East Flatbush has a lot of random businesses that are usually packed really close together. So sometimes you can see a very wide variety of fonts by just walking down one or two blocks. The character and feeling of the font usually goes with the business, so the styles can vary pretty drastically as the businesses vary from one another. A majority of the fonts I saw had no serifs which gave them a uniform look. This was common for the fonts used by industrial companies such as the ‘Federal Pump Company.’ The font used by the pizza shop has curved serifs and beaks with indents in them. That gives it a classical look, like something you’d see in an old western movie. ‘Federal Pump Company’ on the other hand is more serious and modern. They have letters that are very straight and upright with strong bold lines, sharp edges and minimal spacing. Their navy blue and white color scheme adds to the feeling of professionalism, allowing it to appear as a company you can trust.
Places like restaurants, hair salons and spas tend to have more playful and curvy fonts that seem a bit more welcoming. However, these fonts can be hard to read at times if they are too elaborate and have many unnecessary curves that hide the structure of the letters. There was a stylized ‘a’ that could be mistaken for the letters ‘o’ or ‘u’ which might leave the viewer confused. Overall, the font in my neighborhood is very diverse. But since things are packed so tightly together, the small details that make a font special are often overlooked when it’s around many other font styles that may be larger or more flamboyant than others.
