Typography in urban spaces can tell about the culture, history and ultimately the identity of a city. Yet, we normally do not pay attention to this landscape of letters stretching before our eyes. This project aims to shed light on the richness and beauty found in urban typography in Antwerp and provides an insight into the stories hidden behind the letters.
Typography in urban spaces can tell about the culture, history and identity of a city. Yet, we normally do not pay attention to this landscape of letters stretching before our eyes. This project aims to shed light on the richness and beauty found in urban typography in Antwerp and provides an insight into the stories hidden behind the letters.
In the first phase of the project, Antwerp's typographic landscape was observed on several walks through the city, capturing examples of typefaces with a camera. The photos from these walks were compiled into an archive of about 90 typographical objects, which was subsequently used as a starting point for further exploration. To gain a deeper understanding of the spotted typography, the letters were vectorized and the history of the buildings typography was found on was researched using the online database “Inventaris”.
For the final stage of the project, there were several roads to follow. Extensive discussions with peers and teachers as well as brainstorming provided insights into the different possibilities. Eventually, it became clear that the best option would be to summarize the previous research in a book.
For the design of the book, visual research was conducted to determine elements like format, paper, and more. To find a visual language, a variety of experiments using different styles and combinations of photographs and vectorized typefaces were carried out. Content-wise, a visual essay was written to provide the reader with an insight into theories relating to urban lettering and the former lecturer of Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Erik Desombere, very kindly composed a few introductory words. When finally the look and feel of the book came together, the pages were assembled, and the book was printed at a small offset printing studio in Germany.
“Landscape of Letters” is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to lettering in Antwerp, but rather poses as a highly personal, curated exhibition of urban type in book form. It aims to showcase an often-overlooked graphic element, preserve aspects of our visual culture that are otherwise lost, and ultimately, inspire others to walk through the city and observe themselves. Letters are everywhere – we just have to open our eyes!