How Canvey Sans was made
Exploring how could a visual representation of a common voice could be constructed and methods of co-creation, this typeface became an experiment of such. I asked people to describe the town in a few single words and then write one artistically. These letterings defined the style and rules of the typeface.
There were two university students who first participated in my experiment. One wrote the word “calming” as if it was in a script, nostalgic typeface you see on postcards. The other wanted to write “urbanised” but had to go, so just left me with “UR” and told me she wanted them to be rigid like buildings.
These two letterings defined the overall style of the typeface: a combination of modularity and nostalgia.
Two librarians picked the word “friendly” and since Canvey Island is on the shore, drew waves as you can meet with people on the beach or near a seawall.
Quite a few people drew hearts, which became alternatives for i and j.
Someone came up with an idea of connecting e and y, that turned into a ligature.
A style in which these letters were drawn gave an idea to make the uppercase wider than the lowercase.
I roamed the town looking for ephemera and artifacts and found this welcome sign where letters W and M, by mistake, were flipped the wrong way around. You can tell by the stroke contrast: it should’ve been thick-thin-thick-thin for W, and thin-thick-thin-thick for M.
Such details can make you imagine stories behind them and people who made them, so I included reverse contrast W and M in the typeface.
What’s Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a town 2 hours from London, surrounded by the sea and a creek, with 38 000 dwellers. I went there as a tourist, the town felt very warm and welcoming and every person I talked to said that Canvey has a strong community spirit. This place became my site and an opportunity to explore a close-knit community. I came many times, talking to strangers and to local community organisations.
That’s all, folks!