ANDE TOWNSHIP

OPPORTUNITY

Create a digital typeface inspired by the hand-penned lettering found on a 1897 map of Anderson County.

SOLUTION

Ande Township is directly inspired by the bold and striking letterforms used to denote the names of each township of said county. The result is a typeface that can be used for a variety of contexts and applications.

Typeface Design, Packaging Concepts, Research, Ideation

PROCESS

The process of crafting this typeface went on for over two years (on and off again), so to read more about it, click the button below.

VIEW PROCESS

If you’re just interested in the results, keep scrolling.

THE SOURCE

The original map was created by J.H. Von Hasseln, but it seems to credit the pendrawing to someone named Geo E. Brown, which would make him the most likely creator of the letterforms that inspired the typeface. This map featured an abundance of unique and intricate glyphs that could’ve been used as inspiration, but ultimately, the pronounced, high-contrast nature of the township names was too captivating to ignore.

Conveniently enough, I was only missing a handful of letters from the get-go—like J, Q, X, and Z. However, that was only the majuscules. For all the lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols, I would have to create them from scratch—having them be informed by the style and structure of the already-existing forms.

Not only that, but I wanted this typeface to have a bit of range, so an Extended, Regular, and Condensed version would all need to be made. After enough time, trial-and-error, and testing, the new digital version of these historic letters slowly came to life. Being derived from the names of the townships of Anderson County, the name “Ande Township” naturally came to mind.

ANDE TOWNSHIP EXTENDED

ANDE TOWNSHIP REGULAR

ANDE TOWNSHIP CONDENSED

RANGE OF USE

IN-USE CONCEPTS

As a fun method to see how the letters felt in a realistic context, a few mockups were made to propose some feasible uses for Ande Township. Relatively simple, yet elegant, the typeface feels right at home when used in contexts like shop branding, packaging, and book covers.