Ramiro Chaves

Loving these photos of vintage signage by photographer Ramiro Chaves. Via Designworklife.

Dana Tanamachi

Amazing type and signage created in chalk by Dana Tanamachi.

Vintage!

Several great Flickr sets of vintage packaging, advertising and signage from Roadside Pictures.

TypArchive

TypArchive is an image library primarily focused on hand painted signage. The objective is to amass a comprehensive global collection of a high-quality images and produce hard-copy volumes. Via Swiss Legacy.

Jay B Sauceda

Amazing photos of hand-painted signage by Austin photographer and co-founder of Public School Jay B Sauceda.

Fabio Zanino

Deconstructing and repositioning recycled signage, Fabio Zanino creates these stunning sculptures.

Coney Island's Wonderful Weirdness

On my recent visit to NYC, I was reminded of the amazing handmade vernacular that is prevalent throughout what is this modern city, especially in places like the quickly-disappearing Coney Island. From reclaimed materials to hand-painted signs to graffiti and well-worn, antique textures, Coney Island is a treasure-trove of handmade design from times past. While it may have seen better days, and may even cease to exist in the near future, there are thankfully a number of photographers, both amateur and professional, documenting the weirdness that is Coney Island. Check out a few of such artists here.

It's Abandonment Day at The Best Part!!

Only here could you find a day's posts organized around such a gloomy theme. I know, however, that there are others out there who find such things beautiful in a slightly strange, yet nostalgic way. So without further adieu...

We start today's theme with the collection of the Buchstaben Museum, Berlin's Museum of Letters. Literally, it's a fantastic collection of type in signage form from Berlin and around the world. Via Core77.

Utilitarian Beauty

The Journal of Urban Typography documents signs, word fragments, and typography created with utilitarian intent in urban environments.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs...

As you may or may not know, I'm a fan of all things old or abandoned, especially when it comes to signage. You'll understand my excitement then, when I discovered the work of photographer Charles Blackburn and his Flickr site. He has a number of sets dedicated to antique signage, abandoned buildings and other such beautiful subjects, all for my viewing pleasure.

Old Vegas

There are many, many places that I haven't been and would love to visit. Las Vegas isn't one of them.

I envision elderly human smokestacks parked at slot machines, praying for either death or the big jackpot to take them away, families with their screeching offspring barrelling up and down the halls of my hotel one hour after I've finally gone to sleep in a drug-and-alcohol-induced haze, and a Disney-esque, cleaned-up version of what was once the greatest adult playground in the country.

The only thing I could see myself enjoying in Vegas would have been the YESCO Las Vegas Boneyard. This is the junkyard where they kept the old signs from now-destroyed or updated hotels and casinos. These are the signs that were glowing outside the window when Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano were deciding who needed an "offer they can't refuse", and the Rat Pack was performing downstairs.

The boneyard has since been converted into a museum (??correct me if I'm wrong), which just doesn't seem like it would have the same mystique as something called a "boneyard". Luckily, I can still see the old version by visiting this great Flickr set. The photographer has some other great sets as well, most dealing with the concept of abandoned spaces. I don't know how my obsession with abandoned places and old signs began, but I'm definitely getting my fix here. Thanks "Lost America"!