Fairground

We were very privileged to be asked along for a sign writing session a couple of weeks ago with the costume and performance design department at the Arts University Bournemouth.

We were working with scenic painting students to create vintage fairground props for a production of “Oh, What A Lovely War”, undertaking most of the lettering ourselves but also instructing and getting the students involved in some of the basic techniques of hand painted lettering.

I worked on hand-drawn designs and pounce patterns prior to the session. We had limited time so we wanted to get started with the students on pouncing and painting the lettering.

Once we had finished the lettering, the students were applying a crackle glaze over the top of the props in order to give an aged, weathered effect.

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British Lorries In Colour

I felt like sharing some shots from a recent book find. We undertook some handpainted work on a restored vintage truck for a client a few months ago and, while discussing the design and work brief with the client he pulled out an old hardback book called British Lorries In Colour, by S.W. Stevens-Stratten, to give me some guidelines on what he was hoping to achieve.

He let me use the book as a reference but it proved such a valuable resource that, upon completion of the work, I felt the need to track it down on ebay for keeps to add to the ever-expanding sign / lettering library.

Here’s some of the examples that stood out for me in particular.

Scripts

Scripts

Some fine xmas reading this year, courtesy of Steven Heller and Louise Fili’s “Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age”.

Steven Heller has released several volumes on typography and design. This one will take its place on my shelf alongside his excellent “New Vintage Type” book  – inspirational stuff and essential reading for this fledgling type geek!

New Vintage Type