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tipografía público. Typography of auThenTic Mexican resTauranTs

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table of contents

uno.

INTRODUCCION

dos.EN MÉXICO

tres.ROTULOS: Tipografía pintados a mano

cuatro.COMPUTADORAS: Tipografía hecha a máquina

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by Megan Clark

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inTroDuccion

uno.

driving around in the city, i feel as if i aM consTanTly surrounDeD by

mass-produced, man made signage and typography.

However, an instant change typically occurs once

you drive into a predominantly Mexican-American

community. Brightly colored, large scale, handpaint-

ed lettering adorns restaurant and shop windows

and walls. The typography is richly textured from

the surfaces they are painted on, and from

the distress of the elements.

mi experiencia. The Typography on auThenTic

Mexican restaurants is quite memorable,

it’s bright colors makes it stand out

amongst it’s surroundings. To take

my photos, I took several trips to

the Mexican-American communities

in Wichita, Kansas, and Kansas City,

Missouri. In those areas, I found myself

emmersed in a cultural experience.

IN DOwNTOwN KaNsas CITy Off Of

southwest Blvd. there is a small strip of

Mexican shops, restaurants and grocery

markets. The storefronts are all painted

bright, vivid colors.

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spanish Tiles are a DecoraTiVe eleMenT

i noTiceD on Many of The Mexican resTauranTs

in Kansas ciTy. This eMbellishMenT, along wiTh

The Typography creaTes a culTural

connecTion beTween The resTauranTs anD

The owners Mexican heriTage.

en españolnoT only DiD The Typoraphy speaK To

traditional Mexican styles, but the entire environ-

ment screamed Mexico. The buildings were painted

bright colors. The surfaces of walls were highly

textured and distressed. Mexican flags flew, red,

green and white banners were strung across

windows, spanish tiles bordered windows,

and murals of Mexican history covered walls.

Each location had an ecclectic mix of hand-

painted signs and computer generated

type, giving each location unique character.

Most of the words were in Spanish, and most of

the people around me were speaking Spanish.

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I almost felt like I was in another country. The smell

of fried tortillas and fresh taco meat filled the air

awakening my senses. The typography contributed

to creating this culturally rich atmosphere. These

areas became a small Mexico City, in the heart of

these Midwest American cities.

aT TaCOs el TapaTIllO IN wIChITa

the typography painted on the windows

is a mixture of spanish and english. The

painter used bright contrasting colors

which enlivens the space.

Murals that depict Mexican culture

often compliment handpainted

typography. Here at Margarita’s in

Wichita, Kansas, a brightly covered

mural covers a 50 foot wall on the

side of the restaurant.

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Many of The auThenTic Mexican resTauranTs occupy

builDings wiTh builDings highly TexTureD sTucco,

bricK or sTone walls. These TexTures aDD characTer To

The roTulos painTeD on TheM, by DisTressing The painT.

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by Megan Clark

yucatan living

“hanDpainTeD signs grace

The builDings in eVery

Town anD ciTy.”

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en MÉxico

dos.

celebrating a culture.The Typographic Design, of The auThenTic

Mexican restaurants, reflects the typographic

style of traditional Mexican culture. By recreat-

ing this style in America, the Mexican-American

restauranteurs are sharing and honoring their

rich cultural heritage.

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yucatan living

“The real geMs are The signs anD Drawings

creaTeD for The sMall businesses ThaT

ThriVe in These ciTies.”

in Mexico, These hanD-painTeD signs are

called rotulos. The painters of the rotulos are called

rotulistas, sign painters. Their craft is a form of

traditional guild, where they learn their techniques

as an apprentice to a professional painter or a fam-

ily member. Bold colors, thick san serif letters, drop-

shadows and colorful strokes around letters, are

characteristic qualities of the rotulos. Often times,

the rotulos have painted illustrations that compli-

ment the lettering. The large brightly colored signs

the rotulistas paint, have become an integral part

of the cultural and physical landscape of cities in

Mexico. This landscape is now being reflected in

urban Mexican-American communities across

the United States. By painting the typography on

the Mexican restaurants in America, the owners

and painters are not only enriching the language

and text but also reinvigorating and celebrating

the traditional rotulo artform.

mexico to america.

