DCC Commemorative Plaque Scheme

Dublin City Council’s Commemorative Plaque Scheme had been lying dormant for almost a decade when they decided to commission the design of a new Commemorative Plaque Scheme. Having successfully competed for the commission, we embarked upon an exhaustive review of international exemplars. Countless practical factors had to be taken into consideration; viewing distance to scale relationship, exposure to the elements, installation on protected structures, etc. Thorough research and analysis led us to consider a number of proven formats and materials. In order to create a distinctive design that is recognisable from a distance and that in time will hopefully become synonymous with Dublin City, we proposed a format that combines a routed and engraved granite roundel with an incised and spray-painted aluminium cap. Type designer, Tom Foley was commissioned by Atelier to draw custom weights of his Nib typeface design, with particular consideration for stone engraving processes. Dublin City Nib (the redrawn typeface) was exclusively licensed to Dublin City Council for use on Commemorative Plaques. The custom typeface along with new and rigorous editorial standards help ensure the integrity of the new Commemorative Plaque Scheme design.