Qs / Vol. 19 / August 4 - August 10

The top 15 out of a 31-quip week.

A = Authors | C = Community

A / No. 10 / Armin / I ♥ logos with ♥s.

C / No. 7 / Billy Carlson / Really cool signage system.

A / No. 15 / Armin / Postcode is the best free typeface based on a 1978 Dutch postage stamp. Ever. [Via Grain Edit]

C / No. 8 / Niki / Apparently I've been living under a rock. How did I not know there was a Graphic Design Forum? (slapping forehead...)

C / No. 6 / Diane / Safety Slogan Signs. They can be customized too!!!

A / No. 12 / Armin / Fun with Letraset. [Via TypeNeu]

C / No. 9 / Sander / A photo showcase of typeface FF Meta in your everyday life. Take a look around you... Did you have your Meta today?

A / No. 14 / Armin / Water bottles like you've never seen them, almost as objects of art in these beautiful photographs. [Via SwissMiss]

A / No. 1 / Armin / Clever print ad "The Most Dangerous Species in the Mediterranean" including the condom, the trash bag and the cigarette butt.

A / No. 16 / Armin / A convoluted publicity stunt to announce the launch of a new car in London. [Via DirectDaily]

A / No. 2 / Joe Marianek / "Twenty-three-year-old Louis Deenan, undeniably the most detestable, loathsome individual ever to walk the earth, willfully decided Monday to devote his miserable life and all of its awful ambitions to the field of marketing," reports the Onion. [via Kottke]

C / No. 13 / Chad K / We have seen the MADrid logo, but your haven't seen anger until you have checked out these other spanish logos. [via Coudal]

C / No. 4 / Able Parris / August desktop is here. Is summer really almost over? :(

C / No. 15 / Chad K / Evolution of the Olympic Torch. A must see from the NYTimes

C / No. 12 / Tim Belonax / Contentment: now in a can!

I find the "Really Cool Signage System" to be really, really bad in terms of design solving real world problems. For someone in a moving car, signs should be obvious. Furthermore, seeing these signs at the proper perspective might be somewhat disorienting for someone who is, again, driving a moving car. Not to mention unreadable from every other direction. I can't believe this is being touted on various websites as great design. It's horrible design.

and what does "cool" have to do with "good?"

I'd just like to point out that the "cool signage" might not be as big of a problem as you think because people drive so slowly in a parking garage and a good portion of the navigation is really on foot.

So this design has the cultural value of smoking? It's cool but bad. I can buy that . . . intriguing to see but potentially dangerous to your health.

I can imagine myself late for an appointment, trying to navigate the parking garage and having to experience the 'cool' perspective trickery, while pulling my hair out. It probably wouldn't slow me down much because it's somewhat legible, but it's just the idea of making navigation more confusing that doesn't make sense. I think it could be much better, taken much further in the form of a gallery installation.

Remember what Sagmeister did with the toilet paper in the trees? That was super cool, but imaging having to read that lettering to find the bathroom in an airport.