The word “Chapultepec” comes from the Nahuatl words chapulli, meaning grasshopper or lobster of the earth, and tepe (tl), meaning hill: “The Hill of the Grasshopper.” The grasshopper held great spiritual value and represented supernatural powers for the Mexica people, reason enough for this typography to start its lines from the sculpture of a grasshopper carved in red stone found today in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Based on thorough research, our references lead us to design a new typography as the guiding principle of the project Bosque de Chapultepec’s graphic identity (in process). It is a dimensional-looking typeface made up of angular strokes on the outer perimeter and organic patterns on the inner perimeter. This custom typography is a mix between a robust sans serif that reflects the craft of stone carving and an ornamental typeface that subtly suggests the organic stroke of the naturalistic sculpture of the insect from which it takes its name.
Maricris Herrera
Israel Hernández
Emilio Pérez
Andrea Volcán
Regular
ORU | Oficina de Resilencia Urbana
Ana Paula Tovar
Felipe Olguín, “Chapultepec, espacio ritual y secular de los tlatoani aztecas”, Arqueología Mexicana núm. 57, pp. 36-40. Sculpture in red carnolite (c.1950), of naturalistic style, with the representation of the insect from which Chapultepec takes its name, meaning “hill of the grasshopper”. It was discovered in the 19th century in the main pool of Chapultepec. Photo: Michel Zabé / Raíces