Galway Shopfront Guide
The Galway Shopfront Guide was commissioned by Galway County Council in 2023 as a survey and guide to historical shopfronts across the county, with the aim of supporting their preservation and adaptation for future businesses.
Challenges
The principal challenge was to create a document that reflected the character of Galway's vernacular shopfronts without overpowering the substantial amount of information it contained. The guide covered a broad range of subjects, from strategic county planning to the history and use of colour across traditional shopfronts, requiring a clear and consistent editorial structure.
I led the design process and established the visual and editorial direction for the document. Taking inspiration from the bracket serif lettering commonly found on the shopfronts themselves, I paired this with a robust sans serif to create a typographic system that reflected the character of the subject while remaining contemporary and readable.
Decisions made
I developed a flexible layout system and drew on colour palettes derived from a large photographic archive of surviving shopfronts across the county. Working closely with the local heritage officer and illustrator Helen O'Higgins, I refined the system through several rounds of development to create a consistent approach across the content.
Outcomes
The resulting guide acts both as a record of Galway's architectural heritage and as a practical resource for future conservation, preserving the distinctive vernacular character of its towns and villages while providing a framework for its continued use and adaptation.
Additional Contributors
Photography: Trevor Finnegan
Photography: Johnny Mallin