PSA Logo Typeface

weirdjim

weirdjim

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weirdjim
I'm wanting to make a small copy of PSA's logo for my new shop but am having difficulty finding a typeface I can use to do the woodwork. Anybody got a lead on what typeface this is?

(I worked my way through college in their radio shop.)


Jim
 

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It may not have been an official typeface but a hand drawn logo. From the TESS search:

ImageAgentProxy


No specific font mentioned. Given the shadowing, I don't think it's a regular computer font. You might try "What the Font". I fed it the PSA logo and it didn't identify it, but there seems to be a forum there were some of the typographers might be able to spot what it is if it exists.
 
Here are some candidates from a "WhatTheFont" result on myfonts.com:

http://goo.gl/hDzNZv

None of them are exact, so perhaps the three logo letters were custom designed and not simply extracted from a full font set.
 
Considering when that logo was designed it was most certainly hand drawn custom.

Can you scan it and create your control template that way?
 
What kind of woodworking? How would you use the font even if you had one?

Would an Adobe Illustrator/PDF file with scalable vector art work? One could be easily created by "tracing" over the internet images.
 
flyingron said:
It may not have been an official typeface but a hand drawn logo. From the TESS search:

ImageAgentProxy


No specific font mentioned. Given the shadowing, I don't think it's a regular computer font.
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I don't need the shadowing. The one we had on the maintenance barn in San Diego had letters about 3 feet tall, shadowboxed aluminum with red plastic inserts and lit from behind. I envision one about 6 inches tall, cut out of plywood, backfaced with red plastic, and lit with LED.

Jim
 
weirdjim said:
I don't need the shadowing. The one we had on the maintenance barn in San Diego had letters about 3 feet tall, shadowboxed aluminum with red plastic inserts and lit from behind. I envision one about 6 inches tall, cut out of plywood, backfaced with red plastic, and lit with LED.

Jim
Click to expand...

I think you'll have to do a tracing or use a different file system if you want an accurate representation.

The systems I have worked with had the ability to link a drawing pad to the computer and trace out the pattern to create the file. Those pads are cheap.
 
register@teamandras.com said:
Yeah, I think it needs the shadowing too look right.
Click to expand...

The only thing that stands out to me though is the gap on the A cross stroke. The shadowing adds a dimensionality that when missing makes the gap appear too large. The entire loss of perspective will go away since he is building it in 3D with physical shadowing/depth, just have to get the cut angle right.
 
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Would you prefer the logo carved into a solid piece of wood? I do calligraphy, and am starting to carve letters (as well as "normal" carving).
 
Nostalgia: I liked flying PSA, they always gave me good service.

Historical note: PSAand Braniff had a deal worked out to recapitalize BN and restart service shortly after the 1982 bankruptcy filing, but the gummint ruled that Braniff had relinquished its route authorities...
 
Just going to add that if you want the shading "effect," perhaps milling out a shallow relief would help. Maybe 1/4" indent in the plywood would effectively create the same effect?
 
I always get a bit of a sad nostalgic twinge whenever PSA is mentioned. Their culture was a sort of pre-SWA fun and pride, and I enjoyed flying them whenever I was on the West Coast.

The airline business started to get that cutthroat edge quickly when deregulation came around. The tragedy of PSA 182 in San Diego and the murder of all those aboard PSA 1771 were events that hastened the end of a pretty good outfit.
 
3393RP said:
I always get a bit of a sad nostalgic twinge whenever PSA is mentioned. Their culture was a sort of pre-SWA fun and pride, and I enjoyed flying them whenever I was on the West Coast.

The airline business started to get that cutthroat edge quickly when deregulation came around. The tragedy of PSA 182 in San Diego and the murder of all those aboard PSA 1771 were events that hastened the end of a pretty good outfit.
Click to expand...

Huh, I hadn't read up on 1771 before.
 
3393RP said:
The tragedy of PSA 182 in San Diego
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I had "graduated" from PSA to the engineering world by that time, but had several close friends on both the flight deck and the aft cabin on that airplane. The captain was my next door hangar neighbor at KSEE. He was restoring a Jenny at the time with nothing to go on but the nameplate. He was about 75% done when the fit hit the shan.

I also was well acquainted with the CFI in the Cessna.

It really hit home hard.

The only real problem I had working for PSA in college was coming home to announce to my wife of 6 months that I had been assigned to teach the radio/music/electronics portion of stew school for the next six months ... at night ... alone ... with two dozen of the most attractive women I've ever seen in my life as my students ...

Jim
 
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FlyingIsGood said:
Just going to add that if you want the shading "effect," perhaps milling out a shallow relief would help. Maybe 1/4" indent in the plywood would effectively create the same effect?
Click to expand...

I'm trying to recreate what was on the hangar doors, and that was block letters formed by aluminum with plastic inserts and no shadowing. I don't *WANT* or *NEED* the shadowing effect, but thanks for the thought.

Jim
 
weirdjim said:
I'm trying to recreate what was on the hangar doors, and that was block letters formed by aluminum with plastic inserts and no shadowing. I don't *WANT* or *NEED* the shadowing effect, but thanks for the thought.

Jim
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So what are you going to do, use an aluminum paint for the sides of the wood and paint the face like the plastic inserts?
 
weirdjim said:
The ones on the hangar were made in the machine shop out of bent aluminum and monodimensional. Very difficult to get aluminum (and plywood) to make a shadow effect. Don't need the shadowing, but thanks.

Jim
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Jim, up to you, but consider making it out of two different colored layers so that you get the shadow effect, maybe aluminum plate for the letters, then attached to painted plywood or other black substrate, something like this:

PSA_Trace_Two_Layers.jpg


Here's a PDF with both layers in outline format: http://goo.gl/CaGq2u
 
JeeZUZ, people, thanks for all your great work, but you are doing WAY too much.

The originals on the hangar were three separate letters ... the P, the S, and the A. Each one of them were formed of about 6" wide thin sheet aluminum and then the appropriate red plastic routed out and put inside of each aluminum letter. The letter was lit from the backside with 40 watt incandescent bulbs screwed to the side of the aluminum letters, about four bulbs per letter.

I'm simply going to make a plywood painted black box with the letters either routed or dremeltooled out, a red plastic sheet over all three letters, and a fluorescent "undercounter" fixture in the back of the box.

High tech and artsy it ain't. Just a bit of nostalgia.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Why don't you get a holographic projector and project it on the wall 3' deep? Give your shop that Jedi feel...:rofl:
 
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