Having recently been piqued with a fit of travel nostalgia which lead to looking through all my photos, I noticed a reoccurring theme. Scattered throughout the iconic landmarks and nights at bars in faraway lands, are images of the local typography.
What I found fascinating, is that compiled together, these images of lettering actually reflect the feel of that country.
This blog is going to be mostly pictorial, because – of course – images speak louder than words. Feel free to sit down and enjoy a ‘graphic designers take’ on travel pictures – there will be no laser pointer nor projector involved.
Berlin
Starting with my favourite photos, I feel these truly reflect our experiences there – including a midnight visit to an abandoned theme park (hence the bad lighting on the last photo).
Prague
My second favourite, as it features lettering made of bones from the Sedlec Ossuary, just outside of Prague.
Edinburgh
An amazing place full of Harry Potter-esque twisting alleyways and hidden stairs, it also has old faded signs and typography in some interesting places.
Copenhagen
A beautiful place, full of friendly folk and lovely castles, we happened to be there at the same time as the Eurovision contest!
Croatia
Croatia was a non-stop party but I managed to grab a few shots of some beautiful lettering along the way – starting with a quirky hand lettered sign from the local ‘rower’ who rowed our bikes and us across the river.
Newcastle
‘Newcastle’ is actually just pictures from a historic village there – but I love vintage and the signage and lettering is so beautiful, I just had to include it!
Amsterdam
A lot of my Amsterdam photos come from the Heineken Bier factory, where it shows the history of Heineken advertising, an interesting insight into the development of design.
Portsmouth
A seaside town, Portsmouth also features old designs and faded lettering which really highlights the sense of history in the area.
Bath
Only a few shots from Bath, as I was just passing through – but I love the carved street names and the way the floor of the church was paved with carved gravestones.
Brighton
A bright seaside town, Brighton features some fabulous examples of very different design styles.
I’ll end this blog post here, but there will be a part two (and possibly part three, depending how long it is!) coming soon – featuring photos from London, other parts of England and Kenya.
