From Typespotting to Warsaw letters
Artur Frankowski ATypI 2016 • Warsaw, Poland Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw ASP
Looking up the word “typespotting” in a dictionary of contemporary English would prove in vain. But for many type designers and type lovers it is an obvious activity of recording original inscriptions in the streets of cities such as London, Prague or Lisbon. And Warsaw is not an exception. During a few last years I managed to record a collection of old and new lettering and inscriptions from the streets of Warsaw, which was published in 2010 as a book “Typespotting Warszawa”. Having typespotting as a starting point I designed several typefaces (e.g. Golonka FA, Supersam FA, Preasens FA or Wasz FA) inspired by Warsaw lettering, neon signs and street typography from different historical periods. The Warsaw typefaces and their inspirations will be shown during the presentation.