1896 Environmental type design project

Combining an unused idea for the Fedrigoni 366 Calendar project with an old personal design project – BLK LTR – interesting styles began to emerge for a new, experimental numeral set.

I wanted the design style for the numbers to be used to convey something meaningful. So the Environment – an issue I feel strongly about – would be my subject matter of choice. During the research I was shocked to discover that the potential effects on climate as a consequence of human activity were first predicted by Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius, in 1896! Yet to date we have still failed to fully tackle the issue with all the resources available at our disposal.

With this in mind I wanted the numeral design to feel extreme in form to reflect the drastic nature of the situation. Exaggeration is useful tool to gain emphasis and impact. I wanted the type design to be versatile, so the numbers were developed in two separate styles. One would be exaggerate the width, the second would do the same for the height.

With both a vertically or horizontally extending style it should be practical regardless of the aspect ratio of the container. When combined with the keyline design details it led to dramatic results. In addition to the typography, an unused melting egg timer from a previous client project, provided the perfect marque to complete the designs. Finally the colour red was employed throughout to convey the sense of urgency.

To convey the flexibility of the typographic design system, simple animations and editorial mock-ups were created.