Typography artist Simon Stratford likes creating designs which have a backstory.
His font Mind the Gap was made with stencils and spray paint, as an ode to his “love/hate relationship” with the day by day commute. Hitchcut is an nod to Hitchcock and the film poster for Vertigo. And he created the font Before Breakfast was created – nicely, within the ten minutes earlier than breakfast.
Simon says he’s all the time been fascinated with typography. He’s additionally a fan of constructing movie star comparisons for his fonts; he describes Little Wonder as ‘extra Invoice Murray than Kanye West’, In the Wood as a barely spooky, ‘Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe’, and Munky as ‘extra Jeff Bridges than Adam Sandler.’
Typography impressed by music and lyrics
One constant supply of inspiration for Simon is music. His portfolio is stuffed with designs impressed by bands, songs, and lyrics: font kinds impressed by album art work, messy typefaces to match musical moods.
Right here’s 5 fonts from Simon’s portfolio, and the inventive musical inspiration behind them:
1. Fake Empire
Impressed by: Faux Empire, The Nationwide
This font was impressed by Faux Empire, a tune by rock band The Nationwide. To create it, Simon began from the fundamentals: paper, glue, and scissors. “It’s the outdated punk ethos of studying three chords and forming a band – however with fonts,” he wrote. The tip result's deliberately imperfect.
2. Mr. Blue Sky
Impressed by: Electrical Gentle Orchestra – Mr. Blue Sky
Even should you missed Mr. Blue Sky within the 1970’s, it’s gained current fame for its highlight within the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. And for good purpose – it’s catchy, upbeat, enjoyable. The font matches this vibe – as does the art work created to showcase it (beneath).
three. Balham to Brooklyn
Impressed by: Balham to Brooklyn, Turin Brakes
This retro, nostalgic font has many influences: American neon indicators, popular culture, and nostalgia. “I bought the title from a Turin Breaks tune,” says Simon. “It appeared like the right match. The 2 locations are so contrasting, Balham, London to Brooklyn USA. Additionally my favorite ingesting gap is in Balham.”
He even created a brief After Results animation for this font:
four. Gilly Script
Impressed by: Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie
“Ziggy performed guitar, jamming good with Bizarre and Gilly” is a lyric from Ziggy Stardust, a tune by David Bowie – and the inspiration behind the Gilly font. It was designed on an iPad Professional utilizing Procreate.
5. Atomic Dustbin
Impressed by: Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
Grungy, messy, daring – Atomic Dustbin was named after an English 90’s indie band, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – a band that Simon was “by no means actually a fan of”. Staying true to his movie star comparisons, he says that “if this font had been a celeb, it will be extra Kurt Cobain than Justin Timberlake.” There is no such thing as a lowercase possibility.
Just a few extra fonts by Simon – and the inspiration behind them:
- Troupe – impressed by outdated posters and letterforms
- Tuck – a school-themed font created utilizing an actual chalkboard
- Western Grit – primarily based on outdated Needed posters
- Circus Freak – a chromatic circus-inspired font
- Petit Jardin – a fragile font impressed by the French phrase for ‘small backyard’
- Bangers and Mash – one other ode to breakfast meals
- Gods Own Junkyard – impressed by the story of Chris “The Neon Man” Bracey
- Gently Script – named after a poem by Dylan Thomas
- Not my Type – a font created with an actual typewriter
