Neon Signs

Neon Signs


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To main­tain a curi­ous eye about the world, to look and attempt to decode the ter­rain around you is what sep­ar­ates a great designer from a mere ‘good’ one. That, at least, is what my old uni­ver­sity pro­fessor once told me, and it seemed like a sage morsel of wis­dom at the time. Still does. The world is awash with things to decode and con­tex­tu­al­ise, so, to take just one of them, and with our heads cocked quiz­zically to the side, let’s look at neon signs. Dazzling yet ubi­quit­ous, and pro­duced in a range of typo­graphic and illus­trat­ive styles, neon has been util­ized by advert­isers for dec­ades. It’s time for a fresh appraisal. (left) Image © Marc Wein­reich.

Substrates & Finish :: 3 of 3 :: Seven Sumptuous Substrates

Substrates & Finish :: 3 of 3 :: Seven Sumptuous Substrates


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One of the most reward­ing aspects of being a graphic designer is the sheer scale of gor­geous and tact­ile mater­i­als to work with and print on. There are dozens at your dis­posal, some in com­mon usage and oth­ers wait­ing to be dis­covered and put to graph­ical use by future pion­eers. Because of their widely diverse nature, sub­strates can be used to sug­gest all kinds of mean­ings and sig­nify all kinds of signs, from lux­ury and good taste right through to anarchy and rough­ness. Sub­strates help to rein­force the mes­sages you wish to com­mu­nic­ate. I’ve hand-picked seven of them for the last in our unashamedly image-teeming short series of art­icles on sub­strates and fin­ish. So without fur­ther ado…