Recently there was a bit of a kerfuffle on Ads of the World about a campaign using "Urban Typography" by both Mercedes and Renault. As far as I can reconstruct it, this typography originated from a graphic design student.
I don't really want to get into the whole story of whose idea it was and who copied who. What really struck me about the whole thing is the point of reference which is driving through cities with high buildings, so that you only see small sections of sky. This is not something we could have referenced before the 20th century. However statistics show that in 2008 for the first time in the history of the world more than half the world's population will be living in cities. (Reference here). I can't help feeling that this really does mean the end of rural iconography. Even now it's difficult to understand what is going on in some of the friezes on the buildings that I pass on the way to work. And it will be even harder for the next generation. This isn't all bad, I love the idea of "Urban typography" but maybe there should be something that marks the passing of "rural typography" or semiotics.
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