Geotype Submission

The Geotype project charts the rich history of lettering and type forms that have established the identity of cities and towns around the world. Explore the map

How does this letter-form communicate its location?

This is the sign of a very old cinema in Thessaloniki, and it is located in Bardaris, an area really central and crowded however it has a bad reputation and people tend to avoid it especially at night because of the criminality. Moreover, most of the city brothels and sex shops are located there so this cinema plays porn and sex movies as well. I can't connect this fact though with the typography, in this case, I mean here we have use of serifs and the general style suggests something very old but not something kinky or playful. It kind of reminds me, of the signage used in the old cinemas, readographs. Other than that, it fits perfectly with its surroundings and one can tell that it's old, from the name as well; Laikon means something the common people widely use or something that belongs to the people. The distinctive piece here is the -n at the end of the word, which in our language, suggests the use of Kathareuousa, a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century.

Location

Monastiriou 2, Thessaloniki, Greece