'Placenames' postcard series

2021 Selection

Designed by Conor Clarke at Design Factory

Typeface design: Spenser typeface courtesy of Bobby Tannam

Printing: Impress

Illustration: Conor Clarke

Wood type: Sourced at Distiller's Press, NCAD

Categories: Print

Industry: Commercial

Tags: Illustration / Typography / Retail / Culture / Travel and Tourism / Design

The vast majority of placenames in Ireland are adaptations of the Irish language names to English phonology and spelling. The study of placenames in Ireland reveals the fact that they were rooted in the country's wildlife, landscape and history. In most cases, the official English name is completely different from the official Irish language name, reducing them to a meaningless collection of sounds.