Boulderspace Sign Series #1
Oct 31st, 2007 by smokeproof
Welcome to the first post of a new series here at Boulderspace, the intention of which is to highlight examples of unique and interesting signage in and around Boulder. Signs occupy a vital place in the public arena of a community, and it feels like less and less attention is being given to their design and integration into that place. As a designer, I’ve always been intrigued by the application of type, letterforms, and images into an environment, and how they guide the eye and present information while remaining essentially static. While many signs in Boulder have gone the way of the strip mall, there are still examples of good design on the walls and buildings of our town, and this new series is intended to highlight some local treasures. This is, of course, one person’s opinion, so feel free to comment, to criticize, and to suggest others which might (or might not) fit into this ongoing collection…
Mr. Pool
Tucked-away on South Street between Walnut and Pearl on Folsom, Mr. Pool is a supplier of pool, spa, and water feature products and services for Boulder County. A real utilitarian-feeling shop with a sweet xeriscape garden in front, Mr. Pool has been in Boulder since 1978. Their sign is a real gem, nested into the brick wall of the building with custom metal letterforms backlit with white neon. It’s a sign-painterly approach, with impefect, hand-welded letterforms, that has a mystique and evocative quality that’s hard to beat and rarely seen on local contemporary signage. Maybe it’s simply nostalgia, but I look for this sign every time I pass by the building.
I do think that the luminarias on top of the building are distracting, as they pull the eye from the sign by adding additional light of a different color, housed as they are in a random-feeling container. I also think there should have been more consideration given to the framing of the sign (the brick nesting is cool, but incomplete as it’s on three sides only, leaving the top exposed) and breathing room around the letterforms.
During daylight hours, the sign is a chameleon, and somewhat difficult to see at first; nighttime is when the full effect of the metal and neon can really be appreciated. So, next time you’re heading down Folsom, be sure to seek out this holdover from another era.