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ThIs phOTO was TaKeN IN MexICO

by Megan Clark, f rom Clark & Co.

design firm in washington. The let-

ters have a drop shadow very similar

to many of the hand-painted signs of

the authentic Mexican restaurants in

america.

by Megan Clark

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The rotulos in Mexico have the

same handmade quality of the

signs in america.

The letters are textured from the

brush strokes and the distress

from the elements.

by Megan Clark

yucatan living

“hanDpainTeD signs grace

The builDings in eVery

Town anD ciTy.”

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roTulos

tres.

The hanDpainTeD Typography on The auThenTic

Mexican restaurants has a style reflective of the traditional

rotulos in Mexico. The style is honest and embodies

the authentic personalities of the restaurant owners

and the Mexican-American community as a whole.

tipografia pintados a mano.

The walls of angela’s Cafe, on Central and washington in wichita,

Kansas, are covered with hand-painted typography. They list the

menu items, specials and business hours. at angela’s Cafe, the paint-

ed signs are in spanish and english.

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bienVeniDos, Tacos, flauTas, calDo De rez

& calDo De pollo, fajiTas, chiles rellenos,

MenuDo, TorTilleria, Mariscos, carniTas,

carniceria, sabaDo y DoMingo

The front of authentic Mexican restaurants feature handpainted words, listing

menu items, special features and business hours. Sometimes the words are in

Spanish or English or a combination of both.

The hanDpainTeD roTulos eVen appear on fooD

TrucKs ThroughouT The ciTy. This TrucK’s

Typography is coMpliMenTeD by illusTraTions of

The fooD They sell.

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la TRaDICION, ON NORTh

Broadway in wichita, Kansas

uses hand painted typogra-

phy on their front windows to

advert ise their lunch buffet.

The typography is painted in a

clean mono-weight, san-serif.

The letters have bold outlines

and drop shadows. The bright

complimentary colors produce

a stark contrast, that makes the

type stand out from the surface

it is painted on.

drop shadows & outlines.The painTers of The roTulos on The auThenTic

Mexican restaurants use bright, vivid colors. Blues, green,

pinks, reds, yellows and oranges. Basically every bright

color imaginable. The typography tends to be either a

simple, clean, mono-weight san serif, or a clean cursive

font. One feature that always appeared on the handpaint-

ed type, is the use of a colorful thick outline around

the letters, or a colorful drop shadow behind the letters.

This gives the type a playful almost cartoon strip quality.

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response article

“Their iMposing size anD chroMaTic

inTensiTy haVe becoMe an inTegral parT

of The physical anD culTural lanDscape.”

beautiful f laws

since These hanDpainTeD signs are

painted on sides of buildings, old wood, or win-

dows, they pick up the texture of their surfaces.

The brushstrokes leave a linear texture through

each individual letter. They also gain more char-

acter from the distress of the outdoors. The rain,

snow, and wind make the paint chip, and scrape

and the sun causes certain colors to fade. All of

these beautiful flaws, give the authentic Mexican

restaurants the essence of actually being in Mexico.

The hand-rendered ritulos create a traditional

Mexican American community, giving the owners,

neighbors and customers an authentic taste of

Mexican culture.

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TaCOs el TapaTIllO ON NORTh

Broadway in wichita, Kansas has hand-

painted typography on every window

of the restaurant. The letters are tex-

tured from the paintbrush strokes and

distressed from the elements.

The hanD-painTeD roTulos

on The auThenTic Mexican

resTauranTs is consiDereD

Vernacular Typography.

paul tosh the uncultured word

“The conTeMporary inTerpreTaTion of

Vernacular Typography seeMs To be

unDersTooD as anyThing ThaT is

hanD-Done or has a hanD-Done looK”

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“The conTeMporary inTerpreTaTion of

Vernacular Typography seeMs To be

unDersTooD as anyThing ThaT is

hanD-Done or has a hanD-Done looK”

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re-use & over-painting

Many of The signs on anD arounD

the restaurants I explored re-used materials to

make new signage. Often times, restaurants

manipulated old signage from other restaurants

to make it their own. This makes the restaurant

appear handmade, just like the food they serve.

aT el ROTesseRIe The OwNeRs

advertised a special with a hand-

painted sign constructed out of left-

over sheets of plywood.

