Recently, while squinting at the type embroidered on my mattress (don’t ask), I noticed that the dot on Posturepedic’s “i” does double-duty, serving first as a character element and second (albeit only to those who squint at mattresses) as a trademark signifier. My next thought was not “What the hell am I doing on the floor staring at my mattress?” as you might expect, but rather, “Why don’t I see this kind of thing more often?”

The omnipresent circle-R rarely feels like it belongs, typically clinging to one corner of an otherwise-balanced logotype. So why isn’t it more common to incorporate the symbol directly into a logo? Then only the lawyers and designers among us would notice the “®,” branding would be bolstered with a minimum of detracting visual elements, and the masses would go on living their lives, not missing a thing.

Okay, so I hate Comic Sans as much as the next guy, but this is pretty clever: So a real bank, with bank-quality type, closes up shop. Then, the space is acquired by a 99-cent store with a sense of humor. The owner calls it the “Bargain Bank,” and the ugly, yet appropriately low-budget lettering is set above the original marble facade, communicating the entire story with graceful clarity. It’s perfect and I love it; I just don’t want to look at it.