Friday, January 8, 2010

Separated at Birth: OTB Signs




Pr*tty
I’m a huge fan of these old-school, super simple signs that you see all around the city. (Stuff like this is what inspired Gotham.) Here the ratio of stroke-weight to depth is especially handsome, even if the OTB is a den of inequity.

Sh*tty
Why must this be so complicated? It’s three words and a logo, and I have no idea where to look first. And would it have killed them to include an actual circle in their thinking behind this? Although that shape around the word “circle” makes me think of the classic Chicago eatery the Weiner’s Circle.

5 comments:

  1. the green not-a-circle is shaped like a horse track. we could pretend that was intentional.

    the pr*tty one is shockingly gorgeous. it looks like the letters have replaced another sign so is this new signage for the same business?

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  2. Just a note: 'inequity' means a lack of equality or justice; unfairness.

    You meant 'iniquity', which means unrighteousness, wickedness, sin.

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  3. I wish I could say I spelled it incorrectly on purpose, as a sort of play on words (easy enough to argue that the OTB is also about inequity), but alas, it was just a plain ol' misspelling. Thanks for the note.

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  4. the pr*tty one is great. i am in la more than ny, and i love how they have so much late 50's (early 60's?) style like this out there, too.

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  5. I don't know. That neon is pretty old-school, too.

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