“See You” and “The Meaning Of Love” are the fourth and fifth UK singles by Depeche Mode, both released in early 1982 and included on their second studio album A Broken Frame.

Depeche Mode is set in Gillies Gothic, a typeface that was originally released by the Bauer Type Foundry in 1935. It was also known as Flott (“speedy”) in Germany. Letraset had adopted both original weights and added two more styles, Extra Bold (Fred Sack, 1980) and Extra Bold Shaded (Philip Kelly, 1982).

For See You, another script from the Letraset range was used, Futura Script. Unlike one might assume from the name, this style is not one of the many Futura variations that Paul Renner created for Bauer. Rather, it is credited to Edwin W. Shaar, who designed it for Intertype in 1954.

Futura Script is used for the follow-up single as well, but now for the band name. The title is set in loosely spaced caps from Dom Casual, originally designed by Peter Dom and issued by ATF in 1951. Dom Casual was likewise available as dry-transfer sheets from Letraset.

The covers were designed by German artist and musician Moritz Reichelt of Ata Tak, also known as Moritz R® or Moritz Rrr.

This is the 7″ version – the 12″ has a nicer cover design with playfully illustrated letters.

If you were to design a traditional mom-and-pop butcher shop, Brothers is a natural place to start. The typeface, by legendary American sign painter John Downer, is endowed with his old-school craftsman values. Austin-based Ptarmak built the Chop Shop branding around Brothers, including its turn-of-the-century graphical elements, arrows, and panels.

The bold and basic Futura Script — an Intertype face from the 1950s that was likely named for marketing purposes — is a nice accent, though I question Ptarmak’s decision to slant it, or to use another script for “The”. That typeface is a cleaned up freebie that was once offered as OPTI Sport Script (later published by Castcraft). MVB Mascot, Metroscript, Machiarge and Fenway Park are better variations on the theme. Also used are Univers and the routine industrial sans Trade Gothic. They all work just fine, but it’s the considerate identity package as a whole, and the way it’s photographed, that wins me over.

In fact, the materials are so consistent and unencumbered by the usual client compromises that one wonders if there ever was a real client involved. (The chopshop.com URL on the posters go nowhere and Kansas City searches went dry.) Perhaps the business never got off the ground. If this was simply a show-off project, Ptarmak can be forgiven — it shows them off well. The mythical meat market made the blogosphere rounds all year long.

The imaginary identity campaign includes everything, down to the butchers’ hats and aprons.

Click to enlarge.