Intercity

Light Grid

Light Grid is a variable dot-matrix typeface, based on a physical system of construction using LED lights and a metal grid. Originally developed for artist collective Still Moving, and following on from the Speedwell project, the Light Grid system enables the creation of typographic light installations, or ‘interventions’, for display in public spaces. The first of these interventions was Still Moving’s series of protest statements at the G7 summit in Cornwall.

The initial Light Grid interventions were constructed using steel mesh panels and 60mm LED bulbs. Utilising a basic uppercase character set with numbers and limited punctuation, each letterform was created using a printable placement guide. Using the same construction principle, Light Grid extends the original character set into a comprehensive typeface – adding lowercase characters, symbols, and a variable ‘brightness’ setting.

Light Grid contains 200+ glyphs, including case-sensitive stylistic alternates, directional arrows, and a unique ‘grid’ glyph that references the steel mesh of the original construction system. The three core weights – MIN, MID, MAX – are a reference to luminous flux, the measurement of the perceived power of visible light, measured in lumens (lm).

In addition to the typeface itself, we also designed a dedicated microsite to help showcase the project and explain more about the design process.