This That Yard Sale signs

As my wife and I prepared for a yard sale, she invited me to make some signs to post around the neighborhood. Along with the For Sale sign, the Yard Sale sign typically finds itself executed in neon-orange Helvetica on black or with marker on construction paper approach. While a markered sign may offer a humanistic style, it often lacks legibility and distinctiveness — essential qualities as I had some excellent albums and DVDs to sell.

Compositionally, these posters are set minimally where the same cut of type operates in three sizes. Type size and letter spacing define the three typestyles, each being one-third smaller than the other. The headlines are defined by four-letter words that rag well when centered. The subheads were written as twelve-character lines that could justify hard to contrast the ragged edge.

Friz Quadrata was chosen for its balance of surgical precision and hand-crafted appearance. The historical usages of Friz Quadrata in Black Flag’s logo, the titling of Scarface, and Law and Order were references I enjoyed and felt my ideal yard sale customer might unconsciously be attracted to. After all, I was selling crime drama DVDs and punk albums.

Several characters of Friz Quadrata were redrawn with multiple variations to align closer to hand lettering. Several characters were redrawn entirely for optimal horizontal, vertical, and diagonal relationships.