KLEBEN VERBOTEN

“PASTING OF POSTERS FORBIDDEN”
“PASTING PAINTING SPRAYING FORBIDDEN”
“Ordnung muss sein” says the German proverb and both these examples try to bring order into the world
but in very different styles. You decide which one works for you.

Der Vitruvianische Mensch

I wonder what Leo would say to this, was he to rise from the grave and go on a trip to Cologne.
Is this the new model? Is this what we’re striving for in these functional times?
Note the symbolical detachment of body and mind.

BROATHIEF

These huuge letters I came upon when walking Berlin. They might have been the name of a local crew,
I haven’t managed to find out. Whatever the message the sheer effort put into their size is impressive.
But the size is not everything, the makers have carefully planned all the shapes, lines and spaces
to obtain this powerful, logo-like design.
Given the probable hurry in time of production it strikes me that there are relatively few inconsistencies in the letters.

Tough Guys

This powerful typography from suburban Cologne was apparently painted using a roller.
The tool obviously forced a very bold lettering, very much in accordance with the message of the “Tough Guys”.
I’m wondering was the “Y” flipped on purpose or was it because of the difficult painting angle.

Licht und Klingel

Coming from an eastern culture I always pay attention to such signs of superior organization and standardization
as is the case with these buttons in a blockhouse in downtown Cologne. Every single button in the entire house
was of the same appearance and had the word ‘light’ or ‘bell’ embedded in a clear and legible fashion.
Notably the buttons weren’t brand new, which only suggests that this order has been kept up for years.

Runway Typography

Have you ever seen satellite images of an airport? Have you noticed how beautiful and complex compositions they are?
With all their lines, letters, shapes and textures they are ready pieces of art just waiting to be framed.
The colours are always black, white, yellow and red on grey backgrounds with areas of green in between.
This one here is a detail from Cologne-Bonn airport.

Einfahrt freilassen!

Germany, the country of typography. Last time I visited my friends in Cologne I couldn’t keep my head straight. Everywhere signs, words and letters. I guess they just like to have things organised and to keep people well-informed. I have a few dozen photos from that trip which will eventually end up here. This one is quite nice. Apparently it used to be a regular black-on-white sign but someone decided to raise its visibility and call more attention. It says: “Keep entry free!”