KC Type

TypArchive

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:00:11 -0500

After contemplating the collection I was accumulating, I decided TypArchive.com, a collaborative image database could serve the type and design community as a source of inspiration for new typefaces, or just eye candy for the type obsessed.

Delicious.

soupsoup: Fail Harder, Wieden+Kennedy 12 Reblog for @micah.

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:38:02 -0500

soupsoup:

Fail Harder, Wieden+Kennedy 12

Reblog for @micah.

In honor of the conversation that @hoopstar311, @NobleRot,...

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:30:00 -0500

In honor of the conversation that @hoopstar311, @NobleRot, @kcmeesha and others were having yesterday on Twitter, I thought this MoveDowntownKC.com photo was more than appropriate.

I’m not typically a big fan of mixed-caps lettering (mostly because small caps always look weird), but this works, I think because the difference in height with the large caps text is slight, yet still noticeable.

Follow @kctype on Twitter

evrtstudio: White Haven Motor Lodge What a sad day for Overland...

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:00:00 -0500

evrtstudio:

White Haven Motor Lodge

What a sad day for Overland Park, The White Family, and all Mid Century enthusiasts. The White Haven officially closed, and the property has already been sold, along with an auction last week to sell the entire contents of the motel. Open since 1957. It brought me happiness every single time I drove by that sign.

You can read some of the stories here, here & here.

On a good note, the Johnson County Museum bought the sign in the auction, and plans to fully restore and put it on display.

(photo via gtotiger68)

A terrific photo of a downtown Overland Park long-standing (but now permanently vacant) tradition, the White Haven Motor Lodge neon sign.

Origins of the World's Most Important Typefaces - Infographic

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:44:43 -0500

imjustcreative:

via chacha.com
Found on http://coudal.com/archives/2010/07/typeface_origin.php

An excellent infographic about the most influential and important typefaces in history. It’s difficult to argue with this list.

Surprise, surprise. Gotham is on there.

Sorry for my extended absence! Me and Mrs. KC Type have been...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:19:38 -0500

Sorry for my extended absence!

Me and Mrs. KC Type have been vacationing (off checking out how they do type on the West Coast). I am planning on uploading a bunch of new KC type photos this week and possibly doing a KC Type on the Road feature week where we look at some of the type from vacations I’ve taken over the past several years.

In the meantime, here’s a pic I snapped of the Engel Bindery on Southwest Boulevard. There is some really interesting curvature going on in the letters of the uppercase serif that makes up their sign. I particularly like the red color as well.

theleagueofmoveabletype: So You Need a Typeface? A nice...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:33:33 -0500

theleagueofmoveabletype:

So You Need a Typeface?

A nice infographics that can actually help you select a typeface for your design work. You may want to search for the path to Comic Sans. (via Smashing Magazine)

Student work by Julian Hansen

I don’t agree with a lot of the reasoning, although I didn’t go to graphic design school. Still, this chart is pretty typalicious.

Lucky Strike: I’ve never actually been to Lucky Strike,...

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:43:55 -0500

Lucky Strike:

I’ve never actually been to Lucky Strike, but I hear it’s pretty cool, although there are plenty of people that would argue you can’t really trust ANYTHING in the Power & Light District.

I really love this condensed blocky sans serif that they use.

NAIA Headquarters: I graduated from an NAIA University. It was...

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:40:25 -0500

NAIA Headquarters:

I graduated from an NAIA University. It was a great experience and I’ve always liked that the NAIA recognized just how great of a college town Kansas City is, especially for a headquarters. They’ve never left KC for the greener pastures of Indianapolis, but have stuck around. NAIA events are usually much smaller, but they’re always a lot of fun.

As for the type on the logo…I kind of wish the kerning was a little tighter especially around the I. Even so, I’m a big fan of slab serifs and I dig the blocky sturdiness of the letters.

Le Fou Frog I’ve heard a ton about this place, but never...

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:32:11 -0500

Le Fou Frog

I’ve heard a ton about this place, but never knew where it was. When I found it, I was really intrigued by how it didn’t appear nearly as swanky as I imagined it. However, the sign is pretty charming and I’m curious as to what it looks like at night with the neon sign lit up.

