Client: New Orleans Tile Company
Type of Work: Logo, identity
Software: Adobe Illustrator CS3
This company has a contract with the city of New Orleans to replace the aging encaustic ceramic tiles that spell out street names in the historic town center. They also make custom tiles for the general public.
The logotype was inspired by the letterforms on the original tiles, first installed in the 1920s. I traced each letter in Adobe Illustrator from photographs of the actual tiles, as no computer font came even close to matching the idiosyncratic charm of the originals. I added gray rules between each word to suggest the shape of the tiles, but left the shape open so as not to enclose and cramp the type. Iterations of the logo were created for full-color, two-color (spot color) and black and white applications. Double-sided business cards and letterhead were also part of the identity.