Sunday, November 29, 2009

8


I’ve long thought there was something odd about the numeral 8 painted on this apartment block (in Jurong West in western Singapore; see picture on left).

Indeed there is: the 8 has its visual weight in the wrong place because the painters obviously held the template upside-down by mistake. 

In the picture on the right, you see the same numerals in the same typeface, i.e. Times New Roman italic.  Note that 8 has a heavy stroke going from right down to left, not left down to right.  The reason for this is simple: most calligraphically based typefaces were designed with the edged pen in mind, perhaps even drawn with one.  If you write the numeral 8 with an edged pen, you’ll find that the shade falls precisely where you see it in the image on the right.

8 comments:

  1. they probably used stencil & the painter didn't know the difference.. so made the mistake.. =D

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  2. Yes, they held it upside-down, as I mentioned in my post ... these things should be underlined so the painters know which way is up!

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  3. haha!! But most people don't care & may not even know.. There ain't many people like you.. who is observance.. =D

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  4. Haha, instinctively I knew something looked wrong. But it was only a few nights ago that I typed out the same numerals and saw that I'd been right. The original photo was taken about three years ago, and I'd been waiting for a suitable opportunity to blog about it!

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  5. Haha!! Now you found it.. =D But insightful.. I'd probably.. not notice it at all.. Haha!! I don't like to look up when I walk.. heehee~

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  6. I've wanted to comment on it somewhere but didn't have a calligraphy-related blog until last month. BTW, it was taken from 179, long before I started driving!

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  7. Not upside-down its back to front

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  8. Anonymous is right: turning it upside down doesn't make any difference. It's just the mirror image of the correct form.

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