Fonts and exclusive vintage insipiration from original pictures of Las Vegas.

Submitted by Nadia Fonts Café on Tue, 06/26/2012 - 13:57

Fonts Articles

After a previous introduction of the Googie architecture (read the "Googie: Custom Fonts Accompanied Funny-Sounding Architecture" article if you didn't do it yet) we couldn't be more excited to delve a little deeper into one of the most famous places on the Earth - Las Vegas.

Las Vegas brings to the mind images of a dark sky against neon signs. If you choose to delve a little deeper into exactly why this image of Las Vegas is what remains imprinted into a collective consciousness, you realize that neon signs at night are what have been amongst the most defining factors of this image. We gather this from movies, photographs, magazines and other visual data.

Having a closer look at the content of the neon signs in this collective mental image objectively, you begin to realize that the impact does not really owe its success to the nature of the fonts alone; in fact most of the fonts that you see in classic Las Vegas Images seem simple and almost predictable. The most prominent attribute is, the fact that brightly back lit text at nights are definitely more prone to having a successful impact as compared to the very same sign boards in broad daylight. Life in Las Vegas being known for its night life, the neon signs were a sure win in the given scenario!

Also, let us not forget the fact that what we call ‘predictable’ fonts today were not so common place in the 50s and 60s! Neon itself was new to the world, and simple fonts of course fit the bill where an outdoor billboard is concerned. On outdoor sign boards, you would want your fonts to be easy to read, quick to comprehend, and hard to forget – simple fonts against a contrasting background just fit the bill!

We're glad to show you something unusual with these wonderful ORIGINAL Las Vegas pictures. We're very happy and proud to share them with you....and we feel the original vintage scenario gives exceptional inspiration to learn how to convey the same emotional feel to your project!

Original Las Vegas casino's, as they were being built, in 1953-54 and nightime photos of the Casino Lights in the mid 1960's.

Binion's Horseshoe