Typography of Rome & A Happy Birthday to You!

Offset Type Stand near the Pantheon, 2009

Buon compleanno Roma!!! Happy Birthday Rome!!! Dear gosh look at how many wonderful birthdays we are celebrating this year! We have the twins to thank for finding this city over 2, 763 years ago today! If you don't know the story, here's a little synopsis of the ancient drama: Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of Rhea (the daughter of Numitor/ niece of Amulius -- the latter wanted her to become a Vestal Virgin in order to attain the family wealth). After the twins were born, Amulius left them to drown in the river. The two little tots were soon found by a she-wolf who cared for them (hence the she-wolf is the emblem of the city). Once older, they eventually killed Amulius so that their grandfather Numitor can restore the throne. Wanting to find a new city of their own -- that's when all the real drama began. Romulus favored to build on the Palatine Hill while Remus the Aventine Hill. Well, now there's no other way to put it -- bang bang, Remus is dead. Now you know why it's named ROME and not REM. Got it? Yikes.

 Now back to type....

Type: It consumes the world we live, without us even knowing it. Look around you, besides you, even under you -- you'll find it. It's everywhere. It's beautiful. Please appreciate it? I'm not sure why I'm so emotional these days, but it really breaks my heart knowing that some, well actually most people (dare I say it) -- do not care about type.  My duty to the world from here on in is: TO CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE!

I begin with Rome: where everything is more beautiful (partially bias oops). It by no means, is a design city -- but there is a personable quality about the signages that is quite remarkable. What am I talking about? Okay for instance, the local restaurants who still have their menus in hand written type and it somehow, in some strange way -- remains lovely.  Or what about the graffiti you hate to love? But it's so prevalent you cannot let it go unnoticed, like I said, even if you hate it.  Or better yet, the small time shops whose daily specials are hand written on the chalkboard near the store front? Am I the only person getting emotional right now? Does anyone find these treasures as sweet and beautiful as I?  If not, then everything in this gosh damn society is devalued.

Below are some photographs I took and have selected for this entry from my "Let's remember how happy I was in Rome" file. Sorry in advance if you feel like you are experiencing, first hand, my weekly Roman nostalgia sessions.

Enjoy!

Ponte Regina Margherita, 2009

2009

Piazza del Popolo, 2009

"Il futuro non e' piu' quello di una volta" -- "The future is not what it once was" 2009

Villa Borghese, 2009

A presto!
Mari

Illyissimo!

Illy truck driving in Astoria, 2011

Illy  Coffee -- my favorite. Illy Packaging -- also my favorite. I know, I know....I too see the trend in Italian design: throw in a red box, slab in some text -- voila! Just hear me out: Italians really do have a way with slogans and well in the end, the products pretty much outweigh all! Illy is a quintessential example of this: good, clean, fresh and fun design! Walking to the subway this morning, I was taken back by the magnitude of this illy truck you see up top. I couldn't let it slip away so I waved to the driver, asked him to stop the truck and stole a picture from my phone! I'm a sucker for pretty things -- and this, this was a pretty little monster truck. 

Some other fun slogans/design from illy include:

Subway add downtown -- how can you not love this? Get it? "Rome" the streets of New York! Heee hee hee!

Subway, 2011

Miss illy -- Creative Director at Barney's New York, Simon Doonan, took the current food culture theme and worked with illy on their window display using recycled tin and coffee to create the greatest holiday showcase thus far! Miss illy -- you go girl!

Miss illy, 2010

Till next time,

Mari