Inside 'Football Type' - A Book Celebrating the Typography of Football
Inside 'Football Type' - A Book Celebrating the Typography of Football
Limited edition book explores history of football typography.
Designer and Bolton Wanderes fan Rick Barnes has brought together two of his biggest passions - football and typography - to produce a stunning book entitled 'Football Type'. Charting the history and development of fonts in football the book, which took two years to produce, is non-profit with all proceeds going to charity.
'Football Type' explores subjects such as which landmark motivated Real Madrid s 2005 kit digits and why did a naked Gerrie MÜhren force Johan Cruyff to wear the legendary No.14 for the first time? As well as broader subjects such as players alleginces to particular numbers.
Inspiration for came from a Creative Review article by Sheridan Bird whose work can also be read in World Soccer, England programmes and Manchester United publications. Barnes and Bird then teamed up to create the book and were helped along the way by many clubs and brands such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Nike, adidas, PUMA, England and the FA.
I stumbled across the article on the archives, and it got me thinkin so many people are passionate about football and design but I don't think there's ever been a book about football type. I contacted Bird, started collating official typefaces, and realised it was turning into quite a nice project. After that, I contacted everyone I could think of who was involved in designing football lettering, said Barnes when interviewed by Creative Review. 
The book has limited edition run of 1000 copies so you better be quick if you want one. Each copy is covered by hand using official Premier League lettering and customers can choose their own number colour at varying price point. All proceeds will go to Football Foundation, a UK charity that funds sports facilities and grassroots projects. 
To buy a copy of 'Football Type' visit footballtype.co.uk Let us know what you think.
