Typography on the brain

For a recent project, we needed to design the layout for a title plate on a letterbox. For this task, I researched the plates on old English postboxes, looking for examples that might inform the job of arranging the letterbox plate from our project.

These photographs show interesting pieces of typography from New Zealand landscapes. The photo below is of an engineering workshop in Rakaia. I have admired the typography on the main title (on the building’s wall) on several occasions as I’ve driven past.

‘Shingle Pit’ is a less refined, but nonetheless charming, piece of typography from a farm gate on the western side of Lake Tekapo. The blocks within high country stations bear names, and the signs that denote the blocks on this station were well put together.

The font type, the hand-painted application and grey paint colour (which registers well against the galvanised steel gates) all contribute to the appeal of these signs. They bear a varied array of titles, such as ‘Feed Pad’, ‘Stilt Lane’ and ‘Single Hill’.

As a final note, the photograph below shows another attractive, and somewhat unusual, piece of typography from a Rakaia business.