Comments on: Don’t Lean on Helvetica http://srobbin.com/blog/dont-lean-on-helvetica/ A variety of articles, projects and by web developer, Scott Robbin. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:26:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Andi http://srobbin.com/blog/dont-lean-on-helvetica/#comment-525 Andi Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:45:46 +0000 http://www.srobbin.com/?p=142#comment-525 I know that this post is old news but I didn't see any responses. (I must also admit that I'm not familiar with the inner workings of the NYC MTA...) That said, I did time in a university sign shop and suspect that one bureaucracy is much like the next. Those signs use 5 "o"s and 3 "n"s for each sign. Replacing the "o"s with zeros and modifying "r"s to make "n"s was almost certainly an attempt to use letters from each set which would have otherwise gone to waste. Other strategies include flipping "u"s to make "n"s and "p"s to make "d"s Most stock alphabet sticker sets come with 1 or 2 extra of each of the vowels. If you're using stock letter sets rather than cutting custom vinyl lettering for your signs, you learn all kinds of "tricks." I know that this post is old news but I didn’t see any responses. (I must also admit that I’m not familiar with the inner workings of the NYC MTA…) That said, I did time in a university sign shop and suspect that one bureaucracy is much like the next.

Those signs use 5 “o”s and 3 “n”s for each sign. Replacing the “o”s with zeros and modifying “r”s to make “n”s was almost certainly an attempt to use letters from each set which would have otherwise gone to waste. Other strategies include flipping “u”s to make “n”s and “p”s to make “d”s

Most stock alphabet sticker sets come with 1 or 2 extra of each of the vowels. If you’re using stock letter sets rather than cutting custom vinyl lettering for your signs, you learn all kinds of “tricks.”

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