Typography is the art and craft of arranging written words. It “creates logical and visual links within an arrangement of letters and other characters ...” (Bilz, Klanten and Mischler, 2007). This study will evaluate how letter forms and letter type shape the city and identity of Brighton. This involves looking at both formal and informal city typography through to describing font classifications, display or text type, colour, and the message being communicated to the onlooker. Brighton was chosen for a number of reasons: one reason is that it is a historical city, full of period architecture and period signage, very much a product of The Georgian, Regency and Victorian era. Secondly, Brighton is a free and liberal city home to many sub-cultures and minority groups, like the green, vegan, gay and trans communities. Generally speaking, Brighton is also considered to be a happy and friendly city; some people even refer to it as the United Kingdom’s “hippest” city (Petridis, 2010).

 

Formal city typography is used to display serious information or convey messages from the authorities. In most cases, it has a traditional look and uses font styles like Old English and Serif (Haley, n.d.) but mostly Serif. The reason formal typefaces use Serif is that it is a highly legible font and, as such, the most suitable in terms of guiding the reader to the next words on the line.

 

There are several case examples of Brighton City’s use of formal typography. One example is the typography used on buses without designs or images. The bus is designed in three plain colours: beige, red and blue which used together present a fairly inconspicuous backdrop for the words. The main colour used belongs to the beige family which, according to research by the California State University San Marcos, represents a formal voice (California State University San Marcos, n.d.). Within this beige backdrop, the words are placed (Brighton & Hove) and the information conveyed (every 7 minutes). The red and blue colours are used sparingly, with a bit more curve and flow, suggesting movement and waves; they act as a kind of frame for the dominant beige colour and the typography placed inside of it. Notably, there is no typography placed within the red or blue, so overall it is a fairly conservative message within a fairly conservative backdrop.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The type of font face used on the bus is Serif with blue and red strokes that guide the eyes across the lines of words. However, to make the words look varied and have specific emphases, different font sizes and different thicknesses are used (Haley, n.d.). Words with the main details have a large font points as compared to others; Brighton&Hove for example, has are large, thick and black, giving them pride of place on the bus, while phrases like ‘up to’ are less heavy and have a lighter blue font which is just a phrase that connects the main message being communicated and has no meaning by itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Brighton Pier is a good example of the city’s impressive typography as well. Brighton Pier is a place for leisure activities and since it also represents a massive part of Brighton’s cultural history, the letter head is both classical and sophisticated, a nod to the Victorian era from which it emerged. This representation is evidenced by the font face used; Slab Serif. This typeface is used mainly in advertisements and is characterized by its heavy, angular nature, even on the strokes (University of Houston, n.d.). The colours used for the pier are bright yellow and illuminate for visibility, creating the lively mood which the Palace Pier is known for . To add to the visibility, the pier has enormous font size and its signage is fixed atop a bridge meaning so that it is easy to read and recognise. The words are artistically arranged in a kind of curve, creating a dome-like effect – indeed domes and pavilions are a key feature of Brighton – and this gives us a metaphorical open-armed greeting. I would suggest this softening of angles – an oblong curve rather than a rectangle – makes us feel more welcome and is more in line with the slight curve of the earth’s horizon that stretches out behind it.

Another representation of typography in Brighton can be observed in local services like the “visit Brighton” website. This website is an online platform for promoting tourism by displaying the many attractions and sights found in the city. The font classification differs depending on the aim of the website design. Some fonts are decorative and lively like the name of the website itself (visitBrighton) while others, such as the categories, are not; their job is to merely inform, not entertain. The colourful ‘visitBrighton’ words, are barrelled together to create an effective brand or logo form, that serves to reinforce the fun and happening identity the city prides itself on. Brighton is after all often described as “the party town”, “London-on-Sea”, “Hen & Stag central”: all of these pseudonyms – and more – have been used to describe Brighton. Other words below the brand logo like ‘Things to do’ and ‘What’s on’ are much less dramatic and artistic as they are merely there to perform their function as information conveyers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To bring in some life to the typography, dingbats have been incorporated in the making of the logo. Dingbats involve the special use of images or symbols instead of letters. If you study the “visitBrighton” logo carefully, the ‘t’ in ‘visit’ and ‘Brighton’ actually resemble a little person. Brighton is known for its artistic and eccentric people so having this website blending in different fonts, colours, and typefaces artistically makes for a very good representation of the kind of people who live here.

