Thought Paper #10

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Eva Dunn

Professor Stacy Asher

Art 195

November 26, 2012

Memory Lane

Fisherman’s Wharf has been a staple in my childhood memories.  Because I have lived in San Jose or Campbell my entire life, my parents would take my siblings and me to Fisherman’s Wharf for little day trips.  We would go and get something to eat, walk to see the seals, and go into the candy shop to get candy.  Because it was such a huge part of my childhood, this field trip was a walk down memory lane, literally, seeing as I walked the entirety of the thoroughfare.  Because of my new perspective on signage from this class, however, it was very interesting to walk through Fisherman’s Wharf and notice all the signage around me.  Many signs help direct people to tourist attractions, inform of the past, and advertise commercial goods.

There was a lot of signage, I noticed, that directed people to different tourist attractions.  For one, all of the piers were well-labeled and as I walked down the street, I could see all the different piers that there were.  There were two tourist attractions that were the best advertised.  The first was Alcatraz.  Alcatraz was advertised beautifully because the signs not only drew people in, but also informed, which is very important for tourist signage.  Many of the signs showed previews of what it was like for prisoners in Alcatraz way back when.  Because I have actually been to Alcatraz, it was very interesting to see the signage that depicted it.  I feel as if the signage was an accurate preview, if you will, to the actual tour on the island.  I think that advertising tourist attractions needs to be bright, bold, and big, and Alcatraz’s advertisements definitely adhered to these rules.  Some signs were bright, some signs were big, and all of the signs were bold.  Another tourist attraction that was well-advertised was Pier 39.  Even before we arrived at Pier 39, there were flags advertising it.  One of my group members thought we were in Pier 39 because of the flags that were placed well up the street from the actual pier.  However, I felt as if the signage for Pier 39 also followed the 3 rules I came up with for tourist advertisements; they were bright, bold, and big.

Walking down the street, I had to imagine what it would have been like many years ago.  In 1906, before the fire, Fisherman’s Wharf was not even developed yet.  This is a very interesting concept for me.  Maybe people took long walks along the thoroughfare and instead of seeing all of the signs, saw a beautiful view of the ocean.  Although times were different back then, I still feel as if walking down that street is an experience, whether it is an ocean view, or a view of all of the piers and restaurants.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the Fisherman’s Wharf trip because I got to see a childhood memory through a new lens, if you will.  I even came up with a 3-part rule for tourist advertisement signage: bright, bold, and big.  Everyone in San Francisco should take the chance to visit Fisherman’s Wharf and experience it for themselves.

Fisherman's Wharf Adventure

Thought Paper #9

Walking along the Haight one day, I saw a sign sitting out in the middle of the street. On it said, "Rose Gold's Tattoo, 15% student discount."  Since coming to San Francisco, I have been wanting to make my dream of getting a tattoo a reality.

Rose Gold's seemed perfect.  It was clean, the parlor looked bright and nice, and on top of that, it advertised a fifteen percent student discount.  Although this place seemed great, I decided to do a little research on different tattoo parlors first.  I googled San Francsico tattoo parlors and found many on Yelp!.  Yelp! was incredibly useful, as it gave me personal reviews of people who had been to and gotten tattoos from these specific tattoo parlors.  I believe that the internet is an incredibly important form of signage and advertisement because it is so accessible.

I found myself doing more and more research on Rose Gold's, however, and decided that it would be the place for me.  I went in one day a few weeks ago and gave them a drawing of my idea for my tattoo.  I asked about the student discount and they said that it was just for the jewelery they sold.  However, I found it interesting that the fifteen percent discount is what drew me in to that parlor.  It is a very smart form of advertising, I would think.  I'm sure many students go into that parlor hoping for a discount and finding that there is none for tattoos.  After they go in, however, they could very well just stick with the tattoo parlor because they fall in love with it, like me.

When I went in, I showed them my original drawing, but I had changed a few things from it and decided to tell them personally what I would like done.  I talked with a tattoo artist named Jared and he was really cool.  He got back to me about a week later with two drawings, one depicting the bird I wanted, and the other depicting a bird that he believed was more artistic.  I decided to go with the bird I originally wanted and made a few suggestions for changes.  After he made those changes, the tattoo was absolutely perfect and I set up an appointment for Dec. 3 at 1:30 p.m.

Well, I just got my tattoo and let me say that it was pretty painful.  It's surprising how much more painful it was than I expected.  Basically, a tattoo is like getting needles dragged painfully across your skin.  However, it only lasted an hour (Jared did a great job!) and it turned out absolutely perfect.

