Saturday, April 21, 2012

local font find #7

I am always looking at signs. Only a few from the thousands stick out... remaining in my immediate recall storage. One that is currently stuck there also happens to be stuck to the outside of my workplace.



Williamson High School is connected to R. B. Walter Elementary. This sign is on the buildings north side. Williamson has about three other signs, all of which lack any kind of cool. This one has real charm. Though dated, I like the style. The signs shape has a post WWII state park feel and the font fits the style well. Though it has some kerning issues (too much space between the I and G) and "SCHOOL" is drifting uncomfortably close to the edge. The sign is quirky and friendly...like a school sign should be....not too stuffy.



The metal lettering is mounted to 3/4 inch plywood. It has taken a beating over the years and has seen many sunsets since its last makeover.

I scrolled through my computers font list, using Photoshop, to see if I could find a match.





I did not find a solid match to this font but I knew I had seen something close to it in scrolling through my font list for previous design projects.



Certain letters were very close to Williamson's sign but an exact match isn't something I own. The diagonal ends on the "W", "M", "L", "R", etc. were not a match to two posted above. These two fonts were as close as I could find. The "C" in Telegrafico is almost a perfect match.

If you are ever heading south out of Lawrenceville, Pa. on old Rt 15, be looking to your right as you pass our school. Good stuff.

4 comments:

  1. That's my alma mater! Funny, but I never thought much about that sign, except, "Well, we're here -- crap! I forgot to do my homework!"

    It is cool that you are looking at the artistry of the signs from your every day world.

    Thanks for the nice note!

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    1. Though flaws exist...an interesting sign. We FONT NERDS allow lettering to turn our heads!
      take care!!!

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  2. The font looks similar to something from the Kabel family of fonts, best illustrated by traditional Monopoly Games. That said, Kabel often has a different W. Hey maybe somebody just improvised at the shop.

    Rich HB
    Houston

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    1. YES!!!!!....I used to work at a sign shop that had that font as we scrolled through to find matches....You are correct!....thanks for the info!

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