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.