I just got back from Paris. I was intending to use this sketchbook to record the trip through drawings but considering there were 11 of us total, the freaks ran rampant among the city and the only thing I could do was accept it and leave my sketchbook in my hotel room.
I can't draw all the time, vacations included. I'm no machine, just a side show freak.
I did however soak up the city and collect tons of graphic design and typographic treats to tantalize your tiny eyes.
So come one, come all to La Cirque du Graphisme et Photographe!
First, we have to pay homage to the o.g. hand drawn typography found at the Louvre. The freaks did not like the Louvre. It was too big, too hot, too many tour groups, the Mona Lisa was too disappointing, and there wasn't a place to rest in sight.
I don't think this typography below was as old as Cuneiform, but it is a relative. I wonder if they kept diaries on stone slabs. Some lonely little girl of royal blood must of somewhere along the line made her slave carve her angst at some point. Maybe that's just my wishful thinking.
There was nice hand drawn typography sign-age inside Shakespeare & Co. Only a few freaks made into the small little building. Normally I enjoy the pleasures of the text, but that day I was too tired.
Four brave freaks saw the spectacle that was the Pompidou, Paris' contemporary art museum. Typography hanging from the ceiling in bright lights was superb, the audience was aghast in delight. Best show on Earth!
Everything was great until we entered a menagerie of feminist art. Imagine a scene where the main focal point was a nude crotch of a woman spinning a hoola hoop. That's when we fled. It was a bigger freak show than us.
Underground, the Paris Metro was safe and sound, and had great design.
Versailles was a beast. We met our match.
I love this girl's face because even though she dates back to the 18th century you know someone like her now. "Gurl, don't even. I grabbed those pantaloons first, they are the only size left and you better step off before I swing my satchel upside your head." You know, those types of girls.
In the end, the typographic scene in Paris was awesome. I'm happy I decided to focus my attention on the typography rather than getting that brilliant photo op or perfect rendering in a drawing. I've never gone on a trip and solely focused on design. It felt good. I may not have a photo I can hang of me standing in front of la Tour Eiffel, but I do have an image that says Genital Panic, and that's all a small little freak like me needs.