 

Another example of recognisable typography in Brighton is the public art created by Naoimh Looney. This art goes by the title, “I have great desire, my desire is great.” It is located on the sea-facing wall of Madeira Drive and was created in 2008. The font face used is, again, Serif. The anatomy of the lettering is much the same as the previous ones in that it can be described as a display font face; all letters appear thick and large to ensure visibility and legibility. This art on the wall is a public, artistic and mildly philosophical statement, communicating a message to the all of the people who gaze up at it.

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It’s interesting to note that the material used to make the statement is steel which reflects the sky and sea. By doing so, it can be said to also reflect the city of Brighton itself, and the people who live there, reminding us of the great desires we have inside us, desires that are full of hope and ambition, that are as diverse as the people who live here.  (Brighton & Hove City Council, n.d.). Conversely, the metal words are expected to rust after some time since they are made from steel and exposed to the sea and salt. There is apparently meaning in this as well; the slow withering can be related to the gradual absorption of the artwork in the lives of people around it.

 

In researching these formal examples of typography, it can be said that anything associated with public signs, public transport and communicating information needs to use typography that is clear and easily readable. Apart from “visitBrighton”, which plays with form, colour, shape and mood, most of the typography has so far been ‘emotionally neutral' because the aim was to pass a simple, clear and/or informative message (SQA, 2008), for example: “Brighton & Hove Bus, Route 7, every 7 minutes”. As discussed earlier, the message being communicated using formal typography is typically serious or has some authority behind it but Brighton is special in that it often uses formal typography with an informal messaging (or mixes them together) to denote the friendly and artistic nature of the city. It cannot be too informal, however, as many of these typographies are being used by local councils, transport companies, tourist information and private businesses. There is, therefore a clear objective: to relate information, convey a certain image of the city, attract people to visit and, of course, make money. As Steven Heller said:" Typefaces and typography are never

designed in a vacuum. Practical and commercial motivations prevail but social and political rationales are never far away. " (Heller, 2003)

Informal typography, on the other hand, is used when presenting a ‘casual impression’. Other people describe this as a ‘friendly’ type of typography (SQA, 2008). There are no major types of fonts used in informal typography since each has a distinct, unique look. Informal typefaces can be described as bubbly, round, and extra thick hence having no sense of formality in them (Cousins, 2012). With respect to the informal typography in Brighton, I will look at ‘designer buses’ using alternative typography as a comparison with the more conservative beige, red and blue discussed before. I will also look at the typography used on shop fronts in the laines, and the graffiti style that covers large parts of the city; all of which give us a completely different angle on the historical and more conservative elements that Brighton is derived from.

 

Designer buses, such as those below, tell us a great deal about the identity of a city, especially when they are adopted by authorities, councils and businesses with whom we don’t immediately associate creativity and a sense of fun.

 

 

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Buses with designs have several patterns and images; in most cases, they are brightly coloured. Designers Elwood and Harvey came up with a sample illustration of buses for Brighton & Hove  (Elwood+Harvey, n.d.). The first one has colours like white, blue, pink, beige, black, and grey, used together to create psychedelic flower patterns. In many ways, this is a throwback to the ‘flower power’ designs associated with the 1960s (The Beatles Album & Film ‘The Magical Mystery Tour’ featured a similar psychedelic bus). The actual words written on the bus - “FUN BRIGHTON” - are, however, more of a throwback to the glittering circus typography of the Victorian era – a font style known as “Bracelet Victorian”. So this combination of “hippy England” and “Victorian England” makes for an interesting mix and the overall effect is one of free-spiritedness (the psychedelic flowers) and eccentricity (the Bracelet Victorian font style) which is a very accurate reflection of Brighton itself.

 

 

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The second bus has two main sections: the first section is white while the second, lower section is a patterned grey gradient. In between the two sections are childlike, colourful images of: shoes, bus stop signs, buildings, walking people, and faces. They are arranged in an order that seems to tell a picture story since they are all connected by arrows. The images and patterns give an impression of a dingbat font, displaying a very casual and informal mood (Cousins, 2012). A mood that is warm and relaxed, but also one that reflects the digital world we inhabit – many of the images look like emojis and emoticons. The words used alongside these images are again childlike, colourful and completely informal: “HOP ON, HOP OFF”. They are casual instructions, informal suggestions, unlike the more conservative buses which display serious information about time, route and Bus branding.