I don’t think that the script matches both the name and the description, but it’s close enough that I’m impressed they could recreate such an interesting script in neon.

McSweeney's: I'm Comic Sans, Asshole.

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:50:19 -0500

McSweeney's: I'm Comic Sans, Asshole.:

This has been making its way around the web and for good reason. It’s hilarious and it shines a pretty harsh light on pretentious font snobs like me.

I love it.

(To be clear, the “it” I’m talking about is not Comic Sans, but the satire. I wouldn’t be caught dead near a flyer with that godforsaken abomination of a typeface.)

Even though it looks kinda retro and old and I can buy camera...

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:12:08 -0500

Even though it looks kinda retro and old and I can buy camera supplies online just as easily (if not more easily), I want to shop at this store on Southwest Boulevard if only for their bubbly logo.

While this blog is mostly about the type. I have to say that...

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:20:13 -0500

While this blog is mostly about the type. I have to say that this post is all about the photo for me. I love that everything kind of fell on a grid (like good websites do) and the bizarre streak in the middle of the sign that is more colorful than the rest combined with the heavy truck sticking its nose out around the side of the building makes for this picture to be really interesting. At least to me.

If you’d be so kind as to recommend KC Type for the Tumblr directory in Typography, I’ll be your best friend.

Just outside Savvy Wine Bar is this address on the side of the...

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:46:56 -0500

Just outside Savvy Wine Bar is this address on the side of the building. Such a modern take on the address…now I want to redo the numbers on my own house.

National Cut Rate Furniture A while back, I got this shot of...

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:26:22 -0500

National Cut Rate Furniture

A while back, I got this shot of the retro script on the side of the building that also has this wonderful sign. I don’t think this building sells furniture anymore, but I’m glad that they kept the terrific signage. The green on the sign is just terrific.

Along Southwest Boulevard… I took a picture of the rest...

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:48:25 -0500

Along Southwest Boulevard…

I took a picture of the rest of this building as well, but the name escapes me. For now, let’s just call it “BUILDING”.

The texture of the brick here is fascinating, especially since it looks like they just painted over it as a part of the “sign” that sits behind the type. Garamond? What serif is that?

Coffee on Southwest Boulevard The hand-painted sign that adorns...

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:40:13 -0500

Coffee on Southwest Boulevard

The hand-painted sign that adorns the side of this coffee shop on Southwest Boulevard is a really nice combination of whimsy and readability. I particularly like how the arrow echoes the curvature of the letters.

Now if I could only remember the name of the coffee shop…

Blanc Burgers + Bottles The subject of this weekend’s...

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 09:23:11 -0500

Blanc Burgers + Bottles

The subject of this weekend’s Kansas City Groupon is one of the most popular they’ve had so far. As of Saturday morning, over 7,000 people had purchased the amazing $10 Groupon that got you $20 in food.

Considering how much I love burgers, you KNOW that I was on this Groupon as soon as I saw it.

I took this picture of the sign at the new Plaza location a couple months back. At first, I couldn’t figure out how the Blanc logo made sense for a burger place, but when you see the modern styling of the restaurant, it’s a lot easier to understand. If I could change one thing about this, it would be the lowercase ‘g’ in ‘burgers’. I don’t understand why its descender is so short.

For those of you that have been to Blanc, do you think their logo fits or would another style of typeface make sense?

Pratt Farms Truck I always wonder why people are not more...

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:56:04 -0500

Pratt Farms Truck

I always wonder why people are not more creative with what they paint on the side of their cargo trucks. I think it would be a lot more awesome to see a huge mural on the side of this with an eagle flying out of a cornfield with a lightning-bolt-filled sky rather than this very banal, uneven Helvetica (or is that the even-worse Arial?) ”Pratt Farms”.

I guess that’s why I’m not a farmer.

Everyone says that Danny Edwards’ Boulevard BBQ is one of...

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:59:00 -0500

Everyone says that Danny Edwards’ Boulevard BBQ is one of the better joints in Kansas City. But I have actually never seen this place open. Why is that?

Still, it’s hard to ignore the bold block letters that make up the entire back of the building…even from I-35. It makes me crave barbecue on the way to work. EVERY. DAY.