Crete presentation

The script

For my typography project the theme i chose was greece, crete in particular. Crete is the largest island in greece, therefore is the most popular for tourism. The main sources of wealth in crete are agriculture and tourism. With the cultivation of the olive tree being very important. Zeus, was also born here.

Crete holds many beaches, most of which are remote and can only be accessed by boat. An example of a popular beach, is elafonsi, and as can be seen here has pink sand.

Crete is also a  mountainous island, which form a continuous chain from one end of the island to the other. With the mountain ranges, it has formed many gorges, of which can be explored when driven away from the tourist towns.

Big numbers of sheeps and goats are raised in Crete, so it's full of mountain goats. With agriculture being the main source of wealth in crete.

When exploring crete, it was interesting to see that there was a common usage of the stereotypical greek font. This typeface is very diagonal, and harsh looking, with roots from the romans and Latin. This typeface was seen in saturated tourist areas, used to create a visual communication to the people passing by that what they serve/sell is Greek. This typeface does not incorporate the greek alphabet and symbols of which is authentic to greece, of which shows the tourism effect on the country.

Another interesting finding when exploring crete was the wooden carved signs. When further away from the beachfront and into the smaller streets of Rethymno, it was found that the signs for restaurants and shops were more authentic and less commercialised.

The picture shown uses the greek alphabet in a sans and serif form. However the carved signs vary, with using the english alphabet also. (flick through the other 2).

(7  pics) The last interesting typography theming found when exploring crete was the use of hand painted signs. The needs of the community first produced the shop sign, with being obliged to have an identity card of which stated what kind of shop it was and to whom it belonged to. Then they began to take on artistic aspects, with distinguishing from rivals, so shopkeepers looks for a good artist or amateur. The signs both use the english and the greek language, with the most effective using images and colour. The economic crisis could be linked to the use of hand painted signs, as it is more cost efficient to make and could make the establishment stand out if done correctly. With also shopkeepers not having the extra money in order to professionally acquire a sign.  my favourites use bold colours and simple embellishments, of which are aesthetically pleasing to tourists more than a ‘professional’ sign. The wooden signs keep the authenticness of the smaller towns and display the country before tourism.