Prop license plate S99821

Prop license plates designed for the 2017 science fiction film Blade Runner 2049, directed by Canadian film director Denis Villeneuve, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford.

The Japanese (Katakana) text “ロサンゼルス” (“Los Angeles”) uses Checkpoint Font, a retro heavy-duty industrial Japanese typeface inspired from 1930s Japanese poster typefaces made by Yoku Tobanai Tori. The alphanumeric codes placed above on each plate are set in an unidentified sans with similarities to Alternate Gothic and Wearetrippin.

A poster celebrating the end of the first motion graphics course at Texas A&M University with a triple feature of films that the students developed opening titles for. It is printed on the Risograph using three inks (Black, Bright Red, and Mint) and featuring the in-progress typeface by Mass-Driver, MD Thermochrome.

Prop license plate 3M1

Prop license plates designed by Tom Southwell for the 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott. Although hard to spot in the film, many different versions of these futuristic license plates were produced.

The alphanumeric codes placed above the barcode on each plate are set in Earth. The single letter Z in the top right corner is from Futura Black. The Japanese markings are either custom lettering or based on a currently unidentified font.

Prop license plate 6Y5

Prop license plate 4R4.

A replica of Deckard’s retrofit Sedan featuring license plate 7H5, as seen briefly in the film

Prop license plate 3E5

Original pencil sketch and color version of the futuristic license plate design drawn by Tom Southwell. Image from the documentary Signs of the Times: Graphic Design, found on the Blade Runner Five-Disc Complete Collector’s Edition.

Androides sonham com ovelhas elétricas? book cover with illustration by Rafael Coutinho.

Book jacket for a Portuguese translation of Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) published by Aleph Editions, Brazil.

The idea behind this design was to introduce Philip K. Dick to a new audience, people who never heard about the author but knew Ridley Scott’s movie adaptation from 1982. The title appears as Blade Runner on the front, but the real title (in its Portuguese translation) is shown on the back.

Rafael Coutinho’s illustration can be revealed in steps: first, we see this woman with strange eyes; she may be interpreted as an android by her lack of expression. On the back, we see a man with a tender expression holding a smoking gun. When the jacket is totally open we get to see the whole scene: the man has just shot the woman/android.

Daniel Lameira, the art director, asked for a noir feeling to the title. So I chose Binner for its dramatic look. Although there are digital versions of Binner, for this cover, I used a vintage specimen to compose the titles and added a shadow to the letterforms. There’s some noise and imperfections wich I find charming and could connect to this dystopian-retro-future world.

The main reference for the type was 1970s record covers as Aretha Franklin’s Master Of Eyes and Gilberto Gil’s Refazenda (wich was designed by Rogério Duarte).

The synopsis and the author bio on the inner flaps is set in Chalet Book.

Workprint Opening title.

Blade Runner enjoyed multiple editions starting even before the release. Seven major edits are known to the public today, including Workprint (pre-theatrical), US-theatrical, International-theatrical, Director's Cut, and Final Cut which are available. In terms of changes in typography, the Workprint and the theatrical cuts are the main focus.

In the Workprint, the title starts with Impact, followed by a pseudo-dictionary definition of replicant set in Helvetica and Goudy. The rest of the title is set in Goudy, including the ending credit.

In the theatrical release, together with the addition of Harrison Ford’s narration and the “happy ending”, the type choice was unified, now only using Goudy. A common misunderstanding among those who have not seen Blade Runner is that it is an action film, and the use of large Impact does seem to suggest the tone that way, which feels misleading. With the thorough use of Goudy, the audience’s expectation is set better. The typography remains the same thereafter.

Workprint Opening title.

Workprint Opening title.

Theatrical Cut opening title.

Theatrical Cut opening title.

Theatrical Cut opening title.