Once I knew where to look I found a lot of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. When I started comparing them I noticed the variety of logo/wordmark designs. Displayed above are 30 examples, but it could have been easily been 100. Which proves designers were […]

Sanborn map company logo and lettering

Wordmarks from maps issued between 1885 and 1921

In february ‘BibliOdyssey’ posted an article about Sanborn fire insurance typography. A fantastic collection of rich typography from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their selection seemed quite random though. Finding more images wasn’t easy. I found […]

The Typography of Sanborn New York City Maps

Title pages from maps issued between 1885 and 1917

Tour de France 2011: Shoes and clothing logos

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 7

Tour de France 2011: Helmets and glasses logos

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 6

Tour de France 2011: Wheels and tires logos

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 5

Tour de France 2011: Saddle and pedal logos

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 4

If you don’t own a bicycle you’ve probably never heard of Shimano, Campagnolo or SRAM. These companies are responsible for some of the most invisible and yet important elements of a bicycle: the components (a bicycle’s mechanical parts). Crankset […]

Tour de France 2011: Shimano, Campagnolo, SRAM components logos

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 3

There’s not much space for graphic design on a bicycle frame. Most logos and graphics appear on the two horizontal and diagonal tubes in the center of the frame. The largest logo usually is the wordmark of the manufacturer. That’s possibly the reason why […]

Tour de France: Bicycle manufacturer logos

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 2

The Tour de france. 22 Teams, each with 9 riders. Each rider gets a free helmet, free glasses, jerseys, bibs, socks, shoes and rides on a free bike with a frame, saddle, pedals, wheels and tubes, all of which is provided by sponsors. Each sponsor is hoping to get […]

Tour de France: Team logos and jerseys

Graphic design in the Tour de France, part 1

Today, April 25, marks the 15th anniversary of the death of Saul Bass (1920-1996) one of the best, beloved and prolific designers of all time. We’re all familiar with (a fraction of) Bass’ work: the title sequences, movie posters and logos. But that’s just the tip of […]

Saul Bass’ Vertigo movie poster design

An overview of the various designs Bass created for the film: posters, inserts, window cards, lobby cards and ads

Designers today have it easy. A computer, a copy of Adobe® Photoshop® and a couple of typefaces, that’s all they need to create a movie poster. Sixty years ago things were different. Floating heads were painted instead of copied and pasted. Letters were […]

German Warner Bros. movie poster typography

Hand lettering by German poster designer Hans Otto Wendt

“If I do my job well, the identity program will also clean up the image of the company, position it as being contemporary and keep it from ever looking dated”. — Saul Bass
Bass certainly did his job well, he created some of the most recognizable and iconic […]

Saul Bass logo design: then and now

The average lifespan of a Saul Bass logo is 34 years.

When Saul Bass worked for Hollywood studios he created a complete and consistent identity for films (main and credit titles, a symbol or trademark, trailers, posters, ads, album cover). Director Otto Preminger persuaded studios to use Bass’ work, which […]

Saul Bass’ movie posters: then and now

What's left of Saul Bass’ movie posters on today's DVD packaging design

About five years ago the typeface Trajan was used so ubiquitously on movie posters it became known as ‘the movie font.’ Later, when the typeface Gotham was used in Obama’s campaign it became the new go-to font for movie poster designers. […]

Warner Bros. 1930s movie poster typography

Script lettering from movie posters, inserts, window and lobby cards

“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubblegum.” That’s all I knew about John Carpenter’s ‘They live’ when I watched it for the first time. I expected a silly action movie, which it was to a certain extent, but the scene shown […]

“This is your god”

The typography of John Carpenter’s ‘They live’ (1988)


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