Wednesday, 8:20am
24 February 2010

‘A handbag?’

the type department
Graphic design
Typography

Studio8 rebrands Central with a dramatic new custom typeface

Matt Willey and Zoe Bather of Studio8 have just announced their integrated design scheme for the Central School of Speech & Drama, which includes identity design, wayfinding and a custom typeface, Fogerty.

CSSD_CAFE SIGN

‘Central wanted its new identity to be exuberant but retain a sense of the heritage and prestige the school has,’ says Bather.

CSSD&UOL_Logo_50mm+_Black

CSSD_WAYFINDING SIGN

The school, part of the University of London, was founded in 1906 and its courses - in acting, theatre design and voice - are held in high regard. Its public productions take place throughout the year in the school's Embassy Theatre at their Swiss Cottage campus.

CSSD_POSTERS

Earnest

pigeonsign

Studio8 researched old playbills and theatrical ephemera and devised a bespoke typeface based on the neon tube lighting common in theatre signs (above). They then worked with the Dalton Maag foundry to draw a sans serif font based on the original sign for the Embassy Theatre.

CENTRAL_ref 8

They added an inline stroke to each character to create a typeface family in three weights: solid, inline and hairline. The typeface is named after Elsie Fogerty, the school's founder.

CENTRAL SCHOOL_Studio8 Design 3 (crop)

They used Fogerty to create the new logo (using inline and hairline) and are now applying the typeface to a large range of branded materials, including a canvas bag (top), which proved popular with the client.

Opening Times Vinyl

Read more about the project at Studio8’s own website.

Eye, the international review of graphic design, is a quarterly journal you can read like a magazine and collect like a book. It’s available from all good design bookshops and at the online Eye shop, where you can order subscriptions, single issues and classic collections of themed back issues.