The Papyrus Files

Papyrus, The International Typeface!

2009-02-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

Yes I know I am the biggest slacker ever, but don't think I've forgotten you completely. Claire, a faithful reader, contributor and friend, brings us this next installment of Papyrus straight from Mexico. Apparently the appeal of Papyrus knows no borders or "fences." Mexico, a place normally known for it's exciting nightlife, beautiful beaches, and warm weather (among other things), now has another impressive feature to add to it's laundry list: papyrus using. I can only hope that this remains a relatively minor offense, and that Mexico is just in an "experimental" phase and will grow out of it. Otherwise I may lose all hope for our bordering friends.

Karen Pearson

2008-10-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

As a gift, I decided to get you the best birthday present one could ask for. Your very own papyrus post! It's dedicated to you. Hope you have a great birthday. You are fantastic! The best non-commenting reader I could ask for.

a day in downtown portland

2008-10-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

and this is what I saw. As Travis, Jason and I were minding our own business, I couldn't help but to be visually assaulted by this sign I saw.

"Okay," I thought to myself, "many places use papyrus for big title text, it's not the end of the world." Then as we kept walking I got to the menu.

The gigantic menu. Here is where I learned that for these people, papyrus was not just some font that looked pretty, it was quite obviously the only font they ever touched. The entire menu was papyrus. And let me tell you it just classed the place right up!

I don't even want to see what these guys do for their Christmas cards, if they even believe in Christmas. Anyway, I documented the damage, apologized for causing a scene, and went on my way. The worst was over, right? Well as we kept walking, much like Lot's wife, I had to look back one more time. And there it was, the cherry on top. The damage was complete, papyrus flooded every side of that little greek stand.

I took a picture, then ran like mad, just hoping I wouldn't be turned into a pillar of salt.

happy pottying...

2008-09-20T22:48:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the new era of bathrooms (or as I used to call them for fun in high school, the water closet, or WC). Glad to see so much progress is being made where personal hygiene is concerned.

Thanks travis for spotting this rather unusual perversion of such a "one-trick" typeface.

I don't even think this post is making sense. On to the picture.

papyrus baby porn

2008-09-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

thanks nikki for the forward.

PS. I no longer have the energy or drive to be clever on this thing. I will just let the image speak for itself.

Too cute.

Thanks bob

2008-09-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

corny and lame and terrible type

2008-09-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

You've probably seen this bad boy somewhere before, but I love how papyrus is the default, all-inclusively "religious" typeface. Well to make matters even worse, it is even tracked out so it looks more like floating letters to me. I mean if you're going to insist on using papyrus at least do yourself a favor and don't butcher it even more. Okay, okay, if you're using Papyrus in the first place you probably don't understand why spacing (tracking) the letters out so far looks so bad anyway. You actually probably thought it was a neat effect. In fact I'm surprised you even know how to do it. Have fun living in ignorance.

By the way, what does that even mean? We are all children of the same universe? Are you high? (Don't answer that) I think we all know any religious group that uses an upside down pink triangle has some issues, and may not in fact be "children of the same universe" as I am.

hahaha

2008-08-28T13:16:00.001-07:00

these are funny

classy wine

2008-05-16T02:11:00.001-07:00

sorry I haven't been posting :(

but here is some classy wine I found.

graffiti + papyrus

2008-04-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

I recently ran across this brochure. I struggled with whether or not to post it, but Kylee Pearson convinced me that I must. Papyrus never takes a rest, so neither can I.

I just think it is an interesting combination, graffiti and papyrus. The designer was probably trying to make a statement about how ancient Egyptians were the first to really do graffiti and all art nowadays has really stemmed from that. (though they did it with chisels and wall paint) In which case, papyrus was the perfect selection of typeface.

In all seriousness, I love the front logo/image. It's kinda vintage/urban/simple and the photography is really nice as well. Not a bad brochure, I would probably just make sure people know that papyrus is referring to ancient Egyptian graffiti, because not everyone is as keen as I am when it comes to reading into that context.

a stroll through the grocery store

2008-04-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the situation. I go to the grocery store for some groceries. While I'm walking down the aisle, I notice the tea section. I then think to myself, "I bet there is some papyrus lurking in the tea section." Not more than half a second after having this thought do I notice this special brand of tea that does all it's work in papyrus. Fate? I think not.

So then I decide to make a point about how prominent Papyrus is, so I resolve to find all the papyrus I can in that particular aisle... but as if the Papyrus read my mind, I couldn't find much of any more papyrus. Though I did notice one lone candle showing off some papyrus.

