A new (type)face for Canberra? - ABC Local

As you read these words they may look slightly different from the words I'm typing now. It depends on the typeface your device uses. I'm typing with Times New Roman; the 666 website publishes in Arial.

According to Geoff Hinchcliffe, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Canberra, millions of typefaces are already in existence but it's time for a new one, in this centenary year, to represent Canberra's character.

"Because of digital technology it's allowed people in their bedrooms and backyards to make typefaces. We need one because Canberra, as a design city, doesn't have one and... it has other fantastic designed artefacts that represent the city and its designed history and we think there's a great opportunity here for someone to bring a typeface into the conversation."

Versatile

The $10,000 Canberra Typeface Design Competition is open to everyone from top designers, to students, to children

Entrants are asked to display a "versatile and usable typeface" that will "reflect the nation's capital" using the words:

Five sexy Black Wizards judge Canberra Centenary Quest Champion.

Geoff Hinchcliffe says the words have been carefully chosen.

"It's just a playful fun sentence that captures some of the spirit of the competition but it's also, in terms of the letter forms, some really nice pairings of letters that the judges would like to see...how you resolve, say, a capital W next to the lower case i and z."

Something special

The winning typeface will be selected by a jury of distinguished typographers and designers and the University will have a non-exclusive licence to use it for three years to advertise or publicise Canberra and/or the University.

Competition adviser Elisabeth Judd says it's time we had something special for Canberra that's recognised across the nation and also internationally.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was a typeface that perhaps was used in celebratory situations for Canberra, to express Canberra...I think it could be really exciting to see how it's used."

The competition closes on 27 September and winners will be announced in October. You can find more information here.