About TwinCities
In 2003 the University of Minnesota Design Institute sought to commission from leading typographic designers concepts for a new headline and/or body text typeface for use in the Twin Cities Design Celebration (TCDC). Kontour was one of the commissioned studios. The typeface was to reflect the spirit of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, two sister cites which in 2003 were at the forefront of America’s most interesting architecture and urban design. The typeface was to be used as a branding tool for the festival and to raise people’s awareness of typography and design in the cityscape. The Design Institute was interested in the font(s) being used for various applications, such as a logotype, collateral material, way finding, and signage, among others to promote the Twin Cities Design Celebration of 2003-2004.
Conceptual ideas for the proposal focused on the inmost nature of cityscapes being defined by architecture, panoramic views of streets and buildings’ roof lines receding into the distance. Perspective angles are ubiquitously present. The idea for the TwinCities fonts included alluding to three-dimensional views typically accentuated in dense cities. Many American cities are based on the gridiron scheme, straight parallel streets crossing other straight parallel streets at right angles. This rigid horizontal/vertical structure, together with a 45 degree slant, was used as a grid base to design letterforms. Curves were added to the form vocabulary in order to loosen up overly rigid characteristics. The proposed typefaces sought a balance of ease of readability and memorable signature. Design Institute’s proposal called for an abundance of applications, which in turn necessitated the submission of more than one font.
References to the Twin Cities architectural variety served as inspiration to develop sample font styles. The family’s resulting different weights, although sharing the same underlying skeleton, appear only remotely interpolated. The family was complemented with a symbol font consisting of perspectival and architectural form elements. The diverse weights were envisioned to benefit the broad spectrum of desired applications for the Twin Cities Design Celebration.
Sketches for the TwninCities font family
Readings
Metro Letters, edited by Deborah Littlejohn, published by the University of Minnesota Design Institute, 2003, features the participants’ commissions and documents the design processes.