WorkGraphic Design

Placeholder’s mid-century inspired typeface for furniture brand Burrow

New York design studio Placeholder has created a bespoke typeface for furniture brand Burrow that references the mid-century period of the design movement.

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Woman and child jumping on a grey Burrow sofa in a bright living room surrounded by plants and shelving

With much of Burrow’s furniture collection influenced by the period, Placeholder partnered with Swiss type-foundry Grillitype, to come up with GT America Burrow, a nod to 1950s modernist typefaces.

Inspired by GT America Extended Regular, but with a more narrow width and heavier weight, it has a wide san serif type and horizontal stroke endings.

At the same time, Placeholder also art directed the brand’s ‘make yourself at home’ campaign, a candid series of photographs using real New Yorkers in their own apartments.

Placeholder was founded by New York-based Japanese artist Sho Shibuya, whose beautifully created ‘Katakana’ Japanese letterforms use different materials and techniques, from painting to paper cuts. His Instagram is a real joy to follow, take a look!

Two people sit on a dark navy sofa with "BURROW" text overlaid, next to a wooden side table holding a potted plant, on a colourful geometric rug
The word "BURROW" in black sans-serif letters on a light grey background, showcasing the bespoke typeface created by Placeholder for the furniture brand
Bold black curved letterforms characteristic of the GT America Burrow typeface against a light grey background
Two curved black strokes intersecting against a light grey background, representing letterforms from the GT America Burrow typeface
GT America Burrow typeface showing uppercase, lowercase and numerical characters with punctuation marks on a light grey background
Burgundy mid-century style sectional sofa with chaise lounge and wooden legs against a white background, with Burrow branding and tagline "Stay on the Sofa
Black cat sprawled on a grey mid-century sofa with white and orange cushions beside a potted plant, for Burrow's 'make yourself at home' campaign
A woman in a yellow shirt and a man in a white t-shirt sit on a grey sofa surrounded by potted plants in a modern living room, for Burrow's 'make yourself at home' campaign
Child playing on a grey Burrow sofa with the campaign text "Treat yourself to some R&R" displayed alongside
Burrow furniture brand campaign showing a navy armchair with "Quite comfortable" text on the left and a grey sofa with "Really Good" text on the right
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