Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1480624
I first did a Google search, both in English and Italian, to get the proper research. It turns out that many signs of the period were made of sheet metal—not a problem in our imaginary environment. I put together two sheets of research. One had signs on buildings, street signs, house numbers, wayfinding signs and even a gelato stand. The other sheet had smaller signs, called showcards, that could be used in shop windows. As I extrapolated from each one, I marked it in red to see my progress. There were all types of businesses, from high-brow hotels to modest bars, photo studios to water-ice vendors. I tried to use an overall palette of sea colors: greens, aquas and blues, with a few pops of red and gold. I used the most fanciful research photos without going too unrealistic—fun but not too ridiculous. Some had beautiful typography and some had poorly spaced letters indicating it had been created "by the owner" and not by a professional lettering person. Other signs were just roughly painted on the buildings' exterior walls. A. AN OUTRIGGER SIGN FOR A HOTEL. B. ITALIAN SIGN RESEARCH SHEET. C. A GELATO STREET VENDOR. THE SIGN ATTACHES TO THEIR CART. D-F. SHOP AND RESTAURANT SIGNS. G. CONCEPT WORK FOR THE TOWN OF COLLODI PROVIDING A FEEL FOR THE SIGNAGE IN GENERAL. H. JIMINY CRICKET ON THE STREETS OF COLLODI. IMAGE FROM THE FINAL FILM. A B D C E F