tipografía público. TY PO G R APH Y O F AU TH EN TI C M E XI CA N RE S TA U RA N T S
table of contents uno. INTRODUCCIÓN
dos. EN MÉXICO
tres. ROTULOS: Tipografía pintados a mano
cuatro. COMPUTADORAS: Tipografía hecha a máquina
by Megan Clark
uno. INTRODUCCIĂ“N
driving around in the city, I FEEL AS IF I AM CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY mass-produced, man made signage and typography. However, an instant change occurs once you drive into a predominantly Mexican-American community. Brightly colored, large scale, hand painted lettering adorns restaurant and shop windows and walls. The typography is richly textured from the surfaces they are painted on, and from the distress of the elements.
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mi experiencia. THE TYPOGRAPHY ON AUTHENTIC Mexican restaurants is quite memorable. It’s bright colors makes it stand out amongst it’s surroundings. To take my photos, I took several trips to the Mexican-American communities in Wichita, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. In those areas, I found myself immersed in a cultural experience.
IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY OFF OF Southwest Blvd. there is a small strip of Mexican shops, restaurants and grocery markets. The storefronts are all painted bright, vivid colors.
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SPANISH TILES ARE A DECORATIVE ELEMENT I NOTICED ON MANY OF THE MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IN KANSAS CITY. THIS EMBELLISHMENT, ALONG WITH THE TYPOGRAPHY CREATES A CULTURAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE RESTAURANTS AND THE OWNERS’ MEXICAN HERITAGE.
en espa単ol NOT ONLY DOES THE TYPOGRAPHY SPEAK TO traditional Mexican styles, but the entire environment screams Mexico. The buildings were painted bright colors. The surfaces of the walss are highly textured and distressed. Mexican flags fly, red, green and white banners are strung across windows, Spanish tiles border windows, and murals of Mexican history cover walls. Each location has an eclectic mix of handpainted signs and computer generated type, giving each location a unique personality. Most of the words are in Spanish, and most of the people around me were speaking Spanish. I almost felt like I was in another country.
The smell of fried tortillas and fresh taco meat filled the air, awakening my senses. The typography contributed to creating this culturally rich atmosphere. These areas became a small Mexico City, in the heart of these Midwest American cities.
AT TACOS EL TAPATILLO IN WICHITA the typography painted on the windows is a mixture of Spanish and English. The painter used bright contrasting colors which enlivens the space.
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MURALS THAT DEPICT MEXICAN c u l t u re o f t e n c o m p l i m e n t h a n d painted typography. Here at Margarita’s in Wichita, Kansas, a brightly covered mural covers a 50 foot wall on the side of the restaurant.
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MANY OF THE AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RESTAURANTS OCCUPY BUILDINGS WITH HIGHLY TEXTURED STUCCO, BRICK OR STONE WALLS. THESE TEXTURES ADD CHARACTER TO THE ROTULOS PAINTED ON THEM, BY DISTRESSING THE PAINT.
“HAND PAINTED SIGNS GRACE THE BUILDINGS IN EVERY TOWN AND CITY.” YUCATAN LIVING
by Megan Clark
dos. EN MÉXICO
celebrating a culture. THE TYPOGRAPHIC DESIGN, OF THE AUTHENTIC Mexican restaurants, reflects the typographic style of traditional Mexican culture. By recreating this style in America, the Mexican-American restaurateurs are sharing and honoring their rich cultural heritage.
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“THE REAL GEMS ARE THE SIGNS AND DRAWINGS CREATED FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT THRIVE IN THESE CITIES.” WORKING GRINGOS
THE DYING ART OF ROTULOS
mexico to america. IN MEXICO, THESE HAND PAINTED SIGNS ARE
the rotulistas paint, have become an integral part
called rotulos. The painters of the rotulos are called
of the cultural and physical landscape of cities in
rotulistas, sign painters. Their craft is a form of
Mexico. This landscape is now being reflected in
traditional guild, where they learn their techniques
urban Mexican-American communities across
as an apprentice to a professional painter or a fam-
the United States. By painting the typography on
ily member. Bold colors, thick san serif letters, drop
the Mexican restaurants in America, the owners
shadows and colorful strokes around letters, are
and painters are not only enriching the language
characteristic qualities of the rotulos. Often times,
and text but also reinvigorating and celebrating
the rotulos have painted illustrations that compli-
the traditional rotulo art form.
ment the lettering. The large brightly colored signs
THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN MEXICO by Megan Clark, from Clark & Co. design firm in Washington. The letters have a drop shadow very similar to many of the hand-painted signs of the authentic Mexican restaurants in America.
