Some thoughts on Public Lettering and why it matters beyond Instagram

Two short talks given to the Patrons of the Heritage of London Trust (HOLT) about the importance of public lettering.

HOLT were aware of the work that I had been doing with Phil Baines in documenting lettering in our public spaces and had invited us to speak at a lunch for their 20 patrons. Elena Veguillas, then a PhD student at CSM investigating ‘Architectural lettering, visual identity and early branding in commercial buildings’ (2024) stood in for Phil Baines.

The presentation was structured in two parts. I argued a case for the contribution lettering makes to civic heritage and our understanding of our public spaces and sense of place. Elena then shared her research insights using the specific case study of the high street lettering of Trumans brewery and its contribution to better understanding design, cultural and social histories. A time of open discussions and questions followed. Prior to meeting HOLT had shared examples of heritage preservation cases that included letterforms they had recently funded, and which I had included in my reflections, so there was an opportunity to share reflections, insights and exchange knowledge.

Key points raised:
. how to think beyond capturing images and develop a critical framework for evaluating how and why lettering works in our public spaces
. an introduction to the Central Lettering Record archive and the practice of documenting and preserving historic lettering as a means of informing and inspiring design and lettering practices of the present
. the significance of lettering as a site-responsive and contextually-informed practice
. the dominance of typographic approaches in education and the limiting effect on an ongoing understanding of the creative possibilities for practice – hence the value in preserving examples of far richer and responsive examples

Contribution:
. To introduce a set of critical tools for non-specialist audiences to more effectively evaluate lettering
. To illustrate the impact of applying such tools in understanding how criteria combine in determining the meaning of success when considering public lettering
. To articulate the ways that material culture research informs design history and contemporary practice

In summary, this was an opportunity to sit down at a table of non-specialist patrons of an organisation that makes decisions about how to spend heritage funding and to reflect with them on the significance of lettering within material culture research and heritage studies practices. Our insights and reflections were welcomed. The anticipated impact would be preservation strategies that extend ideas of architectural significance to include lettering details thereby ensuring more examples are recognised and protected.