Just when you thought that you had heard enough about the Lewis/Caputo vacation to Chicago, I go and drop this post. I will do my best to avoid direct references to pizza and sausage since we are now in a post-sleeved-meat detox (which began on Monday), as appropriately coined by Paul’s wife Sheila. The Lipitortinis have really helped with the cleansing process.
Much like Paul’s “Live from Chicago” post, Observations: Type on a Curve, Which Way Goes the Dollar?, Proud to Be an American Cubs Fan, and One Creepy Bear, I had a few additional observations that I wanted to share with you.
Architectural Boat Tour of Chicago: Our experienced guide brought about the element of discovery to us like no other tour I have ever been on. She also brought lots of cookies and lemonade. Her passion allowed her to transfer a boatload of information into an interpretive experience. It was a very tourist thing to do in Chicago but the guide transformed it from a touris trap into a memorable experience. Of course the skyline was great participant as well. Despite what you see here, the tour was great.
An alternative to Papyrus: Paul is to Comic Sans as Shea is to Papyrus. I have a sick obsession with Papyrus and in Chicago finding Papyrus was as difficult as finding a place serving New York style pizza (sorry pizza reference). I only found it in two places. We did find an interesting Papyrus-esqe type at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Paul and I discussed that on the initial design drafts Papyrus was likely used but a great design decision was made switching to this organic type.
Sky Deck Logo: We write about logos often and here’s an interesting one. The jury is still out on it for me. What do you think about it?
Here’s a picture of my daughters on the sky deck.
Zookeeper Note: I love the function of this simple sign. Suction cups allow it to be easily moved and updated. It also allows for it to be re-hung upside down and possibly stolen (not that a thought like that would cross the minds of two design geeks). The message is timely, appropriate and cute. And what’s not cute about breeding hippos. The aggressive element to me was not the message but the over-centering.
Sense of place at Wrigley Field: Visitors come to interpretive sites because they are special places. Simple things can be done to make a site special or unique. The flags flying atop the scoreboard at Wrigley Field are a simple element that make it a special place. In today’s world of jumbo-trons and high-tech, high-definition, super scoreboards the Wrigley board stands out as unique, providing visitors to the park with a nostalgic feel. The flags serve a purpose as well. Each series of flags represent the divisions of the National League. The flags for each team also fly in order, from top to bottom, representing the current standings within the division.You will notice (and to avoid an additional comment from Paul) the NL East division (on the far right of the board) has the flag of the Philadelphia Phillies flying on top.
It is undetermined if the Caputos and Lewis families will ever be together in full force again. Perhaps if our wives read this blog, they could answer that question for us. Until then like gravity it will remain a mystery.
It has been determined that I will never be allowed to own an iPhone.
After a day at Wrigley Field enjoying the national pastime within the “Friendly Confines,” we returned to our families and found another version of the “Friendly Confines,” the Chicago Children’s Museum. Paul and I presented the option of us taking the children to the museum while the women enjoyed some much needed (and lightly demanded) downtime. They accepted. I’m not sure that we negotiated to the best of our abilities based on their quick acceptance. Note to self: start low and work yourself up in the negotiating process.
Even the donor exhibit, which was designed for adults, had an appealing childlike quality that could be appreciated by children while read by adults. This was achieved through bright colors and stylized, oversized hands.
What’s notable is that an organization can have so many versions of a logo while still maintaining a consistent identity, which they achieve through a well-defined color palette and one design element (the letter C). What’s also notable is that a watered-down beer is $6.50.