Automotive Type, Part Thirteen

I’m following up my twelfth edition of my series on automotive type with a wider range of truck badges. For part thirteen, I’m featuring badges appearing on everything from sport-utes, to commercial delivery trucks, to big rigs. Even with purely utilitarian vehicles like the 1952 Dodge and 1958 Divco delivery trucks, the type treatments have loads of character. Wouldn’t the Divco logo look great on a hat?

A couple of my favorites are the Peterbilt and the 1977 Dodge Street Van. The Peterbilt mark has one of my all-time favorite scripts of any logo. The Street Van badge just screams 1970s, and yet I’ve seen an almost identical style show up in a number of recent lettering designs.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1952 Dodge Panel Delivery, Peterbilt Semi. Second row, left to right: 1972 Chevrolet, 1977 Dodge Tradesman B200 van. Third row, left to right: Autocar automotive hauler, 1958 Divco delivery van, International Scout II. Bottom row, left to right: 1962 International Scout, 1972 Ford Bronco, 1963 Ford Econoline truck.

Automotive Type, Part Twelve

For my twelfth edition of my series on automotive type, I’m giving some love to “old reliable,” the American pickup truck. There are some great variations in truck badges from the 1930s through the 1960s. They range from the scripts of the 1930s Willys and Chevrolet to the bold chunkiness of the 1956 GMC and 1960 Ford. Speaking of that Ford badge, how about the gear/lightning bolt combo? So cool! I’m also a huge fan of the 1957 Chevrolet Cameo script. It’s a great balance between a bold, solid block font and a ’50s script. The perfect type treatment for a special edition truck with mid-century style and a custom bed.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1930s Willys, 1939 Chevrolet, 1946 Hudson. Second row, left to right: 1950s Ford, 1956 GMC, 1957 Chevrolet. Third row, left to right: 1950s Ford, 1960 Ford, 1961 Chevrolet. Bottom row, left to right: 1964 Studebaker, 1965 Chevrolet, 1966 Ford.

Automotive Type, Part Eight

So the title is still Automotive Type, but my eighth post isn’t heavy on lettering. This is all about crests. Specifically, crests from pre World War II cars. In this period, they’re serving as brand logos prior to the simplification of the marks. As I pulled them from my archives, I was amazed by the range of styles from traditional “coat of arms” styles to more industrial representations of speed and strength. Bringing things back to type, check out the lettering on the Stutz and Studebaker badges! I love their character and they really hold up well over time.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1916 Simplex, 1917 Oldsmobile, 1922 REO Fire Truck. Middle row, left to right: 1925 Stutz, 1926 Elcar, 1927 Studebaker House Car. Bottom row, left to right: 1929 Dodge, 1936 Pierce Arrow, 1936 Cord.

Automotive Type, Part Seven

My seventh post in my series on automotive badges takes a graphic turn. During the musclecar era, there was a shift from “speaking” of horsepower in chrome to shouting about it in vinyl—lots of it. The shift in material and attitude made for some seriously fun graphics with plenty of swagger and wit. There were even pop culture references, like Plymouth licensing of the Road Runner character from Warner Brothers, and Pontiac borrowing from a character on TV’s “Laugh In” for the special edition of its GTO.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1969 Plymouth Road Runner, 1969 Mercury Cyclone, 1969 Chevrolet Nova. Second row, left to right: 1969 AMC SC/Rambler, 1970 Dodge Super Bee, 1970 Ford Mustang. Third row, left to right: 1970 Pontiac GTO, 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda. Bottom row, left to right: 1971 Plymouth Duster, 1971 Ford Mustang, 1973 Pontiac Trans Am.

Automotive Type, Part Three

For my third post in my series featuring automotive badges and lettering, I’m highlighting my favorite period—the post-war “Jet Age” from the late ’40s to the early ’60s. I’ve included a few examples of hood ornaments that aren’t type related, but they have such a jet-age influence that I just had to include them. One of the other great things about this era are the names that the Detroit marketing teams came up with, like Futuramic, Airflyte, Fireflite, and my favorite, Merc-O-Matic. The bonus being the orbit-shaped “O”. 

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1949 Oldsmobile, 1950 Mercury, 1951 Nash. Second row, left to right: 1950 Oldsmobile, 1951 Hudson, 1953 Cadillac. Third row, left to right: 1955 Chevrolet Nomad, 1955 Pontiac, 1954 Mercury. Bottom row, left to right: 1956 Plymouth Fury, 1959 DeSoto, 1961 Oldsmobile.