Showing great forbearance, I told him ‘no’ because I didn’t think type and dogs really related to each other. He started rambling on about how anti-dog posts didn’t fit on a cat-blog either (um, earth to JJ, hello?) and blah, blah, blah, but I’d already stopped listening because he’d just given me an idea…
Well there’s type on it, isn’t there? I love this sign; with its fading and its rust, and its little painty/stickery/whatevery thing that it looks like someone’s used to try and obscure the ‘NO’ with. Fight the power, brother (or sister). I also really love the stylized dog. Classy little illustration. And on-topic, I can even tell you the font is Folio Bold Condensed. I thought it was some sort of condensed Helvetica at first, but the counters didn’t seem right. I only have Helvetica Black Condensed, so I assumed it must have been an Ultra Condensed version, but someone at Typophile suggested Folio, and they were right. It’s not a typeface I’ve had anything to do with before. Here’s a comparison for you if you’re interested. If you’re not, close your eyes, lower your chin a nad, then open them again and continue. Nice.
I’ve got quite a collection of ‘No Dog’ signs that I’ve taken over the years. I’ve often felt like I should do something with them, but I’ve never known what. Looking at the sort of fonts they use seems like as good a thing to do as any? So here’s another one for you.
These two images are somewhat mysterious. I stumbled onto them while wandering through the images on my Mac a while back. I did not take them, I have no idea who did, and I have no idea how they got onto my computer. All I know is that ‘City Walls’ was taken on June 6, 2004, while ‘Perros No’ (Spanish for ‘No Dogs’) was taken on October 13, 2004, and that they were both taken with a Canon IXY Digital 500. As it’s the same model of camera, I assume they were taken by the same person, most likely on the same trip. I suspect that ‘City Walls’ was taken in England, so ‘Perros No’ may well have been taken in Spain. Although four months is more than enough time to travel to any number of Spanish-speaking countries, even by boat.
I can only assume that someone thought of me when they saw the signs (I’m flattered), took a quick shot, and then passed them on, but I cannot remember who it was. If it was you, let me know, won’t you?
Well, sleuthing for a phantom photographer has even less to do with type than dogs do, so I might leave it there. Until, of course, I’ve had time to delve into my photo albums to dig up some more images to add to these two. Hehe. Bye for now.
