Designer-Made Door Numbers from the New House Number Company
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Graphic designer Phil McNeill and industrial designer Roland Ellis met 10 years ago while working on the creative technology for a V&A exhibit. The two both happened to be avid cyclists and began pedaling around Europe together. As they rode, they struck up a conversation about door numbers and “the scarcity of well-designed and finely crafted” options.
Inspired to right that wrong, Phil and Roland spent two years developing what they describe as “typographically astute door numbers for a range or architectural periods.” They created their prototypes in Phil’s home workshop in the off hours while holding down full-time jobs. Getting every nuance right required things like building their own computer-controlled sandblasting machine to achieve the exact finish they were after.
The result is the just-launched Door Number Company. If you’re looking to give your façade an easy facelift, their digits add up. Scroll down to see examples in the wild on London doors.
Photography courtesy of The Door Number Company (@doorno.co).
Above The Door Number Companys modernist Geometric is one of two typefaces on offer in brass aluminum and black are also available All numbers are £1980 eachand continue to be produced by the two originators in Phils East London workshop We currently outsource the laser cutting of the numbers but once we have the blanks we do all the other manufacturing processes says Phil<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 868 class=ezoic adpicker ad>
“From an industrial design perspective,” Roland points out, what’s wrong with most house numbers is that they’re usually cast, which “doesn’t allow for the subtle details of the typeface to be fully celebrated, internal corners become rounded and soft, and during the polishing process the faces become uneven.” Suffice to say, that is not the case with their numbers.
Above The Door Number Companys other typeface Art Nouveau was inspired by the unruly aspects of the natural world All numbers come with custom finished matching screws<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 869 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height400pxmin width580pxpadding0text aligncenterimportant>Above An overview of the inaugural styles and finishes The brass versions are coated in a preserving wax developed by the British Museum that can be reapplied or the metal can be allowed to develop a rich patina The aluminum numbers are given a satin bead blast and tumble polishing to create a soft texture with a silver fleck And the black options are aluminum thats anodized followed by a deep black pigmentthey first appear as solid black but the satin polish comes through under closer inspection
Above The Door Number Company provides detailed templates for installation that ensure all the numbers are visually balanced and aligned
Door Number Company Designs Around London
Above Patinated Art Nouveau numbers work well on an antique door with brass hardwareAbove Phil and Roland plan to next offer new sizes to ensure the numbers can look proportional on small and large doors Theyre also developing a solution to hang numbers from masonry without the risk of it looking wonkyAbove The designers note that the typographic relation between each character and overall placement are as important as the number themselvesAbove On the horizon for the Door Number Company door hardware including letterboxes knockers and doorbells based on the details of the typefaces creating a cohesive aesthetic visually and in finish<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 877 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height400pxmin width580pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>
