Designer Collectors: I Heart Stencils

What do you collect?

Stencils. I love them as things and their endless possibilities. I used to play with stencils when I was a kid, and now, at 52, I still think they were my favourite toy and a big influence on my career choice. I love the idea that I can recreate the same letterforms over and over, but have them be human. Each drawing through a stencil is similar to the letter that you are tracing, but stencils move, they smudge and the spacing is never perfect. There is immediacy. I love the fact that I can create hand-drawn typography that walks this tightrope between machine-made and human-made.

When did you start?

I have been obsessed with stencils for a long time as objects as much as the lettering system they provide. A plastic stamped stencil is just a beautifully designed item outside of its usefulness. I am not sure when it started, but I would probably guess it goes back to the most important stencil I have. When my father died, about 26 years ago, my stepmother gave me a box of things of his that she thought would be of interest to me. Among the items was a paper stencil that was a bit beaten up. It is from The E-Z Letter Stencil Co. in Baltimore, Maryland. It is ¾ inch Gothic from Set No. 15. My father had worked for a long time as a Lightning Director in theatre. When setting lights, he would need to catalogue and number each one on a grid. White-out marks cover the stencil but only on the numbers. It sounds funny, but looking at it gives me a sense of closeness to my father. I feel like I know a bit more about his work and his history.

How does your collection inspire you as a designer?

As a kid, I was deeply interested in graffiti, skateboard culture and subcultures in general. I was living in southern England, and the easiest way to bug your guardians (in my case, my Aunt and Uncle) was to play early hip hop (Public Enemy) and college rock (Pixies) really loudly and (attempt) to kickflip up and down our garden path. Even though I am older now, I am still as excited by the work of graffiti and street artists worldwide. Stencils are a big part of this. As with many graphic designers, I was educated in the fundamentalism of Eurocentric modernism. That teaching also rubbed me the wrong way because it ignored a certain warmth that humans can add to design work. I saw the joy in homemade band t-shirts, lemonade stands, coffee shop boards, army surplus store signs and club flyers that often used stencils. Stencils and hand-made typography seemed to talk to me as a part of an audience. There is an authenticity or a realness (dare I say street) that stencils can add when used well.  

What is a favourite item in your collection?

About nine years ago, a client that I worked closely with died. Brian Curtner was one of the founding partners of Quadrangle Architects (now BDP Quadrangle). He was a very thoughtful person and was deeply dedicated to Quadrangle and his team.  When Brian died in 2015, his business partner, Ted Shore, asked me to help create a booklet that would be a keepsake from his memorial service. I was introduced to Brian’s widow, Christine, his son, Ross and his daughter, Anna. Spending time with them helped me know Brian on a much more personal level. My work on this booklet is the most meaningful project I have ever done.

Now, my favourite stencil. A month after Brian’s memorial, a package was dropped off at my studio. It was from Christine. It was a tiny box. Inside, it contained a handwritten note that said, ‘Dom – A little token to remember Brian – from deep in his desk.’ Under the note was a very precious stencil set. It had 27 plates— 26 letters in uppercase and an ampersand. The characters were only about 12mm tall. It was a stencil set that Brian had used in architecture school, and it turns out they are letters designed by famed architect Le Corbusier. Favourite stencil (honourable mention): I have one of the PDU stencils that Colophon Foundry released around 2015 (on the left). It is SO MUCH FUN. It looks amazing and can create a full-character set with one plate. This single metal sheet can draw all uppercase and lowercase numbers, special characters and punctuation. 

I think it is in a designer’s nature to collect. Many of us have some sort of collection that inspires us, but when collections remind us of moments, places, experiences and people, that makes our ‘things’ so much more important and meaningful.