Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Glenn Beck, Friend of Birds and Bulbs

Excellent segment on the Daily Show last night about what Glenn Beck has been up to lately. He's planning a "freedom town" that sounds suspiciously like a new urbanist locavore haven. Huh.

But the thing I couldn't help noticing was the odd graphic he used in the background:

Glenn Beck sitting at left of screen with graphic on a screen in background reading AMERICAN DREAM LANDS with a male figure in a suit over the words
Note its ugly wonkiness, including the use of a subversive typeface called Avant Garde, a most inappropriate name within Beckistan. (Hey, Glenn, there's a typeface called Americana -- maybe you should get a copy.)

But what is the head on that weird humanoid figure supposed to be? Here's what I thought it was:

Humanoid with odd head juxtaposed with Big Bird, which looks the same
A friend of Mitt Romney's, perhaps, but I guess now he's even tighter with Glenn.

But no, it's a lightbulb. An old-fashioned incandescent bulb, of course, and an oddly designed one at that. Because the inventiveness of American Dream Labs is best symbolized by a 19th century technology.
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2 comments:

  1. Michael LeddyJanuary 30, 2013 at 11:30 AM

    I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that typeface on “educational television,’ maybe in an old WNET logo or a show’s title. Makes me wonder whether this Beck is truly the American he claims to be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daughter Number ThreeJanuary 30, 2013 at 4:21 PM

    Herb Lubalin, who designed Avant Garde, also did the classic PBS logo.

    ReplyDelete

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