The winner of the Canberra Centenary Typeface Competition was announced today!
We’ve got a font now people!
James Raftopoulos beat out 84 other entrees to claim the $10,000 prize and get his font known as Canberra’s official font.
The entrants were asked to display their font using the sentence “‘Five sexy Black Wizards judge Canberra Centenary Quest Champion“.
I don’t know if actual sexy Black Wizards were used in judging.
Thus far I can’t seem to find a place to download it, and I can’t find any mention of whether it’s going to be made available to the public. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.
So thoughts? Do you like it? Do you feel it represents Canberra? Should the RiotWRAP be written in it?
Chair of the competition and master typographer and art director, Mike Chandler, said the jury was pleased with the quality and scope of the submissions but Mr Raftopoulos’ typeface stood out because it “successfully addresses the elements and spirit of the brief”, which sought to uncover a typeface that had longevity and would be considered a “classic” well into the future.
“It delivers a typeface that captures the spirit of Canberra both for yesterday, today and tomorrow. The entry conveys a sense of the cultural and architectural history of Canberra translated in a contemporary form. The jury was impressed by the simple, clean and light expression evident in the typeface.
“We are confident that Mr Raftopoulos’ entry can be used as a display face for headlines and sub headings. It is a graceful yet modern typeface that reflects the potential of typographic design while instilling a reminiscence for the past,” Mr Chandler said.
Mr Raftopoulos, a freelance graphic designer based in Melbourne, was elated to be named the winner of the competition.“I’m really honoured to have my typeface considered as a worthy winner,” Mr Raftopoulos said. “I entered on a whim and didn’t expect to win. It’s amazing and I still can’t believe it.”
The 26-year-old designer said his design came together relatively quickly. “It’s the first typeface I’ve ever designed and I was surprised how quickly the concept and initial letterforms came together. The challenge now will be fleshing out the rest of the characters and technical detail that comes with creating a useable typeface.”
Mr Raftopoulos, who only two years ago was working in a bank, said his idea was inspired by the brief and was loosely based on the plans that Walter Burley Griffin drew for Canberra. “I saw something there and put pen to paper and went from there.”
“The prize money will go to develop my design career,” Mr Raftopoulos said.
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