More than likely, you’ve had that moment of frustration and dread while walking towards your car when you see that neatly folded envelope between your windshield and wiper blade. Yes, you parked a bit too close to a fire hydrant, forgot it was street sweeping day or some other minor offense that will now ruin the rest of your day or least some of it.
Type foundry Hoefler & Co., makers of iconic fonts such as Gotham ( the same one used by the Obama presidential campaign, Saturday Night Live, and Pebble smartwatches), has released a ticket pad that can bring that same feeling of parking ticket dread to your project.
The typography ticket book is modeled after ticket pads which, before portable printers, were wielded with impunity by parking enforcement officers all over the country. The front is decorated with a clip-art-like badge and bound in a blue “soul-deadening municipal pressboard.” The tickets are individually perforated, and Hoefler & Co. promises “a satisfyingly loud rip prior to presentation.”
Inside, the tickets are typeset in Helvetica, because if you want the appearance of an official government document, you’re probably using Helvetica. The use of bright orange makes it clear to the violator that the wannabe design constable means business.
The offenses range from “POOR TYPEFACE CHOICE” to “FAILURE TO REPLACE DUMMY COPY,” each with their own violation codes, many of which are just cute inside jokes. “FAILURE TO REPLACE DUMMY COPY” is 72-XX-LOREM, while “IMPROPER KERNING” is 72-499-VAVA,” for example.
If meter maids are your inner spirit animal, the Typographic Ticket Book is available in pads of 50 for $10 from Hoefler & Co.
