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A banner against carved stone

A reference study of one hanging banner on a carved library front, and what three stacked words can do that an inscription cannot.

Discipline

Year

Scope, ,

All projects

One of the stone lions outside the New York Public Library, with a perpendicular pride banner that says 'Libraries are for Everyone'

TypeSelf-initiated study, not a commission

ReferencesTwo CC0 photographs

OutputA banner proportion sheet

TimeTwo days

Question

The building’s name is carved across the frieze in widely spaced capitals. It is permanent and reads best from directly across the street. The banner on the pier beside the entrance changes with the season and has to work at a glance from the pavement.

Study

We traced both from the photograph at the same scale. The inscription runs the full width of the front. The banner stacks three short lines of condensed capitals below a block of colour, with a small mark at the foot. Measured against the columns, the banner’s letters are taller than the carved ones, on a fraction of the width.

A stone lion in front of a columned library, with a tall rainbow banner reading 'Libraries are for everyone' on the pier beside it
Reference one: the carved name above, three stacked words on the banner.
A domed library reading room with arched stained-glass windows, marble columns and rows of lit reading desks
Reference two, a different library. Indoors, the rows of desks do the directing.

Kept

A one-page sheet relating banner width to letter height, and a rule: a temporary sign earns its place by saying less than the building around it. We check new sign drafts against it.