The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway

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There is a commonly held belief that Helvetica is the signage typeface of the New York City subway system, a belief reinforced by Helvetica, Gary Hustwit’s popular 2007 documentary about the typeface. But it is not true—or rather, it is only somewhat true. Helvetica is the official typeface of the MTA today, but it was not the typeface specified by Unimark International when it created a new signage system at the end of the 1960s. Why was Helvetica not chosen originally? What was chosen in its place? Why is Helvetica used now, and when did the changeover occur? To answer those questions this essay explores several important histories: of the New York City subway system, transportation signage in the 1960s, Unimark International and, of course, Helvetica. These four strands are woven together, over nine pages, to tell a story that ultimately transcends the simple issue of Helvetica and the subway.

via AIGA | The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway

Lisbon in (iPhone) Pictures

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Reblogged from Ryan Markel:

I spent this past weekend in Lisbon visiting colleagues and friends and attending the first-ever WordCamp Lisboa, which was a very nice event. I was able to meet and greet with the Lisbon WordPress community for the second year in a row (familiar faces!) and help a few folks at the Happiness Bar between talks. I love Lisbon and was delighted to return there. It was amazing to see this community that has grown from a handful of people we invited to a get-together at our Happiness meetup last year to a …

Back to School at Cantina da Estrela « André Ribeirinho’s Blog

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One of the first interesting things about Cantina da Estrela is the fact that you can decide how much the food and the service are worth and (sorf of) pay the bill based on that. In reality you actually have a lower and a upper limit between which you can choose to pay based on your appreciation. Since all of the restaurant employees come from the Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo de Lisboa (Lisbon’s School of Hospitality), this gives you (and them) a way to continuously evaluate their work. It’s a clever (and attention grabbing) idea that I think should be applied in other restaurants.

Back to School at Cantina da Estrela « André Ribeirinho’s Blog.

(This used to be my High Schoo buildingl, now converted to a boutique hotel!)