Chattanooga, Tennessee recently became the first city to get its own font. The project was the brainchild of four local residents and graphic designers who believed that a standard typeface would help to brand the city and raise Chattanooga’s profile as a hub for innovation and design.
The group raised money for the project through a Kickstarter campaign and sought feedback from the community as they developed the typeface. At one point, they held a public form that was well-attended by local designers. The font was initially a stylized stencil, but that changed after some feedback on the legibility. “The stencil variant was relegated to an alternate form contained within the font which allows graphic designers the option to use the stencil form when they see fit,” said Jeremy Dooley, one of the project leaders.
The final typeface, named Chatype, has been embraced by the mayor and will be used throughout the city government on letterhead and internal signage.
What do you think of Chatype? Does your city need an official font?
