By: Kelly Ludwig

Location: USA, North America

Resource Type: Image collection

Big chains with their standardized, generic, cheap plastic and vinyl signs have taken over the landscape, and our unique sense of place quickly fading. Local signs, aka vernacular typography, give a person a sense of the regional identity and heritage. It forms the local dialect or visual language of the region. Often hand-lettered or hand-crafted (like neon), it imprints onto your brain the memory of the time and place. While most commercial vernacular typography is quickly fading from the landscape, there are glimmers of hope with the resurgence of mural art.