 

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The ‘To Be Worn Again’ advertising poster and store signage is another example of informal typography in a casual ‘hippie’ style; again, the words are surrounded by colourful flowers and strong, warm colours. This typography makes use of different typefaces with different font sizes too. In the poster, more conservative font styles and bigger font sizes are used to highlight the main message (the sale) varying depending on the urgency and importance of each part of the message. To Be Worn Again is located in Brighton’s well-loved and well-renowned North Laines. Virtually every storefront is unique and that is largely because the stores are independent and run by individual store-keepers. Walking around the North Laines is a typographic explosion of unique colours, fonts, styles, sizes and word use. Posh Totty, Hell’s Kitchen and Daisy Daisy are just a few of the eccentric shop names which make up the unique area known for its trendiness and quirkiness. It makes sense, therefore, that the formalities of typography are relaxed, or dispensed with altogether, and that words become more like toys than indicators of information. They are often used to make jokes and puns, to make us feel like we are in a carnival which, arguably, we are; again parts of Brighton seem to link together its rich carnival history and its modern, retail quirkiness. It is worth noting that even the archaic spelling of ‘Laines’ is favoured over the modern spelling: Lanes.

 

When one walks around the Brighton town centre, he or she encounters so many colourful murals. Murals are works of art or paintings directly done on walls, or the sides of buildings. Mural works of art are similar to graffiti but the only difference is that graffiti can be vandalism while murals are generally seen to be works of art completed with permission from the owners of the properties. Some shops have a combination of murals and graffiti as their shop fronts. An example of a shop front that mixes mural and typography is Dirty Harry taking the famous movie starring Clint Eastwood as its inspiration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Graffiti is another type of informal typography. Carolyn Thompson a Graphic Engineer claims that graphic designers spend a lot of time on typographic applications yet, “There is, however, a world of rich typographic experience both formal and informal in signs, graffiti, and other forms of lettering that inhabit our everyday environment” (Thompson, 2011). She advocates for more attention for public typography that includes graffiti. There are so many graffiti works on Kensington Street, in Brighton and most of them have distinct signatures (or tags), though usually written in small font sizes. \because of this, some of the face types are unreadable and identifying their anatomy types becomes very hard. Even for the readable face types, the anatomy is hard to identify since the words "use unorthodox letter shapes and proportions to achieve distinctive and dramatic results” (Haley et al., 2012). Most graffiti artists, however, want to retain their anonymity so their signatures are invariably highly illegible and extremely ambiguous on purpose – only other taggers know who they are.. Here are a few selections of typorgaphic-driven graffiti that can be found in Brighton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Original Species”, North Place image 11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

“Fuck the System” Brighton Police Station image 12                            “Protest Point” London Road  image 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“God is a Dinosaur” Church Street  image 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These graffiti works of art are not just created for art’s sake but, more often than not, transmit a message to the viewer, and invariably make a strong social, political or even spiritual statement. Some of the graffiti above shows the more fringe, anarchic and rebellious side of the city. Brighton is largely a left-leaning, anti-authoritarian, socialist and playful town, so it’s no surprise to see those ideologies and provocative statements reflected in the graffiti. There is also plenty of graffiti in Brighton which reflects the sexual diversity within the city; it is, of course the LGBTQ capital of England.

 

 

        “I am…” St James Street, Kemptown.  image 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here the typography is easily understood, written though it is personalised hand-written style, it still differs from the ambiguity of graffiti tagging. The personalised style works well with the personalised message of someone admitting to being gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender. In the message, the person ends up claiming that he or she is human and just like any other person. Embedded as it is within the rainbow flag of the gay community and placed in the so-called Gay Village that Kemptown is also known as, this is an overtly political and human message about the right to be considered equal, to not be judged and, crucially, be accepted into the community. Brighton is known for its acceptance and tolerance of all types of people, regardless of sexual orientation, political or religious belief, race or country of origin. Its identity is very much built on principles of acceptance.

 

Taking a closer look at all of the murals, graffiti, and shop fronts in the North Laines, it is fair to say that each one is unique and therefore impossible to extract one uniform typography that runs across them. Different types of fonts are used; there is also an element of complexity since one has to look closer at them attentively to get the message being communicated. Emotions being expressed through these works of arts and individual shops range from laughter and love to anger and hatred, others display commercial, consumer messages, while others criticise war and governments, or make a joke about a cultural reference. These different messages are backed up by a colour palette unique to each one, with many different colours used. Again, many of the fonts used in informal typography harp back the 1960s: hippie fonts and can at least be named; fonts such as Lil’ Rebel, Childish Reverie, Sundowners, and Areaman (Creative Market, 2017) are all used and combined with modern font experimentations to add a sense of fun and displacement. Outside of the buildings, this can also be seen on logos, business cards, posters and, of course, websites and digital media.

