Words by Emilie Rigaud
10 Mars 2014
Type Font
In 2010, I was commisioned to design and develop a unique typeface for the new gardens of Singapore, “Gardens by the Bay”, reflecting the shapes and forms found in nature and ancient script used in Malaysia (the Pallava script). The family includes a light and a bold, as well as their alternate versions with swash capitals. Commissioned by Thomas Matthews (London).
After designing a first draft of the logo, the Thomas Matthews agency decided to develop a corresponding typeface and they contacted me to do so. The basis was the few existing letters of the logo, I enhanced them in the direction set for the whole communication of the Gardens, and completed the character set. Once the typeface was finished, it has been used to create the final logo:
After that, we developped a family of 4 members for the identity of the park. The light and the bold versions have both an ornamental ally, with swash capitals. These swash capitals have their roots in two things:
the organic shapes and forms found in nature, and the Pallava script.
The difficulty of this work has been the intended versatility of the font, which is used for posters announcing events in the park, as well as for its website, or for all the signage in the gardens.
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