Cashcow Oblique

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Background Very little research has centred on the typographic response to periods of market oversupply. This project focusses on one of the most ubiquitously branded contemporary industries - real estate development. It not only seeks connect sets of typographic forms within that sector but also positions this within a historical continuum. Contribution Cashcow Oblique observes one specific case of oversupply and economic over-stimulation, the current real estate speculation, through a typographic audit of hundreds of graphic identities within the sector. It then undertakes a similar audit of another period of oversupply (the 1870s cattle industry) and then graphically presents this comparison. In choosing typography as a lens through which to view both economics and history, this study expands upon my current PhD research. Significance This research is significant because it is breaking new ground in an area that is without academic exploration - namely the cultural dimension of letterforms within a city. The Cashcow Oblique project was printed as a poster (run of 1000 copies) and distributed for free throughout Melbourne. It has contributes to my own current body of research looking at the impacts of the real estate boom upon the visual landscape of Melbourne. The project was shortlisted in the Australian Book Design Awards in 2017 and led to an article published on The Conversation.