 

In consideration of all these forms of typography, Brighton can easily be identified as a creative and eccentric city. Most of the signage and works of art are a representation of what actually happens here in Brighton or what can be found in the city if you are looking for it. The bridges representing large water bodies available; the fun informal typography on buses representing the city as a vibrant place with lots of fun activities; graffiti on drugs, politics, sexuality show the many diverse types of people living within the city and that all parties involved are seeking to be accepted in the society equally. The blending of formal and informal typography, of classical and alternative, of historical, retro, modern and quirky, all work together to shape the identity of a city that is at its core: artistic, proud, colourful and free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography: 

 

- Bilz, S., Klanten, R. and Mischler, M. (2007). The little know-it-all. Berlin: Gestalten.

-Petridis, A. (2010). Is Brighton Britain's hippest city?. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/19/brighton-britains-coolest-city.

- Haley, A. (n.d.). Type Classifications. [online] Fonts.com. Available at: https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-1/type-anatomy/type-classifications.

- California State University San Marcos. (n.d.). "Color and Typography." Brand Style Guide. [online] Available at: https://www.csusm.edu/communications/brand-style-guide/fonts-and-color/index.html.

- Haley, A. (n.d.). Text v. Display. [online] Fonts.com. Available at: https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-1/type-anatomy/text-v-display.

- University of Houston. (n.d.). Type Classification. [online] Available at: http://design.uh.edu/mcgettigan/media_intermediate/Intermediate_TypeClassifcation.pdf.

- Brighton & Hove City Council. (n.d.). Public Art: I have great desire My desire is great. [online] Available at: https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/leisure-and-libraries/arts-and-culture/public-art-i-have-great-desire-my-desire-great.

- SQA. (2008). Formal vs. Informal. [online] Available at: https://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/UID01CD/page_30.htm.

- Heller, S. (2003). The meaning of type. Eye, (50).

- SQA. (2008). Formal vs. Informal. [online] Available at: https://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/UID01CD/page_30.htm.

- Cousins, C. (2012). Make a Statement with Type. [online] Codrops. Available at: https://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/09/26/make-a-statement-with-type/.

- Elwood+Harvey. (n.d.). Brighton + Hove Buses. [online] Available at: http://elwoodandharvey.com/brighton-hove-buses/.

- Cousins, C. (2012). Make a Statement with Type. [online] Codrops. Available at: https://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/09/26/make-a-statement-with-type/.

- Thompson, C. (2011). I Scream For Public Typography. [online] Behance. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/2466795/I-Scream-For-Public-Typography.

- Haley, A., Poulin, R., Seddon, T., Leonidas, G., Saltz, I., Henderson, K. and Alterman, T. (2012). Typography, Referenced: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to the Language, History, and Practice of Typography.. Beverly, Massachusetts: Rockport Publishers.

- Creative Market. (2017). 20 Amazing Hippie Fonts That Bring Back the '60s. [online] Available at: https://creativemarket.com/blog/hippie-fonts.

 

 

 

Images: 

 

Image1: http://showbus.com/efe/b&h.htm

Image2: https://www.visitbritain.com/ca/en/brighton-pier#ZCZzK3SfheG3Upld.97

Image3: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=136688&picture=brighton-pier-sign

Image4: https://www.visitbrighton.com/

Image5: http://thinkjamesphoto.com/blog/2014/5/i-have-great-desire

Image6: http://elwoodandharvey.com/brighton-hove-buses/

Image7: http://elwoodandharvey.com/brighton-hove-buses/

Image8: http://www.brilliantbrighton.com/news/50-off-everything-on-to-be-worn-again-website/

Image9: http://thetobewornagainblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/

Image10: http://www.welovebrighton.com/best-of-brighton/vintage-clothing-brighton/

Image11: https://brightongraffitiandstreetart.wordpress.com/tag/commission/

Image12: https://brightongraffitiandstreetart.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/fuck-the-system-william-street-brighton-sussex/

Image13: https://brightongraffitiandstreetart.wordpress.com/tag/brighton/

Image14: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/573294227542707479/

Image15: https://becomeboundless.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/hiding-in-plain-sight/gay-pride-mural/