To Trains, originally uploaded by Mista Gargoyle

So I admit that I’m a bit of a font geek – typography, like fashion, interests me because not only because of its’ variety but also my fascination with the process of creation; which, even to someone schooled in design, is quite perplexing and mysterious.

I’ve linked to this before, but anyone interested in the fonts used and designed by Disney, must check out Mickey Avenue – Disney Fonts. Regardless of what you think of Disney from its’ abuse of copyright to Disney’s shell city in Florida to whatever ill you accuse Disney of perpetrating, you cannot ignore its’ influence on design and culture (for good and bad). That is why sites like Mickey Avenue and the accompanying photos of typography are so cool to go through.
For example, check out two examples of Coca-Cola advertisements, one in Tomorrow Land and the other in Animal Kingdom:

Tomorrowland Coke, photo by Mista Gargoyle

Animal Kingdom Coke, photo by Mista Gargoyle

The commitment to design which Disney adheres to is amazing. I realize that there is an incentive for advertising to adjust to the theme of whichever Disney Kingdom it is located, but Disney applies this same level of design throughout their theme parks. (Now, if their movie division could do the same…)

Sometimes design can leave an attraction, or a whole kingdom in a state of limbo. EPCOT Center is curiously stuck between aged retro and futuristic glee, all due to the design of the park. When I visited Disney World in 2003, EPCOT was the one park which was clearly dated. This is perhaps due to the type choice – World Bold – which the rounded sans serif vacillates between Buck Rogers and some unseen future. Place this type in the context of large exuberant buildings clad in glass and aluminum (the material of the future!) and concrete, and you get a Tomorrowland which you know is based in Yesterdayland. It is quite disturbing actually; once inside the Disney Reality Distortion Field, this jarring, bleak urban landscape destroys any suspension of disbelief.

But enough of the EPCOT critique. Anyone interested in what a single, hive-mind can accomplish through design, you must check out Disney.

For more Disney stuff, check out this Retro Disney Resort Logos, more photos of Disney Signage, and a Hi-Resolution Aerial Photo of Disneyland.