Geotype Submission

The Geotype project charts the rich history of lettering and type forms that have established the identity of cities and towns around the world. Explore the map

How does this letter-form communicate its location?

The city centre has gone through renovation over the years, and Hertford Street has been one of the areas that has seen the most significant change. The area has been updated for modern times, with foliage and bold colours replacing the grey concrete. Despite this, the old Hertford Street shopping sign is still present, with the weathered concrete showing its age, and the italic, bracketed serif type is something the city has been distancing itself away from, with the marketing around the city and university using clean, smooth, sans serif type. The sign stood out to me as it looked as if it had been forgotten about, with its use of two letterforms being different to the uniform type used on the renovated buildings and areas near it. The rest of the area has seen work to clean and update it with bold colours and modern font, while this sign has been left, a sort of time capsule of post war design methodology.

Location

78-79 Hertford St, Broadgate, Coventry CV1 1LB