“frequenTly, Vernacular signage anD Typography

is as Much a crafT as iT is graphic Design, wiTh

The creaTor using whaTeVer MaTerials are aT hanD,

eVen re-using anD oVer-painTing olD signage”

paul tosh the uncultured word

by Megan Clark

yucatan living

“hanDpainTeD signs grace

The builDings in eVery

Town anD ciTy.”

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ouTsiDe of Mexican resTauranTs There

are not only handpainted and hand written

typogrpahy but also computer generated signage.

This can range from signs printed on paper to

plastic and neon signs. With an increase in access

to computers and printers, more and more signs

for Mexican restaurants are being created by

machine instead of painted by a rotulista. There-

fore when walking down a street, you will typically

see Mexican restaurants with an ecclectice mix

of handpainted typography and digitally made

typography.

tipografia hecha a maquina.

coMpuTaDoras

cuatro.

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la TRaDICION TORTIlleRIa ON NORTh BROaDway IN wIChITa,

Kansas has three different computer made signs that clearly were used

for previous restaurants. The neon ‘Restaurant’ sign and the flashing

arrow, looks like they came from a 1950’s diner. The main sign looks like

a pagoda roof from an asian restaurant that used to occupy the space.

The owners of la Tradicion are making do with what they have, which

adds character to the space.

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Often times, the copmuter generated typography in English is clearly left

from a previous restaurant and the owner decided not to remove it, most

likely because of financial reasons.

a reminder of the past.

i haVe eaTen aT connie’s Mexico cafe in wichiTa, Kansas since I was a little girl. They have

the best beef enchiladas in town. I have always admired the beautiful orangish red neon sign that hangs

above the entry door. The pop of color stands out amongst the gray railway cars and grain elevators

across the street. This sign exhibits similar qualities found in the rotulos, a clean cursive typeface

and a mono-weight san-serif typeface.

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whaT i finD fascinaTing are The DifferenT

typographic decisions the owners make. Some only

have hand painted and written typography. Others

have both computer and hand generated. None of

the authentic locations I photographed only had

computer made typography. I think this shows how

despite some interest in the convenience of plastic

or computer made signage, all of the owners still

wanted to represent their Mexican culture through

the rotulos.

past meets present.

illuminating the landscapewhen i see The Mexican hanDpainTeD leTTering

in the bright festive colors, I immediately assume that

restaurant has very authentic food, and it is most likely

delicious. I assume their is a sense of the Mexican com-

munity within, and that most of the diners are Mexican, or

Americans who authentic Mexican food appeals to. I find

the handpainted typography absolutely beautiful, a work

of art, and a breath of fresh air among the cheap plastic

signage flooding the street corners. Especially in the lower

income areas, filled with old buildings, often decaying or

in bad repair, the bright colors illuminate the landscape

and invite the customer into the community and into

the restaurant.

The assorTeD Mix of hanD-renDereD anD coMpuTer

generaTeD Typography reflecTs The auThenTic,

hanDMaDe qualiTy of The fooD, anD The coMMunal,

local, TraDiTional anD honesT naTure of The owners.

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The VibranT green, reD anD golD of The hanDpainTeD

leTTers aT el rancho, giVes life To This inDusTrial

area of Town in wichiTa, The colors illuMinaTe

The lanDscape.

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The characTer anD personaliTy

living within the typography of these authen-

tic restaurants, not only shows the owners’

pride for their traditional culture and heritage,

but gives us a look at the community as a

whole. The owners create an atmosphere, a

sense of place, and a community where Mexi-

cans feel connected to their heritage.

The owners transform old gray buildings into

richly colorful and charming destinations. This

atomosphere is created by the authentic qual-

ity of the food, the decor, the handwritted

signs, the old signage and remains left from

the last business and the handpainted colorful

signage on the outside of the buildings.

The owners of these Mexican restaurants are

not only making a business doing what they

know best, making delicious Mexican food,

but they are also sharing their culture through

the colorful, energetic environment they

create through their vivid typogrpahy.

sharing their culture

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credits Bibliography of sources

This book was designed with the typefaces

Belizio and Avenir

The photos were shot with a Nikon D3000

The photos on the pages X – X were taken in

Mexico by Megan Clark, from the design firm

Clark & Co in Vancouver Washington.

Designer as Author, Patrick Dooley, Fall 2011

The University of Kansas