ITC: Cheltenham

ITC: Cheltenham is a serif typeface initially designed for private use of the N.Y. Cheltenham Press by Ingalls Kimball. As the typeface evolved with over 22 variations and a couple revisions by different type designers and foundries, it has made it’s place in the design world as an advertising workhorse that many love. To showcase the depth of the typeface and it’s success as a subheader and headliner font for newspapers (notably: The New York Times and the New York Daily News), the font is showcased alongside the serious and grim history of Chernobyl, from it’s inception as a disaster to present-day.  

As the book progresses, the beginning is shown in red, the rulings in blue, and the present in green. The glyphs within ITC: Cheltenham are used to represent radioactivity in various unique ways. Intensely burned images and noisey feedback across spreads reflect the often invisible damage of radioactivity that shows up on ruined film rolls. Citations are displayed alongside photos as filing cabinet tab organizers and finally, dates are expressed as geiger counter readouts. The front cover expresses the classified documents and secrecy of the event while the back cover represents lost stories and information from cover-up efforts and a lack of media representation of those affected today.