorgeous, the connection is pretty clear, yeah! Makes me wonder if the handwritten signs from the last century couldn't be considered one of those kind of undocumented, almost subconscious arts "traditions". Kind of like how all kebab places seem to follow the exact same horrible aesthetic without it being a coordinated effort.