Arro French Restaurant

Chef behind 24 Diner and Easy Tiger brings French-country restaurant Arro to West Sixth Street

Arro French Restaurant, Austin, logo
The Arro logo takes its inspiration from Bayer’s aspirin tablet (apparently)

Opening July 20, 2013 in Austin, Texas, is a casual French restaurant from the ELM Restaurant Group (24 Diner, Easy Tiger). Chef Drew Curren and his group have had great success with their mash-up bakery/artisan sausage/beer garden Easy Tiger on East Sixth Street downtown, and round-the-clock 24 Diner on Lamar Boulevard next to Waterloo Records.

They enter the world of French bistro food this week with Arro, located in between their two existing restaurants, at 601 West Sixth Street in the old Haddington’s location. The restaurant, which has undergone a transformation to open up the previously compartmentalized space, will open Saturday.

Arro French Restaurant, Austin, Texas

Their Facebook page displays some impressive branding imagery, including hand-brushed calligraphy (seen above) and the elegant script channel letter signage on the building (below).

Arro French Restaurant, Austin, Texas

Courtesy Austin360 and Austin Eater

Arro French Restaurant
601 West Sixth Street, Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 992-2776

Affordable 3D outdoor

PosterProps offer outdoor marketers a cost-effective 3D solutionMetromedia Technologies, Inc (MMT) announced today an exclusive partnership with PosterProps, the developer of a patented lightweight, digitally-printed material that clips over posters to create a spectacular 3D prop. PosterProps can be fashioned into any shape or size, and unlike traditional hard props, require no special equipment or crews to install, reducing both time and expense. The billboard or poster inflates on-site and installs by using existing installation crews without specialist equipment in under 30 minutes.

The best news for outdoor marketers is that this translates into lower costs than traditional outdoor “spectaculars.”

Tony Gearty, CEO of PosterProps said: “We are delighted to have found a partner of MMT’s caliber who share our vision of growing a market using our innovative and affordable props, which means so many more billboard locations can now justify a 3D offering.”

7 great typefaces

Type selection can be a daunting process for designers. As a result, many have at the ready a few Teflon choices. What follows is a list of seven such typefaces (sorry, paring down to five was too difficult) that most designers will agree may never go out of fashion.

Helvetica
The subject of a feature film documentary, Helvetica makes the list despite its ubiquity. Originally created in 1957 by Swiss designer Max Meidinger, over the years a staggering array of variations (condensed, compressed, extended, expanded, etc.) have been added to the family. Excellent for conveying information clearly and quickly.

Clarendon
A slab, or square serif typeface, originally created 1845 by English designer Robert Besley, Clarendon was one of the first faces to be officially registered. Used extensively by the German Empire during World War I and more recently adopted by the U.S. National Park Service for its signage. Acclaimed for its uniform, heavy lines and legibility, Clarendon has proved its worth to designers everywhere.

Avenir
Relatively new on the scene (1988) and designed by Adrian Frutiger, the name Avenir means “future” in French. With nods to Futura and Erbar, the typeface is decidedly humanist—casual yet elegant. Excellent in business applications for both display and text.

Gill Sans
Inspired by his early apprenticeship to London Underground typeface designer Edward Johnston, author and designer Eric Gill created his first typeface around 1926. It was adopted heavily by the London and North Eastern Railway system, appearing on signage and in advertising throughout Britain. In 1997, the BBC adopted Gill Sans as its corporate typeface. Gill Sans is equally at home in print or on computer screens.

Franklin Gothic
Versatile when set for body text, billboards or newspaper headlines, American designer Morris Fuller Benton’s Franklin Gothic became hugely popular in North America and Great Britain thanks to its strikingly solid appearance. Franklin Gothic is the official typeface of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Myriad
Known primarily for Apple Computer’s widespread usage of it, Myriad was designed in the early 1990s by Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly for Adobe. Clean and legible, yet playful with an easy-going sophistication, Myriad adapts to a variety of environments and concerns.

Futura + Futura Extra Bold sample
Extremely simplistic with a geometric form, Futura was designed by Paul Renner and commercially released in 1927. The distinctive extra bold face was added in 1955. No doubt Renner took cues for Futura’s design from the German Bauhaus school of art and architecture who employed similar type styles. Today, logos by Adidas and Absolut Vodka take inspiration from Futura, and a commemorative plaque left on the Moon in July 1969 features text set in Futura.

Did I leave out your favorite? Leave a comment and let me know why.