Photos: Paris Signage and Typography

Louise Fili

There’s nothing like a stroll through the streets of Paris, with its bustling cafés, jewel-box patisseries, legendary hotels, and iconic Hector Guimard–designed entrances to all Métro stations. From the restaurant rows to the envy-inducing fashion storefronts, the city possesses an aesthetic that is uniquely Parisian, a milieu that is in no small part enhanced by carefully crafted signage influenced by the Art Deco, Belle Époque, Art Nouveau, and Futurist movements. In Graphique de la Rue: The Signs of Paris, out September 1 from Princeton Architectural Press, graphic designer Louise Fili compiles 40 years worth of snapshots capturing the city’s unique, distinctive signage. Read on for a glimpse of her diary-like portfolio of pictorial Paris.

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Louise Fili

A Monsieur Olivier–style road sign.

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Book cover image, Graphique de la Rue: The Signs of Paris by Louise Fili.

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The bold, red stenciled 1920s type for Paris’ Métro system.

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Classic hand-painted signs.

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French script in neon.

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French script.

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A mosaic by 19th-century Italian artist Giandomenico Facchina as part of the Théâtre Antoine, in the 10th arrondissement.

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A sign "sans mots.”

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An Art Deco sign for the dairy, a designated landmark.

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A mosaic in the Art Nouveau subterranean restrooms beneath the Place de la Madeleine, in the 8th arrondissement.

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A mosaic.

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Hand-painted signage covering one side of the Samaritaine building near Pont Neuf, with Art Nouveau letterforms announcing the department stores’ offerings.

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Louise Fili

Futurist-inspired architectural letterforms adorning the grand, curved wall of a primary school designed by architect René Requet-Barville, in the 11th arrondissement.

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In Photos: 40 Years of Gorgeous Parisian Typography

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