I think tattoos are such an expressive form of signage.  They can tell you about a person, or even just stand to make one's body more beautiful.  I think it's such a beautiful concept that one can make a work of art a permanent part of their body, it is a sign that is a part of me forever. I love my tattoo and I am incredibly happy with it. 

Tattoo Adventure (instead of north beach)

 

 

 

 

  

  

Week 11

I was sick for the North Beach trip; however, I will write a thought paper instead about tattoo parlor signage.

This paper is still in progress and will be posted as soon as possible. 

The Castro Adventure

Thought Paper #8

Eva Dunn

Professor Stacy Asher

Art 195

November 10, 2012

Acceptance (Week Ten)

This week we visited the Castro, a district in San Francisco well known for it’s large gay community.  This was actually my first time at the Castro, surprisingly, and I absolutely loved it. All throughout San Francisco, one can see the liberal nature of its occupants; however, the Castro radiated acceptance and love, something I highly believe in.  It’s hard not to feel happy when surrounded by so much color and love.  Speaking of color, I feel as if color plays a huge role in the Castro district, and I will discuss why.

When walking into the Castro district, I noticed a dominance of the rainbow pride flags.  These flags represent diversity and acceptance of the LGBTQ community.  I saw these flags in shop windows, on t-shirts, on a huge flagpole which overlooks the Castro district, and so on.  The rainbow flag, which some call the “freedom flag,” has such a meaningful significance behind it. It has this whole underlying theme of understanding, acceptance, love, and hope.

These flags are not only prevalent in the Castro, but they are significant, as well. These flags, in all different places, and of all different sizes, are directed at people—all people.  Anybody who sees one of these flags is conveyed a message. They can even mean different things to different people. For example, a rainbow flag can say, “We accept you.”  Or it can mean, “LGBTQ people deserve respect and rights.”  It can even convey, “Everyone deserves the freedom to love whoever they please.”  These are messages that are heard by everyone. They are heard by gay people, they are heard by supportive people, they are even heard by close-minded people. These flags serve as an important message dealing with politics, close-mindedness, and love.

The Castro is an incredible area of San Francisco. It accepts. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for? A little acceptance?

Chinatown Adventure

Thought Paper #7

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Eva Dunn

Professor Stacy Asher

Art 195

November 3, 2012

Chinatown

            This week for my SF Signage class, we took a field trip to Chinatown.  After doing some research on the area, I learned that San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. Isn’t that interesting?  Well, I also learned that, according to the San Francisco Planning Department, Chinatown is the most densely populated area west of Manhattan.  Through my research, I learned a few other interesting things about Chinatown that I will go over later on in this Thought Paper.  On another note, I find it absolutely incredible that San Francisco has so many different cultures and “districts,” if you will.  One second I can be in North Beach eating some Italian food, and the next second I can be in Chinatown enjoying a nice mooncake.  And if I want to get really crazy, I could go straight to the financial district and watch all the businessmen pass by.  That’s what makes San Francisco such a beautiful place—its diverse culture.  On this field trip, I got to see just a slice of San Francisco’s culture, and it was absolutely wonderful.  Visiting Chinatown provoked me to do a little research on the history of the Chinese in San Francisco, which, in turn, helped me understand many aspects of the area, including the signage.

            The Chinese in San Francisco did not have it easy.  They first immigrated here between 1850 and 1900.  After that, because of the language barrier, they sought out labor jobs such as in factories or on the transcontinental railroad, a famous and laborious undertaking.  Many of the immigrants had unfair working conditions due to their race.  After the unemployment Panic of 1873, the Chinese were even more discriminated against.  Immigration was then extremely limited for the Chinese, who had to go through a lengthy immigration processing at Angel Island—they could be held there for months in conditions not unlike concentration camps.  So, the history of the Chinese in San Francisco has not been pretty, and the large population of immigrants in such a small area can be seen today in the signage and setup of Chinatown.

            The signage in Chinatown serves as more efficient than anything.  Because of the large population of people within Chinatown, there are many different signs that compete for one’s attention; however, the signs are not extremely detailed or new.  A lot of the signage in Chinatown looks low-quality or older, with most of the signs being plain with merely a few words on it for description.  Below is an image of Chinatown in 1972.  It looks almost the same as it does today—with signs that are efficient and to-the-point.  However, today Chinatown utilizes more color and light in it’s signs whereas before it was just plain black and white (I know the picture is black and white but I believe the signs were black and white as well).

            Overall, the signs and setup of Chinatown reflects the dense population of people within the district.  The Chinese in San Francisco did not have an easy start and they continue to struggle to thrive within Chinatown.  However, Chinatown is one of my favorite places in San Francisco because it is so different and so cultured.  Where else can I go to get an authentic, delicious pork bun? 

Union Square Adventure