Jaloguin in Bogota

While in Colombia, I made it a point to pay attention to the design of South American culture. We happened to be in Bogota during Halloween (or, “Jaloguin”). Culturally, this is a much bigger deal that it is in the States — a full week long celebration (or, excuse to party hard for days). On “Dia de la Muerte,” we happened to be in the town of Chia and I ran across an event poster that was mesmerizing (See a large view here). There were cutout masks of the “happy skull” graphic that could be worn over your face. They were everywhere.I love the use of patterns — very typical in South American culture. Colombia is a very colorful place; I’ve never seen so much of the color yellow (used very tastefully, by the way)

I also spent about an hour watching some sign painters freehand some amazing typography on a wall. It was incredible to see the craftsmanship and attention to detail.