David Rudnick spent more than four years hand-drawing and refining Rocastle, a bespoke three-weight blackletter type family created for Arsenal to sit within a new visual system. Built from deep archival research - gothic crests, season tickets, programmes and supporters’ memorabilia - and developed with Léa Bruneau in Terrain, the face was conceived to work across screens, clothing, stadium signage and cultural collaborations. Rudnick, an Arsenal fan, framed the project as “borderline impossible”: it needed to feel both eternal and of-the-moment, English yet universal, and avoid becoming an ego-driven decorative flourish. Naming the face Rocastle anchors it as a tribute to David Rocastle, the beloved player whose legacy and values informed the type’s intent and tone.
Rocastle completes a trio of custom typefaces that map Arsenal’s communications into three pillars: Northbank for match-day intensity, Chapman for community-facing text, and Rocastle specifically for cultural moments in fashion, art and music. The club backed a prolonged, iterative brief to ensure the type could uniquely express Arsenal beyond 90 minutes, balancing heritage and future-facing creative leaps. The release was marked by a Q&A and Design Museum exhibition in October 2026, demonstrating how a fan-led, research-driven typographic project can become a strategic asset for a global sports brand.
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