Atwater Village Signs: 'Wrong Kind of Visual Bleakness'

FROM A DETAILED recap of the Dec. 18 Good Design LA event comes this critique of our 'hood's evolving business mix: "LA's graphic conscience Geoff McFetridge began by describing his Atwater Village neighborhood as a kind of Anytown, USA, with its easy rhythm of liquor store, nail salon, check cashing, nail salon, tacos, pack and ship, drinking water, liquor store, nail salon. "But suddenly he started to notice a new rhythm: yoga, baby clothes, Starbucks, Coldstone Creamery. "'That's the wrong kind of visual bleakness!' he cried. And the biggest problem about the New Bleakness, he said, were the signs, the ugly, anonymous, soulless vinyl signs. He attacked nail salon signage specifically, because 'if you can paint nails, you can paint a sign.'"