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The rotulos in Mexico have the same handmade quality of the signs in America. The letters are textured from the brush strokes and the distress from the elements.
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“HAND PAINTED SIGNS GRACE THE BUILDINGS IN EVERY TOWN AND CITY.” YUCATAN LIVING
by Megan Clark
tres. ROTULOS
tipografĂa pintados a mano. THE HAND PAINTED TYPOGRAPHY ON THE AUTHENTIC Mexican restaurants has a style reflective of the traditional rotulos in Mexico. The style is honest and embodies the authentic personalities of the restaurant owners and the Mexican-American community as a whole.
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The walls of Angela’s Cafe, on Central and Washington in Wichita, Kansas, are covered with hand-painted typography. They list the menu items, specials and business hours. At Angela’s Cafe, the painted signs are in Spanish and English.
BIENVENIDOS, TACOS, FLAUTAS, CALDO DE REZ & CALDO DE POLLO, FAJITAS, CHILES RELLENOS, MENUDO, TORTILLERIA, MARISCOS, CARNITAS, CARNICERIA, SABADO Y DOMINGO
The front of authentic Mexican restaurants feature hand painted words, listing menu items, special features and business hours. The words are in Spanish or English or a combination of both.
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THE HAND PAINTED ROTULOS EVEN APPEAR ON FOOD TRUCKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THIS TRUCK’S TYPOGRAPHY IS COMPLIMENTED BY ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE FOOD THEY SELL.
LA TRADICION, ON NORTH Broadway in Wichita, Kansas uses
hand painted typogra-
phy on their front windows to advertise their lunch buffet. The typography is painted in a clean mono-weight, san-serif. The letters have bold outlines and drop shadows. The bright complimentary colors produce a stark contrast, that makes the type stand out from the surface it is painted on.
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drop shadows & outlines. THE PAINTERS OF THE ROTULOS ON THE AUTHENTIC Mexican restaurants use bright, vivid colors. Blue, greens, pinks, reds, yellows and oranges. Basically every bright color imaginable. The typography tends to be either a simple, clean, mono-weight san serif, or a clean cursive font. One feature that always appeared on the hand painted type, is the use of a colorful thick outline around the letters, or a colorful drop shadow behind the letters. This gives the type a playful almost cartoon strip quality.
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“THEIR IMPOSING SIZE AND CHROMATIC INTENSITY HAVE BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.” PATRICIA CÚE
VISUAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS IN GRAPHIC DESIGN.
beautiful f laws SINCE THESE HAND PAINTED SIGNS ARE
All of these beautiful flaws, give the authentic
painted on sides of buildings, old wood, or win-
Mexican restaurants the essence of actually being in
dows, they pick up the texture of their surfaces.
Mexico. The hand-rendered ritulos create a tra-
The brush strokes leave a linear texture through
ditional Mexican American community, giving the
each individual letter. They also gain more char-
owners, neighbors and customers an authentic taste
acter from the distress of the outdoors. The rain,
of Mexican culture.
snow, and wind make the paint chip and scrape and the sun causes certain colors to fade.
TA C O S E L TAPATILLO O N NORTH Broadway in Wichita, Kansas has hand painted typography on every window of the restaurant. The letters are textured from the paintbrush strokes and distressed from the elements.
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THE HAND-PAINTED ROTULOS ON THE AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IS CONSIDERED VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY.
“THE CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATION OF VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY SEEMS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS ANYTHING THAT IS HAND-DONE OR HAS A HAND-DONE LOOK” PAUL TOSH
THE UNCULTURED WORD
“FREQUENTLY, VERNACULAR SIGNAGE AND TYPOGRAPHY IS AS MUCH A CRAFT AS IT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN, WITH THE CREATOR USING WHATEVER MATERIALS ARE AT HAND, EVEN RE-USING AND OVER-PAINTING OLD SIGNAGE.” PAUL TOSH
THE UNCULTURED WORD
re-use & over-painting MANY OF THE SIGNS ON AND AROUND the restaurants I explored re-used materials to make new signage. Often times, restaurants manipulated old signage from other restaurants to make it their own. This makes the restaurant appear handmade, just like the food they serve.
AT EL ROTESSERIE THE OWNERS advertised a special with a hand painted sign constructed out of leftover sheets of plywood.
