Plans for a Birmingham-based sign museum and archive have been revealed. Called the British Sign Museum & Archive, the community interest company is believed to be the first sign salvage and typography project of its kind in the UK. The sign museum aims to safeguard and display public signs and research the art of commercial […]
‘In the city there’s a thousand things I want to say to you’, snarled Paul Weller for the opening line of his era-defining band’s debut single. One of those thousand things Weller should be screaming is get along to Birmingham City University’s Parkside building to check out the brilliant ‘Punk Rock!! So What?’ installation. Weller’s […]
Historic lettering and original building signs must be treasured for future generations, a Birmingham typography academic told Edwin Ellis Creative Media. We spoke to Birmingham City University postgraduate research student Geraldine Marshall after it was announced the former Kingsway Cinema on Kings Heath High Street in Birmingham is due to be auctioned later this month, […]
Who knew Birmingham was once home to the largest neon sign in the world? Yes, legend has it the much-loved Coca Cola logo that once graced the top of the Rotunda was exactly that before it was unplugged for good many years ago. You can have that one for free, fact fans. However, as my […]
A fascinating insight into Birmingham’s civic history has been discovered as part of the Hidden Spaces project. The original planning application and hand-drawn blueprints for the Municipal Bank building on Broad Street have been found in the archives of the Library of Birmingham. The Grade II listed Municipal Bank and its underground vaults quickly became one […]
While there’s no denying Birmingham made some pretty ghastly planning mistakes in the post-war years, not everything went the way of the bulldozer. Take a walk around Temple Street, Bennetts Hill and New Street, look up from your smartphone and you’ll spot a selection of delightful doorways displaying typographic designs from a bygone era that, […]
Hello! As you’ve probably guessed this is the Edwin Ellis Creative Media blog. In this section of our cracking new website we’ll be writing about the things that interest us… design, typography, architecture, politics, the media, communications… It’ll be an eclectic mix but we like it like that and hope you do too. Heck, we […]