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Number ligatures or address inspiration?
Posted by Luma Vine in
15 Aug 2011 — 7:51am
15 Aug 2011 — 7:51am
I am working on a custom house number, and I am having trouble finding some interesting examples. Are there any neat examples of number ligatures? Or really anything that uses numbers in an interesting way beyond just interesting individual numbers combined. To be more specific, nothing too ornate, a kind of 1910s craftsman/foursquare/arts & crafts style. I was thinking of something that could be made as a single piece of material instead of mounting each number individually. Just looking for inspiration and ideas at this point.
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15 Aug 2011 — 1:38pm
Arts and crafts font figures look nice reversed on a dark plaque.
eg. P22 Dard Hunter, ITC Rennie Macintosh.
Paul Shaw's Kolo is more Art Nouveau.
15 Aug 2011 — 2:24pm
Old thread about numeral ligatures:
http://www.typophile.com/node/40401
15 Aug 2011 — 2:57pm
Despite my functionalist tendencies, I have always had a soft spot for house numbers that are spelled out in words.
16 Aug 2011 — 7:19am
Thanks! I don't think the spelled out script is right for this project, unfortunately. It needs to be a good bit less ornate to work with the architecture. Although it is not classic mission or prairie style, so something strictly Arts & Crafts proper is not necessary either. It is not really a historic restoration so being true to the era is a loose parameter. I really love those ligated numerals! That is the kind of thing I was thinking, but I didn't have quite the right search terms. There really are not many examples of that. I was looking at P22 Dard Hunter & ITC Rennie Macintosh, which do offer a good starting point. I was hoping to bring more specific designed relationships between the adjacent numbers than a font could afford, and ligatures was how I was thinking about creating that feel. Thanks for the responses! Off to sketching...
16 Aug 2011 — 9:59am
If you are sketching, you might refer to some sources on monograms for ideas, eg:
http://www.amazon.com/Monograms-Alphabetic-Devices-Pictorial-Archives/dp...
(Not all are as elaborate as those shown on the cover!—and note "Customers Who Also Bought" section.)
16 Aug 2011 — 10:18am
What is the sequence of digits in the house number?
16 Aug 2011 — 10:27am
Thanks Nick! Good thought, I will have a look.
16 Aug 2011 — 11:43am
It's 1324. Some interesting relationships already.
17 Aug 2011 — 2:17pm
Neutra Number was designed for building numbers. I read its white spaces as ligatures:
http://www.dwr.com/product/neutra-number-aluminum.do?gclid=COyD4pT91qoCF...
17 Aug 2011 — 2:09pm
I hired John Downer to hand paint numbers for my house sign. The house has an Arts & Craft style exterior. The numerals on the sign are based on John's Iowan Oldstyle type, which fits nicely with the style of the house and gate, but we tested variations of weight and proportion to get the best legibility and impact when the sign is seen from the road.
19 Aug 2011 — 1:57pm
John: Photos please? :)
1 Sep 2011 — 9:06am
If anyone is interested where the progress is on this project:
After some research and sketching, I arrived at the image below. Looking into copper with a tin edge, hence the texture on the image.
1 Sep 2011 — 11:28am
Nice!
But have you tested it for readability from a fast car? :-)
2 Sep 2011 — 10:17am
Thanks Nick! Your Bodoni Egyptian Pro was one inspiration, so thanks doubly! Now about that readability testing...
As a sidenote, I haven't found a face with a /3/ that has a flat top with a ball terminal - interesting.
So here is how I am thinking of incorporating the two different metals:
2 Sep 2011 — 10:43am
These do!
2 Sep 2011 — 10:53am
Nice!
2 Sep 2011 — 5:21pm
Two different metals... A bi-metal number that can change shape as the temperature rises and falls! I love it!!!
:o)
(looks great)
2 Sep 2011 — 6:43pm
I think the first number pair would read better if the top part of the 3 were larger and used more of the space.
3 Sep 2011 — 12:02am
9 Sep 2011 — 12:21pm
Thanks for the comments! I made some changes based on your suggestions.
9 Sep 2011 — 3:20pm
Not very relevant, but pretty. It’s from my friends farm.
9 Sep 2011 — 3:35pm
Doing a search right now, but not having much luck. I worked with a client who bought Futura Serie which had a sweet set of osf but I appear to be finding dead and/or usless links. Strangely, many of them are throwing up a bunch or free stuff pop-ups. The 1 and 2 are particularly nice. Very close to Neutra Number but from a much larger family.
9 Sep 2011 — 3:33pm
Regarding “single piece of material” any stencil type style would meet that criteria. Futura Stencil Black is pretty neat.
29 Oct 2011 — 9:17pm
Check out where this project ended up: http://www.behance.net/gallery/1324/2070634
Thanks for all the comments I received. Hope you enjoy the final result!