Next stop: Pottersville

In the hopes of seeking some post-COVID fun, my wife and I recently took our kids on a five-day trip to Universal Studios in Orlando. Now, this isn’t exactly first on a parent’s bucket list of places to spend thousands of dollars, but it isn’t all about us, now is it? I will say, I was rather curious to explore the parks and see the world through my kids’ eyes for a few days. I think every parent should from time to time. It keeps us young and grounded.

Just like every other able-bodied preteen these days, my daughter is intensely obsessed with Harry Potter at the moment. I have never read a sentence of any of the books and have only sat through random minutes of the movies. I respect the genre and her interest, but it’s just not for me. That being said, I was overwhelmingly surprised at the overall art direction of Diagon Alley (I know its name only because I was given a crash course in Potter lingo in the days leading up to our trip).

Upon entrance, you are overcome with an insane amount of detail from faux aging, to surprisingly accurate architecture, to period-correct typography gracing every entry and facade.

It quickly dawned on me that, not only did this need to be documented, but it also needed to be researched. Everywhere I looked I swooned over gorgeous, hand-lettered scripts sprinkled amongst beautiful hand-painted serifs. Nothing was left mundane. Nothing was an oversight. With each turn, with each opened door, with each $25 chocolate frog, I secretly hoped it wouldn’t end.

Much to the chagrin of my kids and, eventually, my wife, I took countless photos, stopping every socially distanced foot to snap another. “Dad, c’mon!,” shouted my kids. “Scott, stop taking so many fucking pictures of doors,” my wife sweetly whispered.

The authenticity was what stood out the most. Yes, the talent on display was obvious, but whoever was tasked with painting these signs obviously did their homework. It was almost as if they time traveled from 1800s England and did their absolute best to recreate that aesthetic. Now, I am by no means an authority, but I am educated enough to know that what was on display must’ve taken many months and many missteps to successfully complete.

Hogsmeade was the second town in what I continued to annoyingly refer to as “Pottersville.” Even as I type this, my son is rolling his eyes. Although a newer portion of the park, it still showcased more of this drop-dead gorgeous typography. I was, however, a little disappointed with how abbreviated it was. The Hogwarts Castle left me unsatisfied by its all but vacant wayfinding and typography. Nonetheless, the incredibly detailed art direction was still there.

Sign painting has become a lost art with the advent of technology and new automated machinery. There seems to be a corporate sign company with a catchy name on every street corner. Hand lettering has become a lost art, and its practice is lost on the newer generations (I’m not a homer, I swear). There really is something to be said for someone that has honed their skill so well that you cannot discern the difference between something 200 years old and something painted last week. To get the paint colors and type styles as well as their usage correct takes a keen eye. It’s also very easy to slap together some campy and cliche typography that looks old, vintage, or whatever you choose to call it. This shit was graphic design before there was graphic design.

The flight home afforded me the opportunity to collect my thoughts and do a little research into who was in charge of this master class in sign lettering. With my ears popping and my arm rest stolen on one side by my YouTubing son and the other by a curious young kid with a gas problem (presumably reading this as I write it), I sifted through articles on the ol’ interwebs. I had to know who was responsible and if there were other examples of their work. While it is important to highlight the work of well-known designers, we regurgitate admiration for them enough.

To my surprise, I only happened upon one small article from Fast Company. It reads:

To create the visuals, Universal Studios tapped MinaLima, a London-based design firm made up of Miraphora Mina (a witchy Rowling-esque name if we’ve ever heard one) and Eduardo Lima. The pair was the natural pick, as they’d already spent 10 years designing graphics for all eight Harry Potter films. They met on the set of The Chamber of Secrets and have worked together since, creating everything from the Marauders’ Map to The Daily Prophet newspaper.

Fast Company — Re-Creating The Magic Of Harry Potter In The Real World

Something seemed off to me though. The work on their website didn’t capture the authenticity of Diagon Alley at Universal. It, while well done, did not grab me immediately. I’m left with an unchecked box. I wanted so badly to see more of this work and swoon until there was nothing left. Oh well, at least I have all of those great pictures…right, kids?