Signage: Greek Palace or Type for Greek Restaurants

Here’s some Greek for you. φοβερό. That means “awful”.

Times New Roman, Symbol, and then let’s switch to Algerian, and then let’s just add a crudely drawn C. Wow, what a mess. The serifs don’t match, one has no serifs when it should. If you work in a sign shop, shouldn’t you have the ability to create something that not only conveys the name and what the place does, (which admittedly this does do), but do it in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and looks cohesive? With the tools available, couldn’t someone have created something better than this gyros of lettering?

I have a friend who’s convinced that all Greek restaurants in North America are supplied by one central commissary in Canton, Ohio. I wonder if the same mentality of banality is at work at sign shops nowadays.

Some typefaces that could be used for signage on Greek restaurants.

P22’s Acropolis

Présence Typo’s Kouros

Linotype’s Syntax Lapidar Display