Plymouth was one of the most heavily bombed British cities during World War II. At that time, the government and the press censored coverage of its devastation, focusing on London and Coventry. In 1943, urban planner Patrick Abercrombie and engineer J. Paton Watson developed a comprehensive redevelopment plan in response to the urgent need for reconstruction. Inspired by the Beaux-Arts movement, Abercrombie’s vision for the city was a grand, symmetrical metropolis centred around a main road connecting the train station to the ocean.

Plymouth's City Centre remains a unique example of modernist architecture, notable for its use of materials and its classical aesthetic. The facades of buildings feature beautiful metaphorical and ocean-inspired reliefs. However, over the years, the city's decay has become visible due to different economic crises and years of lack of interest in maintaining Plymouth's heritage

The information acquired during the research allowed me to start sketching a bespoke alphabet inspired by the City. Urban elements such as manhole covers, cobblestone paths, and iconic buildings are the basics of the typography. The letterforms had to look square to represent the architecture of the City, which is why it was designed within a restrictive grid to pay homage to Abercrombie’s grid and illustrate the idea of modernism. The result is a bold, architectural, and abstract typography that is not intended to be readable; it evokes the idea of modernist architecture through pictorial language.

Plymouth stands unique among the many blitzed cities engaged in post-war planning and development (…) because of the radical nature of the planning proposals

The Architect’s Journal. June 12, 1952

The book condenses the research findings into a dynamic visual experience through the contemporary layout, fold-out pages, different papers, and a French fold technique to add structure to the book.