X P L O R E
T YPOGRAPHY INSPIRATIONS IN THRIFT STORES
xplore An experimental typography journal of my experience of finding inspirations in thrift stores.
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X PI L nO t rRoEd u c t i o I nn t r o d u c t i o n
The Idea Behind
Thrift stores are one of my favorites places. I love the feeling of walking into a thrift store, not knowing what to expect, but still certainly expecting something—and never get disappointed. As a graphic designer, I believe that inspirations can come from any place, as long as you open up your eyes and pay a little bit more attention to the world around you. However, I gradually feel like I’m just collecting things without further thinking or interpretation. I collect things like brochures, business cards, flyers, postcards, etc., I took pictures of them, and that’s it. Many of these things end up in my “treasure box” and are then forgotten. Realizing this problem, I decided to challenge myself to document my findings in a more appropriate way, and more importantly, to interpret the objects with my own design. Thus, I made this experimental typography journal about my findings in thrift stores.
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The Contents Within This book is divided by my visits to four different thrift stores and creative reuse centers. For each section, I included a short introduction to the store and two of my findings there. I documented reasons why I found the object was inspiring, in terms of typography design, and used the same or most similar fonts to replicate the design on the original pieces, but in a more experimental way. I also included the names of the fonts and their designers for reference, as well as tiny bits of background information about the actual objects, such as the manufacturers.Â
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X PTLa Ob Rl eE o f C oT n a tbel n e t os f C o n t e n t s
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East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
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SCRAP
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3 The Salvation Army
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Family Store
4 Community Thrift Store
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T ime I sp ent there
04/22/2018 1:00 pm–3:30 pm
Traf f ic
Uber Pool 94115–94609
creativereuse.org 510–547–6470
East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
4695 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA
East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse was initially recommended to me by one of my instructors and became one of my favorite spots for inspiration since then. This place is really chaotic and dusty, so be prepared to get your hands dirty and take allergy pills ahead if you have a sensitive nose.
For over 30 years the East Bay Depot for Creative
Nothing is really expensive here. This might
Reuse (“The Depot”) has been a leading pioneer in
look like a no-brainer, but it is worth
the field of reuse.
emphasizing. I’ve already given up checking prices here, especially for any printrelated things, such as photos, postcards, and stickers. They always charge less than you expected, so consider rounding up your bill to support them.
The Depot’s primary activities involve collecting discarded materials by donation from businesses, manufacturers, and the general public, keeping the materials out of the landfill, and offering them for sale in the Depot Store. The Depot Store diverts over 200 tons of reusable material from the landfills each year. The Depot also provides ecological arts and crafts activities for public school students, recreation programs, and community events through their Special Events.
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1 East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
This card was screaming for my attention. I expected to see “Hey” or “Hello” before I unfolded it, but apparently, I was wrong.
Head Head Head Grandee CP
by Claude Pelletier
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Birthday Card with Giant Types
D e signe d by Gill Fishman for Rainb ow World Inc . .in 19 8 0
I like how the bigger types are dominating but still leave a space to breathe. The rotated lines of smaller types nicely echo the end of ascender in the lowercase d. The font originally has a diamond-shaped period, as shown in the subhead, but the designer made a round period for the heading, which I think is a smart treatment that prevents the period from getting too much attention because of its sharp angles.
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1  East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
This product package from Kleer-Fax Inc. looks surprisingly modern to me with its clear sans-serif types and duotone palatte.
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QUALITY Franklin Gothic
by Morris Fuller Benton
MAK-UR-OWN ÂŽ Index Tabs
Pro duce d by Kle er- Fax Inc . Made in U. S . A .
Franklin Gothic is frequently seen in 20th century’s advertisements, newspapers and textbooks in th U.S. but an outlined version of it was less common. I think it delivers an approachable feeling. I also like the use of columns in the design. The contents are well-balanced and look cohesive. The limited use of color also helps.
