Folder Office

White trim on a red front

A pattern study that draws a border from the white fretwork of a red timber building and tests how small it can go.

Discipline

Year

Scope, ,

All projects

Close view of an ornate gable on a red Victorian-style building in Cartago, Costa Rica. White fretwork trim frames a round rosette window above double doors, with Libreria and Cafeteria signs marking a UNED university center.

TypeSelf-initiated study, not a commission

ReferencesTwo CC0 photographs

OutputA border in three sizes

ColoursTwo

Question

The building is almost entirely one red, broken by white fretwork along every eave, porch and gable. Its character comes from the trim, not from any sign.

Study

We redrew one run of fretwork as a repeating border tile, then reduced it until it failed. Below a certain size the cut-outs fill in, so the set has three versions: full detail for signs, simplified for print, and a plain scalloped line for small stationery.

A long red timber building with red roofs, white fretwork along the eaves and a white iron fence
The reference: white fretwork on every eave and gable.
A stone lion in front of a columned library, with a tall rainbow banner on the pier beside it
A contrast: one bright banner against a front of carved grey stone.

Kept

Two colours and one border were enough to make a letterhead feel related to the building. The simplified tile is the one we would actually print.