Typeface Design for A2 Type
Four numerals, one complete typeface
1903 is a typeface drawn from carved numerals on a datestone above the former Homerton Terrace railway entrance in east London. Working from just four source characters — '1', '9', '0', and '3' — the designers pursued an open-ended exercise translating a unique lettering style into a contemporary typeface rather than reviving a historical one. It is released in one weight with two styles: Solid and Chiseled, the latter referencing the hand-carved origin.
Insights
- Only four source numerals served as the starting point, making the project both highly constrained and formally open-ended.
- The Chiseled style directly pays homage to the hand-carved quality of the original stonework.
- The design targets legibility at small sizes while retaining distinctive quirks visible at display scales.
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