All in all, a grocery store can be a hotbed of papyrus. Pick your aisles carefully.

ready to ranch

2008-04-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

So I was lucky enough to be on a flight this last week, and decided to thumb through one of those exciting airline magazines. I couldn't bother with reading any of the thrilling articles (I'll have to read about the best vineyards in the northwest some other time), because the advertising was so atrocious it was distracting. But one little gem especially caught my eye.

Kudos to the designer, he or she didn't get too caught up in using way too many typefaces, a crime committed by many other advertisers in this mag. In fact the designer found one typeface he or she liked and didn't stray from it at all. Every single piece of copy was consistent. Consistently papyrus that is. Guess what, Papyrus is very hard to read in paragraph form. If it has to be used keep it to a heading. But better yet, don't use it. Stick with Comic Sans, Brush Script, Arial, or something precious like that.

Pizza

2008-03-22T21:00:00.001-07:00

I thought I could count on Pizza Hut, really. Pizza Hut would never let me down. Right?

Not so fast.

Pizza Hut has this new pizza thing called Pizza Mia, which is a medium 1-topping pizza with less crust and fewer toppings, but if you get 3 or more of them they are only 5 bucks each. Anyway, upon seeing their commercial, I noticed there was a hint of Papyrus on the commercial at the end. Kind of subtle, but defintely there.

Well, considering I typically hang out with a group of four or five hungry guys, we actually decided to order the Pizza Mia special. (Who says advertising doesn't work?) Eight pizzas later, I have all the papyrus documentation I need to make sure those Pizza Hut graphic designers won't be able to find a job anywhere in the country.

BUUUUTTTTTTTT wait. As if that's not enough, imagine if somehow Pizza Hut could use even more Papyrus than just their Pizza Mia offshoot. Impossible you say? Think again. Upon entering their store, I noticed they had a poster for another Pizza (not even a Pizza Mia thing) and guess what the dominant typeface is? How did you know...

What's next? The Pizza Hut logo in Papyrus? Someone needs to do something about these designers!

Nothing Too Groundbreaking

2008-03-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

You guys have probably all seen this before, but no blog about Papyrus would be complete without Arizona Tea. This beverage company has used papyrus for some time, maybe before the huge surge I've noticed as of late. They kind of pull it off I guess, but it still makes me a little queasy. I wonder if this is the preferred drink of church secretaries and writers of Christmas letters throughout the nation.

(side note: I think Arizona's newer or non-green teas have strayed away from the use of Papyrus, much to the relief of Designers and chagrin of church secretaries everywhere.)

Some Random Sightings

2008-03-19T10:14:00.001-07:00

I actually went back to that restaurant I wrote about on Christmas. Here is a picture from their menu. (It was low-light and I was using a cell phone so it's blurry, but take my word for it, that's papyrus). Anyway, everything else about that restaurant is cool, hip, and popular. (How interesting)

This was actually spotted in Thorne Printing, right across from NNU. I don't know how comfortable I would be hiring these guys for "design," if they use papyrus to try to class up an already fairly questionable brochure. It looks like they specialize in weddings, so if you're getting married...

on a serious note

2008-03-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

So, my dear friend Stephen Michael Bartlett brings this logo to my attention the other day, right? It's on an ad. for a charity that provides money to faith-based orphanages around the world. (I think) He claims that this is a nice use of Papyrus. It's not too overwhelming, the "imperfection" of the letters fits with the feel of the rest of the logo, and thankfully they used all caps. I don't know if I'm completely convinced but I don't want to be the one to bash a fairly nice logo of a company that does good Christian work. But just keep in mind that you should always be extremely careful using Papyrus, and just because this logo doesn't look like a complete disaster, it doesn't mean there isn't a better typeface out there for this.

Love Is In The Air

2008-03-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

And what better way to celebrate it than with a beautiful candle featuring romantic asian lettering of some sort coupled with an even more beautiful and appropriate poem... in Papyrus of course. If you're a designer taking notes, add "romance/love" to your list of things that the typeface Papyrus conveys effortlessly.

Thanks to Claire Cork for sharing this little keepsake with me. If anyone else finds something worth documenting in the Papyrus Files, send it to me in an email to prjohnson@nnu.edu.

"This terrific sculpted candle was the first wedding gift we opened. Sorry it's kind of out of focus. I only hope that one day when you get married you get something as beautiful as this. That sits in our closet." - Claire C.

Enough said.

My new hair product.

2008-02-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

This is some conditioner I saw at Great Clips. {which incidentally, I do consider to be great [they are affordable and have always given me a great haircut (it probably doesn't hurt that I usually just get my hair buzzed when I get a hair cut)]} Don't worry, there was indeed a matching shampoo. Papyrus apparently has this magical quality of looking anywhere from classy and refined (see next post) to looking natural, organic and from the forrest. (see this post) Regardless it's dumb and annoying and should never be put in your hair.

