The collection from the Mitchell Library breaks out of the vault and into an intricate alphabet designed by Frost as part of the Library’s centenary celebrations.

Frost has designed a bespoke type?face composed from the Mitchell’s collection that dates from the 15th century to modern day. Each letter is a composite of items from the Library’s collection and includes elements of maps, manuscripts, photographs, ephemera, relics and even the Mitchell Library’s historic architecture.

The Mitchell Library, part of the State Library of NSW, is the premier destination for NSW history in Australia, however it’s not widely known just how diverse and far?reaching the collection is.

The alphabet is one of the surprising ways the Library is bringing out amazing objects from its archive for people to see, helping to reinforce the relevance of the Library and promote the collection.

“On a tour of the Library archive, it hit us that there were literally millions of objects all with incredible stories to tell and we wanted to share those stories with the wider community. We felt creating a type?face from these objects is a natural way for us to showcase the Library,” says Vince Frost.

“The process of research had a profound effect on the whole team. We really want people to get involved because we’d like everyone to be as excited about it as we are!”

Frost has designed the alphabet to showcase the Mitchell Library as an amazing place of research and discovery that is integral to the NSW cultural landscape.

An exhibition of 100 objects from the Mitchell Library’s collection will be on show for 100 days from March 9, 2010.

www.onehundred.sl.nsw.gov.au

Credits:

Creative Director – Vince Frost

Design Director – Anthony Donovan

Designer – Serhat Ferhat

Copywriter – Lex Courts

Account Manager – Annabel Stevens

Strategist – Cat Burgess

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