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“HAND PAINTED SIGNS GRACE THE BUILDINGS IN EVERY TOWN AND CITY.” YUCATAN LIVING
by Megan Clark
cuatro. COMPUTADORAS
tipografĂa hecha a mĂĄquina. OUTSIDE OF MEXICAN RESTAURANTS THERE are not only hand painted and hand written typography but also computer generated signage. This can range from signs printed on paper to plastic and neon signs. With an increase in access to computers and printers, more and more signs for Mexican restaurants are being created by machine instead of painted by a rotulista. Therefore when walking down a street, you will typically see Mexican restaurants with an eclectic mix of hand painted typography and digitally made typography.
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LA TRADICIÓN TORTILLERIA ON NORTH BROADWAY IN WICHITA, Kansas has three different computer made signs that clearly were used for previous restaurants. The neon ‘Restaurant’ sign and the flashing arrow, look like they came from a 1950’s diner. The main sign looks like a pagoda roof from an Asian restaurant that used to occupy the space. The owners of La Tradición are making do with what they have, which adds character to the space.
a reminder of the past. Often times the computer generated typography, that is written in English, is clearly left from a previous restaurant. The owners of the Mexican restaurants decided not to remove it, most likely because of financial reasons.
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I HAVE EATEN AT CONNIE’S MEXICO CAFE IN WICHITA, KANSAS since I was a little girl. They have the best beef enchiladas in town. I have always admired the beautiful red neon sign that hangs above the entry door. The pop of color stands out amongst the gray railway cars and grain elevators across the street. This sign exhibits similar qualities found in the rotulos, a clean cursive typeface and a mono-weight sanserif typeface.
past meets present. WHAT I FIND FASCINATING ARE THE DIFFERENT typographic decisions the owners of the authentic Mexican restaurants make. Some only have hand painted and written typography. Others have both computer and hand generated. None of the authentic locations I photographed only had computer made typography. I think this shows how despite some interest in the convenience of plastic or computer made signage, all of the owners still wanted to represent their Mexican culture through the rotulos.
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THE ASSORTED MIX OF HAND-RENDERED AND COMPUTER GENERATED TYPOGRAPHY REFLECTS THE AUTHENTIC, HANDMADE QUALITY OF THE FOOD, AND THE COMMUNAL, LOCAL, TRADITIONAL AND HONEST NATURE OF THE OWNERS.
illuminating the landscape WHEN I SEE THE MEXICAN HAND PAINTED LETTERING in the bright festive colors, I immediately assume that restaurant has delicious authentic food. I assume their is a sense of the Mexican community within, and that most of the diners are Mexican, or Americans who appreciate the exploration of other cultures' foods. I find the hand painted typography absolutely beautiful, a work of art, and a breath of fresh air among the cheap plastic signage flooding the street corners. Especially in the lower income areas, filled with old buildings, often decaying or in bad repair, the bright colors illuminate the landscape and invite the customer into the restaurant and into the community.
THE VIBRANT GREEN, RED AND GOLD OF THE HAND PAINTED LETTERS ON EL RANCHO, GIVES LIFE TO THIS INDUSTRIAL AREA OF TOWN IN WICHITA, THE COLORS ILLUMINATE THE DREARY LANDSCAPE.
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sharing their culture THE CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY living within the typography of these authentic restaurants, not only shows the owners’ pride for their traditional culture and heritage, but gives us a look at the community as a whole. The owners create an atmosphere, a sense of place, and a community where Mexicans feel connected to their heritage.
The owners transform old gray buildings into richly colorful and charming destinations. This atmosphere is created by the authentic quality of the food, the decor, the handwritten signs, the old signage from previous restaurants and the hand painted colorful signage on the outside of the buildings.
The owners of these Mexican restaurants are not only making a business doing what they know best, making delicious Mexican food, but they are also sharing their culture through the colorful, energetic environment they create through their vivid typography.
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credits This book was typeset in Belizio and Avenir. It was designed in Adobe Indesign and the photos were edited in Adobe Photoshop. The photos were shot with a Nikon D3000. A special thanks to Megan Clark from the design firm Clark & Co in Vancouver Washington. Megan kindly let me use the photos she took in Mexico on pages 18 – 25. Designer as Author, Patrick Dooley, Fall 2011 The University of Kansas SOURCES Baines, Phil, and Catherine Dixon. Signs Lettering in the Environment. London: Laurence King Pub., 2008. Web. Cue, Patricia. "Designers and Non-Designers: Visual Diversity and Inclusiveness in Graphic Design." AIGA Responsibility Conference. AIGA, 2010. Gringos, Working. "Yucatan Living » Art » The Dying Art of Rotulos." Yucatan Living. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.yucatanliving.com/art/rotulos-paintingmexican-art.htm>. Tosh, Paul. "The Uncultured Word: Vernacular Typography and Image." (2007).
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