This is directed at my designer-dork fiends:

Has anyone else noticed that the kerning of “Madrid” in the header image is atrocious? It begs the question “Who’s ‘drid’ is it?” Clearly, it’s Ma’s Drid. Way to go, Ma; I didn’t know you had a ’drid.

Needless to say, I’m planning on replacing that image as soon as I find a more appropriate one.

At any rate, the shot is of the back of a street sign near our apartment, typical of those throughout the city. Though at first glance, it appears clean and refreshing, especially when viewed in context with stereotypically clunky American civic signage, I have seen numerous examples of the city signature (the crest with the bear and the strawberry tree (who knew they grew on trees??) with “Madrid” set below) in a number of different fonts, arrangements and renderings. Brand standards anyone???

Jesús Dulce.

On the contrary, I must credit Madrid for having a decent design vocabulary overall. I’ve found a number of examples of stellar graphic design that I am planning on uploading as soon as I get the opportunity (though judging from past precedent, that could be a while).

-bdmc