Alphabet city: orthographic differentiation and branding in late capitalist cities

Abstract

This article examines the emergence and design of letter-based city logos in order to discuss what they reveal about writing and cities, and the dynamics between them. Developing a political economic and social semiotic analysis, I suggest that these letter-based logos respond to an increased competition for attention in society—strongly linked to new media technology and patterns of mobility in late capitalist economies. I further argue that they illustrate globalizing linguistic processes such as the truncation, commodification and adaptation of language to global audiences and technologies, and thereby contribute to mask the social and material reality of the branded cities. The article contributes to the broader examination of the ways in which cities and writing interact by drawing attention to the continued spread of abstract and standardized register forms for representing institutional power and distinction within globalized markets, and by discussing their local socio-economic embedding.