DeLorean Font Origins

[Dangermouse]

Question for Nick S., or anyone else who may know: was the font/typeface used on the rear bumper created specially for the car, or did it exist prior to 1980?



and it if is in the book, I apologize as I haven't got that far yet.

[jawn101]

Question for Nick S., or anyone else who may know: was the font/typeface used on the rear bumper created specially for the car, or did it exist prior to 1980?



and it if is in the book, I apologize as I haven't got that far yet.

I'm also curious about this. That font is iconic now, and for me it really defines the whole era. Plus it's cool as hell.

[nick sutton]

Question for Nick S., or anyone else who may know: was the font/typeface used on the rear bumper created specially for the car, or did it exist prior to 1980?



and it if is in the book, I apologize as I haven't got that far yet.

Pretty sure it was Chuck Bennington's idea (former MD) and then New Products Director.It didn't exist before theh logo was added to the bumper.
Nick

[andyd]

Interesting. I thought I read somewhere that Giugiaro designed the font too...? Or is that tosh?

a

[nick sutton]

Interesting. I thought I read somewhere that Giugiaro designed the font too...? Or is that tosh?

a

Chuck as was New Project Director would have a significant say in the styling. Chuck was in close contact with Giugario maybe a combination of both but Chuck was very imaganitive in these areas.

[matt clark]

Without getting into semantics, but I don't think there was ever a 'font' - a full set of letters - created by the company; just that logo. You can get the 'font' made by fans, but it's pretty clear that it doesn't really work for a lot of letters like T or whatever. The balance/white space of the other letters is all over the shop. I've never seen anything by the company that used those characters other than specifically to spell "DeLorean". I've never thought it worked well as a 'font'.

I've got a DeLorean Motor Company corporate identity book, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure the DeLorean logo appears in that - just the DMC emblem and use of the Optima typeface for signs, cards, etc.

As far as I've ever been able to work out, that logo was extrapolated from the DMC logo. The DMC emblem existed as far back as Proto 1 (before that, the wood mockup carried the DSV logo), whereas the earliest appearance I saw of the "DeLorean" logo was in an article right around the time they refinished the wooden model's styling with the new shape that was going onto the pilot cars, which is about 3 years later.

I've never been a huge fan of the logo, actually - I love the emblem but was never a fan of the letters. It's a long way into the future but when I get a car I'll look into having the rear fascia done like the pilot cars with the bumper logo moulding removed.

[Farrar]

Several weeks ago, I saw online an article about the man who, among other things, designed the DMC emblem. He called it his one claim to fame. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, and a search on Google News turns up no results. He didn't say anything about a "font." I think all he did was the "DMC" bit. I'll keep looking, though.

[thirdmanj]

Interesting. I thought I read somewhere that Giugiaro designed the font too...? Or is that tosh?

a

I know I read, in the Stainless Steel Illusion I believe, that Giugiaro designed the "DMC" stylized logo for the car, and DeLorean adopted it for the company. So far as the rest of it goes I have no idea.

[DelDon]

I know I read, in the Stainless Steel Illusion I believe, that Giugiaro designed the "DMC" stylized logo for the car, and DeLorean adopted it for the company. So far as the rest of it goes I have no idea.

A friend of mine was married to the man who designed the DMC logo, his name is Hector Gomez. She's not certain if he handled the 'DeLorean' font on the rear bumper though, but knows he did the DMC logo on the grille.

[Farrar]

Several weeks ago, I saw online an article about the man who, among other things, designed the DMC emblem. He called it his one claim to fame. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, and a search on Google News turns up no results. He didn't say anything about a "font." I think all he did was the "DMC" bit. I'll keep looking, though.

Found it! His name was Phil Gibbon.

Paragraph 20 in this article.