Local Cultures – Global Spaces

Abstract

In many suburbs around the UK, house name signs punctuate public space, offering street-level glimpses into the homes they represent. While this practice can be found around the world, in the UK house signs can often be seen to cluster in the most affluent neighbourhoods; many signs are historic, passed from one homeowner to the next, while others are new and bespoke, made using online design and customisation tools. Although house signs have previously been considered from linguistic, sociological, and anthropological perspectives, they have not been examined as graphic artefacts. Homeowners and residents make (or inherit) specific choices about form, material, typography, and iconography; the resulting signs speak outwardly and ask neighbours and passers-by to decode their visual language to imagine the people and lives happening inside. Collectively, through their repetition, house signs work together to form underlying narratives that affect both residents’ and non-residents’ understanding of the area. This study centres around Mapperley Park, a suburb of Nottingham built during the Edwardian era where house signs have historically been (and continue to be) prevalent. Using walking and mapping as methods, this research aims to document the frequency of this practice and the variety of ways these signs visually communicate. The intention is that this body of work will begin to uncover patterns of visual language, and act as grounding research for further exploration around what house signs as graphic design objects reveal about local history and cultural heritage, the socio-economic demographics of an area, and concepts of place.