Nottingham Contemporary Architectural Typeface
The iconic piece of architecture I chose to base my typeface on was Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery in The Lace Market, Nottingham. The inspiration for my typeface came from the details of the construction, its shape, formation as well as its atmosphere.
Brief
You have been asked to design a bespoke typeface based on an iconic piece of architecture or architect. The font should be directly linked to the building itself and could use the history, the era in which it was designed, details of the construction, materials, shape, composition, formation or atmosphere as its inspiration.
Concept
The iconic piece of architecture I chose to base my typeface on was Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery in The Lace Market, Nottingham. The inspiration for my typeface came from the details of the construction, its shape, formation as well as its atmosphere.
Solution
The design embodies elements of the building that are based on its geometric structure, in particularly the cement panels on it’s exterior. I liked how the roof of the panels created shadows that highlighted their shape and composition.
The building is on a site that used to have industrial lace factories, which is why the modern building has kept it’s industrial exterior that I thought created a very urban atmosphere. The interior of the gallery is built to be very spacious which is based on the idea of the building being a modern ‘found space’. Taking all of this into account as well as the buildings current purpose which is to exhibit contemporary and abstract art, I wanted my typeface design to reflect all of these ideas.
The typeface will be used for display text for the art gallery, with its modern feel reflecting the purpose of the building. It can work inside the gallery in a wayfinding system for the gallery rooms, cafe and shop. It can also be used for exhibition leaflets and on window displays.