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XPLORE
2 Scrap: A Source for The Resourceful
T ime I sp ent there
04/25/2018 1:00 pm–3:00 pm
Traf f ic
Uber Pool 94115–94124
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Scrap is a non-profit creative reuse center,
Since 1976, Scrap have made affordable supplies
materials depot, and workshop space founded in
available to teachers, artists, community
1976 in San Francisco, California. Scarp breathes
organizations, and others in San Francisco and
new life into old arts and crafts supplies and
throughout the Bay Area. This includes over
reduces waste by diverting over 200 tons of mate-
$75,000/yr worth of classroom supplies provided
rials heading to landfill every year.
to teachers at monthly Free Teacher’s Giveaways.
www.scrap-sf.org 415–647–1746
SCRAP: A Source for The Resourceful
801 Toland St. San Francisco, CA
Scrap claims to be the first creative reuse center in the Bay Area. This is my first time visiting Scrap and I just wondered how could I have never visited this place before. Thanks to its huge storage space, Scrap holds a much wider range of things compared to The Depot. This is literally a warehouse full of all kinds of materials that you could ever imagine.
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XPLORE
404 中黄
MEDIUM YELLOW
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Futura
太ゴB101
by Paul Renner
by モリサワ
603
The spacing between all the Roman letters are not the best but the hierarchy in types works great here.
Japanese Color Guide
Dainipp on Ink & Chemicals , Inc .
大日本インキ化学工業株式会社
As a Chinese designer, I have to work on projects including two different languages every now and then. Thus, I’m always interested in learning how to better pair Chinese fonts with Roman script fonts. There are probably countless nice examples online but I still find this 1970s’ Japanese color guidebook inspiring. Not only does the boldest type look very cohesive, but the contrast between the upper and lower level texts is also well-handled.
紺
藍 BRONZE BLUE 15
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2  Scrap: A Source for The Resourceful
Helvetica Neue by Max Miedinger
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Christmas Paper Box Holiday goods and party accessories are often filled with script fonts and decorative fonts, which is why I think the design on this little paper box is relatively unique. Yes, it is still in red and green like all the other Christmas products but the closely kerned capital letters create an eye-catching pattern and make the somewhat clichÊd palette no longer boring. I also like the smart use of Santa Claus’s laughter. There is certainly a sense of humor within the design.
Pro duce d by A ms can Inc . Made in U. S . A .
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XPLORE
3 The Salvation Army Family Store
T ime I sp ent there
04/22/2018 3:20 pm–4:00 pm
Traf f ic
Uber Pool 94124–94110
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The Salvation Army Family Store satruck.org
Compared to creative reuse centers like
415–401–0698
The Depot and SCRAP, where you can find all kinds of materials donated by different manufacturers, The Salvation Army Family Store is really just a thrift store. They have several different locations in town and sell mostly furniture, housewares, and clothing. I admit that this is not the best place to look for design inspirations. However, I was surprised that they had a nice stock of CDs and vinyl records, so I just spent most of my time there checking out album covers that were intriguing to me.
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. 1500 Valencia St. San Francisco, CA
When you donate goods to The Salvation Army, those items are then sold at their Family Stores. And the proceeds are used to fund Adult Rehabilitation Centers, where those struggling with drugs and alcohol find help, hope, and a second chance at life.
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3  The Salvation Army Family Store
WO RL
D Dire c te d by Fre d S eager
St. Augustine Choir Christmas Album This Christmas album cover looks almost like a modern graphic design piece about architecture. The simplicity of it immediately grabbed my attention. The use of half-tone and straight hash lines brought variability to the design. To me, even the not-so-nicely-done black letters are adding an extra flavor to it.
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Alte Haas Grotesk by Yann Le Coroller
Alte Haas Grotesk is a free typeface designed in 2007 that replicates the look of printed types in an old Josef Muller-Brockmann book. There are both likes and hates to this font. It successfully delivers the retro look and works fairly well in both large and small sizes, but its kerning is not that satisfying and the rough edges might be too much for some people’s liking.