Olive Garden? tsk tsk... I thought you knew better.

2008-02-09T19:38:00.001-08:00

Long time no post. I'm sorry I have been slacking!

So yesterday I'm in Albertson's, buying some cookie dough. Seems harmless enough, right? Wrong. Out of nowhere I see this cute little gift card boasting some not-so-cute typography. Olive Garden, of all places, you'd think could afford some decent graphic designers that understand how to make something classy. And unfortunately Papyrus isn't the solve-all answer for adding class. Observe.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, truth be told, I've seen quite a bit of Papyrus lately (always) but I never seem to have my camera available. There is a nice Mexican restaurant in Mill Creek called Azul. (In an upscale area near a nice shopping center) And guess what, everything from type on their logo, to the hours decaled on the glass, to the headers on the menu have one thing in common. It seems papyrus wins again.

I am sorry I didn't get any pictures, but feel free to visit their website for a small idea:
http://www.azullounge.com/index.html

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying their break from school or work.

I think I know why the first six failed...

2007-11-20T18:56:00.001-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen,

Hello. This weekend I traveled with some lovely people to Seattle for a good time of hanging out and not being in Idaho. For just a few minutes we stepped inside a mall. According to their website:

Pacific Place is downtown Seattle's premier shopping, dining and entertainment center. Featuring Tiffany & Co., MaxMara and Coach along with J. Crew, Chico's, Ann Taylor, Helly Hansen, L'Occitane, Restoration Hardware, Barnes & Noble and Williams-Sonoma. An 11-screen AMC Theatres complex. Skybridge connection to the flagship Nordstrom store.

Blah blah blah. Basically it's a really yuppie mall and no one my age can afford anything in it. So of course I was extremely surprised when I saw the new store going in next to Express: Seven salon. Of course any place going into this mall is going to have a nice identity designed by some respected design firm... right? Well in this case I sure hope not. As you can see their logo consists simply of the word "seven" in papyrus and a papyrus number 7 knocked out of a black circle. Are you kidding me? Whoever designed this corporate identity thought that everything that they needed to say about this company could be done with papyrus and nothing else (besides the color orange I guess). So if you ever want a haircut that looks like it was done in Egypt a thousand years ago... this is the store for you.

A sad case of framepyrus

2007-11-20T17:54:00.000-08:00

Okay so here's the deal. This is a nice frame. And I think it's fairly obvious what it is. (a frame) But for some reason the person that designed the frame insert decided to have all the text be the same nice and classy serif typeface (makes sense right...?) EXCEPT the word "frame" has to be 10 times bigger than any other word on the thing and is in PAPYRUS. To me it seems crazy, dumb, and very not cohesive to take just the word "frame" and single it out by making it huge and slapping papyrus on it.

Sorry for the bad picture quality.

This is not made up

2007-11-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

I saw this sign in Nampa near the corner of 9th and 7th (in case you want to check it out for yourself). It is 100% real I promise. It's just so sad that this sign was most likely designed by a "Graphic Designer." The cityscape, sleek simple shapes, and bright yellow all suggest hip, metropolitan, exciting, etc. Then why in the world would they want to put a typeface that is meant to look as if you were writing on Papyrus?! Don't they know that papyrus is ancient and there is nothing modern or urban about it?! This just baffles me. Obviously there are some other issues with the type as well, but I'm trying to restrain myself by just focusing on the selection of the Papyrus typeface. Please don't buy a house from this company.

some other (less exciting) typography

2007-10-25T11:16:00.003-07:00

Seeing that I haven't seen any glaring Papyrus lately (or maybe I'm just learning to block it out), I thought I'd share this lovely sign I stumbled across in McDonalds. Notice the use of both Brush Script and everyone's favorite: Arial! Not to mention the neat burst graphic. I almost had some Batman flashbacks.

I think it's clear that McDonald's hired the right Graphic Designer for this job!

(please excuse the cell phone quality of this image)

R.W. Emerson

2007-10-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I was visiting some friends in Twin Falls this weekend and I couldn't help but notice this inspirational plaque Michelle had above her desk. I'm pretty sure Emerson used to write everything on papyrus paper so it makes sense to me.

some local zest

2007-10-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd start with some local advertisements I found in the 2007 NNU scambook.

The text is almost as exotic as you will be after you tan here.

Nothing says "We're a hip church with pastors that ride Harleys" quite like Papyrus.

As you can tell, some of the advertising around Nampa is pretty fancy. It's just nice to know that so many people find Papyrus to be such a neat "font" and I just want to encourage that with this blog. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to send me anything that you find.