For the brief I decided to focus the project on my birth place of Sheffield, formerly known as an industrial city for its steelworks. Sheffield is a very diverse city with a mix of old and new cultures, featuring many different examples of unique and interesting typography.
I focussed my findings on a pinpointed area of Sheffield, exploring the up and coming areas of Division Street, West Street and Calver Street near the city centre. The diversity that can be found in this small radius of around half a mile is representative of the vibrancy that can be found throughout this lively and up and coming city. The images of the typography gives an idea of what the more contemporary areas of Sheffield have to offer as opposed to the more historical locations such as the steel works and Kelham island. However if I was to develop my project further there would be scope to venture out into the more industrial parts of Sheffield.
These are the images I collated:
A-Z : SHEFFILED TPYE IN CONTEXT
A ] Coffee shop A-Board for the Cafe 'Tamper Coffee'.
The purpose of this typography is to exude the rustic, homemade feel of the independent coffee shop before even walking through the door.
The white printed, stencil effect on the wooden surface is effective and easy to read because it encapsulates a home made feel and is easy to read.
The serif typeface is fairly retro and eye catching when seen together as a whole and works effectively for it's purpose.
B ] Found on the A-board signage for Bloo 88 and used as their logo.
This embellished serif letter is extremely eye catching and bold with its contrasting colour scheme and bold shapes.
Bloo 88 is a newly renovated Bar in the heart of Sheffield on West Street serving cocktails, drinks and homemade pizza.
The use of the letter is eye catching and represents the theme of the bar effectively.
C ] One of the letters used on the signage for the Crucible, a theatre in the heart of the city centre built in 1971.
The writing is very large and uses a sans serif font making it extremely legible to read, serving it's purpose of attracting people to the venue despite the muted colour palette.
D ] This letter was found on the signage of Thou Art - A tattoo and piercing parlour on chapel walk in the city centre.
It exudes quite a gothic look with its interesting points and serifs, making it appropriate for the venue it is representing.
E ] Large 3D lettering from The Sheffield Institution of art. These red letters are mounted onto the white wall to attract visitors to the art institution and the gallery inside.
With the contrasting colours and bold sans serif font the lettering is highly effective in its purpose.
F ] The F on this signage is for Freshman's, an iconic vintage shop on Calver Street in Sheffield.
The curves in the lettering give it a retro feel which communicates the vibe of the shop and it's purpose well.
G ] This G was from the Graffiti on the wall of the beer garden for the Great Gatsby Pub on division street in Sheffield. The colouring and type along with the brick wall in which it is painted onto communicates the atmosphere of the vibrant pub well. The crumbling brick work adds to to the dynamic of the writing and the typeface itself is fun and easy to read.
H ] This old cinematic style backlit type was found in the Common Room, a student Bar / Cafe also on division street in Sheffield. The overall aesthetic is really eye-catching and interesting and communicates the feel of the bar well. The sans serif typeface is clear and effective when used in a body copy alongside other letters.
I ] From an A board for another independent coffee shop 'Moco'. Written in white chalky writing on a black board, it gives off an old school feel. On its own it could be mistaken for a J but used with other letters it is clearly legible as an I on its own.
J ] JJ Josephs Emporium. Vinyl / Paint Printed on Glass looks aesthetically nice however is fairly illegible from a distance. The typeface itself however is very interesting with lots of different shapes on the edges of the lettering itself. The light colour against the glass is a low contrast but overall subtle and gives an interesting effect.
K ] More Chalk writing found on an A Board advertising a special offer for the bar Bungalows and Bears, located in the old fire station for sheffield on division street. The lettering is eye-catching and a classic example of handwriting used on chalk boards.
L ] Without seeing the context in which this writing is in the lettering for this L from Patisserie Valerie has an almost arabic / indian feel to it with it's interesting curves and shapes. However once seen with the rest of the wording works effectively to exude a classic french feel.
M ] This blocky M was from the independent art shop 'Moonko' on division street, specialising in selling hand made prints, plant pots and posters etc. The typeface gives an almost unfinished stencil effect which is relevant to the aesthetic of the shop. It is also replicated in wood on the inside of the store behind the till. It is eye catching as none of the surrounding shops use a similar typeface making the shop front stand out on the street.
N ] From the shop front of Cafe Nero. This iconic lettering is highly recognisable as belonging to Cafe Nero using the classic shades of blue, black and orange. The typeface is quite short and wide and making it highly legible to passers by. The colours are bold and eyecatching making the typeface effective as a whole.
O ] This O is from a wall sticker / piece of graffiti found on West Street. It highlights the diversity of the residents in the city and shows the bustling nature of sheffield. The line through the O adds interest to the letter and draws attraction to the word being spelt as whole illustrating that just one subtle change can make a huge difference to the aesthetic of typography on the whole.
R ] Found on the 'Open' sign for 'The New Shop' another vintage / second hand clothing store on division Street in Sheffield. The rounded serif typeface exudes a retro, old fashioned feel and communicates the personality of the store.
Q ] This letter is found on the wooden sign outside the Antiques Centre in Sheffield. The type works in the area of which it belongs as it has quite an old fashioned, traditional feel to the writing as it isn't very stylised and is typical of traditional serif typefaces such as Times New Roman and Garamond. Such a type face wouldn't be suitable for a venue such as a contemporary bar or shop.
R ] This piece of lettering was found in a piece of graffiti on the street written in spray paint. I really liked the interesting form of the hand lettering and could be used as a modern grungy typeface. It is fairly legible but is better used as a stand alone typeface rather than body copy.
S ] Here is another example of hand lettering in an ornate stencil effect. The serifs are extremely exaggerated and draws attention to the signage. Despite the many embellishments of the letter it is still legible as an S an works effectively in the context for which it is being used. The shadowing used on the letter increases the legibility of the S as a whole.
T ] Here is another example of Gothic hand lettering used for a different tattoo parlour in Sheffield, 'Five Magics Tattoo'. It is striking how all of the tattoo parlours in Sheffield that were studied used a similar style of grungy writing on the signage for their establishment.
U ] Yet more chalk board writing used on another a board for Forum, a bar / restaurant on Division Street. This too uses a shadowing effect but is written in cursive / joined up writing rather than stand alone upper case lettering. It is hand painted in a style that is popular at the moment, flowing handwriting and is legible to read against the dark background on the sign.
V ] This more traditional style of typography was found on the street sign for division street. It is a classic serif typeface which is highly legible from a distance and is very different to much of the other photography studied in the project. It's purpose is completely different to that of typography used in other circumstances such as cafe and shop signs as it needs to be legible from the point of view of drivers and pedestrians etc. Rather than attracting the attention to potential customers.
W ] Found on the shop sign for COW, yet another vintage shop on West Street in Sheffield. The neon signage s very on trend at the moment which is effective in attracting potential customers to the shop. It is also highly legible in both high and low light and the double line adds an area of interest.
X ] X shape from the popular Sheffield Graffiti artist Kid Acne. His artwork is extremely recognisable and iconic as many of his phrases are popularly used in Northern slang.
Y ] From an optician in sheffield called 'Eye'. The joined cursive writing is much more refined than those found on the handwritten chalk A boards and the gold foil writing brings a much more upmarket feel.
Z ] This block metal sans serif typeface is found on the outside of Green + Benz and jewellery shop on division Street. The materials used for the sign are reminiscent of the materials used on the products being sold in the shop.
