There’s nothing quite like the beauty and diversity of letter forms carved in stone. The level of craft that went into making the forms is evident, even if the product has been eroded by years of exposure. My passion for the many eclectic shapes and styles that glyphs can take was first ignited by my participation in ‘Urban Lettering Walks’ with design historian and writer Paul Shaw. The vernacular typography that I observed during these walks became the inspiration for two digital typeface designs, Bowery and Bequeath. Both were designed with the intention to create distinctive digital typefaces for use in contemporary design contexts, with reverence to their historical roots.
Bowery was based on letter forms carved into a stone plaque from the late 19th century, located in the Bowery Mission meeting room on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Bequeath was based on 18th century gravestone inscriptions found in the cemeteries of New York City. Continue reading →