Taking inspiration from one of Manchester’s last surviving wooden street signs (situated on St Michaels Place), the latest sans-serif typeface from F37 Foundry is currently appearing across the city on a series of six billboards.

The typeface, Mancunio, is named after the Roman fort that once occupied the Castlefield area of the city. The campaign simply features white text on a black background, with copy written by Ellen Ling (Lingo) in a collaboration with designer Craig Oldham (Office of Craig).

“I define the voice of Manchester as deeply sarcastic and defiantly optimistic,” says Ling of the project, which appealed to her sense of irreverence. “The combination of dry, deft wit and warmth is the tone I wanted to honour…. Creating statements that celebrate the people and counterculture of Manchester, knowing they’d only do that themselves with a self-deprecating sense of pride.”

Ling says that having the six sites determined before she began the writing helped determine the direction of each site-specific billboard. “From there we just went straight for the jugular on the Manchester everyone really loves, and loves to hate,” she says. “References you have to know to know and also not shying away from the tropes that truly represent the Manchester experience.”

In a refreshing move, the campaign also shifted the Manchester-specific language away from a certain famous music scene, record label and nightclub which have often dominated the way the city talks about itself.

“The Factory Records-era is an ad break in Manchester’s history, but the language it created has become so synonymous with the city,” adds Ling. “I wouldn’t call those phrases out as clichés, but you can’t deny they’ve become a bit canned – Tony Wilson’s words, ‘We Do Things Differently Here’, make their way to corporate murals far too much.”

Ling also sends up other familiar Manchesterisms. “‘And on the Sixth Day God Created MANchester’, became ‘If God Created Manchester, Satan Created Market St’,” she says, “[while] Ian Brown’s ‘Everything Except a Beach’ quote became the perfect opportunity to lovingly roast our spenny coffee scene.”

While celebrating the city, the tone is one of “quiet pride” according to the type foundry. “We’ve always loved how Manchester carries its history in everyday places, like old street signs tucked away in quiet corners,” says F37 founder, Rick Banks. “This campaign isn’t about being loud; it’s local-first, subtle and authentic, with smart, warm type designed for those who truly understand what makes this city unique.”

The billboard by Deansgate station, for example, reads “Beeps for Boombox Barry” in tribute to a much-loved Manchester street icon known for riding through the city with a boombox playing loud music (Barry is in the photograph, below).

According to F37, Mancunio “draws on the past while being made for the present” and offers a more “human” feel with uneven stroke endings and old-style numerals. It includes a full range of weights and a width axis for flexibility.

The billboard campaign will be in place for two weeks across the six sites and will also run on social media.

f37foundry.com