[Detail from the box for a Cosco Open/Closed Sign, as seen at Staples.]
I glanced at the box and thought, My eyes . I can think of five possible explanations for the poor kerning:
1. The people who put together this sign didn’t know what they were doing.
2. The people who put together this sign knew what they were doing: making a homely, unintimidating sign.
3, 4, 5. The people who put together this sign were having a laugh at the company’s expense, the consumer’s expense, or both.
The killer detail is the upside-down S in PLEASE. Please!
If you’d like to improve your kerning skills, Kern Type is a fun (free) online game. Hint: with each word, you can adjust all letters but the first and last.
Related reading
All OCA signage posts (Pinboard)
[This post is for Daughter Number Three, who knows from kerning.]
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Bad kerning
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comments: 5
I miss bad homemade signs.
Hardly ever see them anymore, since the advent of desktop printers.
Even signs on telephone poles, for lost pets, look professional.
They’re more common here. Resale shops will often have sad-looking ones.
If I had to pick a favorite sign, it would be this one from a collectibles shop in Spokane, Washington:
https://contrapuntalism.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/hours.jpg
: )
Oh, the upside-down S. So charming!
I love a handmade sign, even if it's handmade with plastic letters pushed into fabric backing.
The "professional-looking" signs made by amateurs with their computers are sometimes the worst of all.
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