Carved, Hewn, Encoded

Matter of Sorts conceived and drew new fonts under the direction of Studio Ongarato with the input of chief executive Lisa Havilah and artistic associate Agatha Gothe-Snape. The resulting three custom typefaces – Powerhouse Cambium, Powerhouse Punctum and Powerhouse Filar – found their roots in the vast array of industrial artefacts in the substantial Powerhouse Collection. They draw upon various objects across numerous industries, traversing disparate technologies and time, each contributing a distinct texture to a new typographic palette. They can be understood as a reflection of three kinds of materiality evident in the history of type: metal, wood and the digital, or perhaps through the specific gestures required to bring these letterforms to life: carved, hewn and encoded. This is the recounting of their development.

The primary typeface, used to render the logotype, required a substantial presence and some notion of visual distinction. There were various candidates from the collection that suited this brief. Studio Ongarato started the process with some sketches based on a font by the influential US designer Morris Fuller Benton. It features rectangular counterforms – a dissonant detail at odds with its round exterior contours – and a rationalised, simplified construction.