While Robbie de Villiers and Jeremy Dooley want to design the typeface Chatype to celebrate everything that the growing community of Chattanooga, Tennessee has to offer, I'm supporting them on Kickstarter simply because they've created a beautiful font. Not that I don't like Chattanooga, a city that "boasts a burgeoning design community, a music scene that's playing some fierce catch-up, and a culture of entrepreneurship that's gaining national attention," but I'm more interested in de Villiers and Dooley's goal to create a city-wide visual identity based on the European city model.
"We want Chattanooga to be the poster child for municipal branding in America," de Villiers and Dooley say. "Many European cities commission a custom typeface and use it to set themselves apart. If you've ever traveled abroad, you've noticed how signage in different regions seems to really pop - because it's unique and communicates something new on that route. In America, a similar movement is beginning. Chattanooga can spark the typographic revolution!"
Chatype has until March 1st to reach its very reasonable $10,000 goal. If the idea of home-grown visual identity is important to you, consider supporting de Villiers and Dooley.