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3  The Salvation Army Family Store
A rrange d by B ernard K rainis Releas e d in 19 6 5
RECORD 22
RE
The Virtuoso Recorder The repeating illustrations on the cover
The font used in the title has extreme
made me notice this album. I really like how
contrast in strokes—a typical characteristic
the designer made the biggest illustration in
of typefaces classified as Didone. The digital
white versus having all three of them in
revival of this font, DietDidot, has a much
dark color. I can almost hear the rhythm of
curvier tail in capital R, comparing to other
ECORD
the music when I look at the cover.
Didot revivals.
DietDidot
This typeface was designed in 2006 based on Didot
by Alexey Chekulaev
by Firmin Didot, 1799.
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4  Community Thrift Store
communitythriftsf.org 415–861–4910
Community Thrift Store T ime I sp ent there
04/22/2018 5:00 pm–6:30 pm
Traf f ic
Walking 1500–623 Valencia Street
It’s really hard to miss Community Thrift
Community Thrift Store, founded in 1982,
Store when you’re walking on Valencia Street.
is a non-profit organization that works with over
Even though it is located in an already
200 Bay Area charities. They accept donations
colorful Latino neighborhood, the strikingly
on behalf of their charity partners, sell the items
bright pink paint on the wall managed
in store, and then disburse the proceeds.
to pop out the buildings. This is also where I talked the most with
Their shopping offers an eclectic mix of items ranging from rare, antique and collectible to
other customers, or to be more precise,
danish modern and mid-century, not to mention
people talked to me the most. The vibe here
unbeatable prices on the necessities.
is just perfect. In my opinion, compared to other chain thrift stores, Community Thrift Store is unique as it has a distinctive character.
623 Valencia St. San Francisco, CA
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4  Community Thrift Store
Futura by Paul Renner
Manuf ac ture d by Rex Game s , Inc . Inspire d by ancient Chine s e tangram puz zle
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Even though I like the idea of the original design, it seems a little bit overdone. What if I keep the gap in only one letter?
Tangoes Ž The Puzzle Game Since this game involves using geometric shapes to form different images, I think that using a geometric sans serif to design the logotype is a wise decision. The treatments on the types also successfully deliver the look and feel of the actual game. You almost feel like you can recreate the letterforms if you’re allowed to close the gaps within them. However, I found out that the manufacturer has changed the logotype to a rounded sans serif which I guess is Helvetica Rounded. The new design probably makes the product looks more kid-friendly and the letters easier to recognize, but I would prefer the unique old design.
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This is not Helvetica. Or Helvetica Neue. XPLORE
4 Community Thrift Store
Map of San Francisco And The Upper Peninsula
When I picked up this map, I thought it was set in Helvetica, which didn’t stop me
from getting this map because I like how different levels of information are separated
by sizes and opacity in the design. To be honest, I find this map easier to read than many recent maps on the market. Copyrighte d © 19 93 by T homas B ro s . Map s Dis tribute d by the Greater S an Francis co A s s o ciation of RE A LTORS®
I have to admit that I was surprised to find so many typefaces similar to the one being actually used, but without Helvetica in them. This experience is a great reminder of the fact that not all the Neue grotesque out there are either Helvetica or Univers.
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Europa Grote sk
Helvetica Neue
San Francisco San Francisco
Europa Grotesk by Scangraphic
Oops.
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X EP n Ld ON R oE t e s
End Notes
“Typography gets your hands dirty.” “Literally.”
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Thoughts
I was born and raised in a country where “thrift store“ is an unfamiliar concept to the public. But I fell in love with the idea ever since I was introduced to it. Thrifting is good for the environment. It’s good for taxpayers. It’s good for people who want to save some money. And most importantly, it’s just fun. During the process of making this book, I feel like I can turn this exercise into a long-term practice, rather than some work I did only for this particular project. I’m looking forward to creating more typography exercise pieces in the future.
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4 XP E Ln Od R EN o t e s
Designed by Yijing Yan for GR613: Experimental Typography at Academy of Art University Typeset in Mrs Eaves XL and Montserrat. Printed and hand bound in San Francisco. ©2018
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THX FOR RE ADING!
T YPOGR APHY INSPIR ATIONS IN THRIF T S TORES