Details
Free, no booking required
24/7 in RMIT Design Archives Gallery Window
154 Victoria Street, Carlton VIC, Australia
Dates
Thu 14 May 12am – 11.59pm
Fri 15 May 12am – 11.59pm
Sat 16 May 12am – 11.59pm
Sun 17 May 12am – 11.59pm
Mon 18 May 12am – 11.59pm
Tue 19 May 12am – 11.59pm
Wed 20 May 12am – 11.59pm
Thu 21 May 12am – 11.59pm
Fri 22 May 12am – 11.59pm
Sat 23 May 12am – 11.59pm
Sun 24 May 12am – 11.59pm
Access
This installation features a screening of the emulation process and a live play of Typotronic, a 1998 electronic game that encourages children to observe more closely Melbourne/Naarm’s unique typographic landscape in a playful and engaging way.
Typotronic was created by graphic designer Stephen Banham (Letterbox) and architect and Macromedia specialist Peter Hennessy (Drone).
Typotronic challenges players to make words from a spectrum of signage across Melbourne/Naarm, from the well-known (Pellegrini’s, Flinders Street Station) through to the more obscure (the American Donut Van at Victoria Market, Dinkum Pies in Block Arcade). After its completion and exhibition in 1998, the game vanished into digital obscurity.
Now, twenty-seven years later, Typotronic has been brought back to life by RMIT’s Born Digital Cultural Heritage Lab. The game can once again be played, complete with its original sound effects (including the ‘ding’ of Melbourne trams). It’s an example of how older games in obsolete media formats and operating systems can be preserved and enjoyed again through digital emulation.
Participants
Stephen Banham
Called a ‘typographic evangelist’ by London’s Eye design journal, Stephen Banham is the founder of Letterbox, a studio based in Melbourne, Australia.
His practice and research interests are centred on the social and cultural aspects of letterforms. Recognised internationally, Banham’s work is informed by research and engagement – he uses typography to tell stories through an array of materials and processes.
Banham’s artwork and writings have appeared in numerous international publications. He has spoken at international events from Barcelona to Beirut, New Zealand to New York.
A board member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD), he holds both a PhD and a Master of Design (Research). He is currently a senior lecturer in typography in the School of Design at RMIT University.
He has written and produced more than eighteen books across three decades of practice. In 2011 he was awarded a Creative Fellowship at the State Library of Victoria and has appeared as a typographic expert witness in the Supreme and Federal Courts of Australia.
In recent years, his work has developed into large-scale built form. In 2018 he worked on a major refurbishment of Brisbane’s Anzac Square involving 200 square metres of bronze typography.
In 2020 he was awarded a public art commission for Metro Tunnel – a work that spans over 360 metres in length and involves the development of four custom typefaces expressing 45 observations using over 1.6 million tiles.
In 2023 he was commissioned to design a series of large-scale public works for the City of Stonnington. In 2025 he has been developing the typographic treatment for Melbourne/Naarm's first Indigenous Writers Walk.
RMIT University’s Born Digital Cultural Heritage Lab
RMIT's Born Digital Cultural Heritage Lab is part of AusEAASI, a national consortium aiming to provide access to culturally significant born-digital artefacts held in archives and collections across Australia. AusEaaSI is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities grants.
Peter Hennessey
Trained as an architect at RMIT, Peter Hennessey (Drone) has established an international profile for his physically imposing, conceptually rigorous sculptures.
He is inspired by the science of space exploration and comparable technological advances, and scours the internet and other publicly available information to produce his work.
Hennessey explores the ‘space between images and experience’ and examines related social, political and economic imperatives.
Exhibitions and collaborations include My Hell’s Gate, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne (2010); My NSAT-110, Kandada, Tokyo (2007); My Voyager, PICA, Perth (2005); Anne Landa Award, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney (2004); TerrUrbanism, Australia Centre, Manila, Philippines (with Patricia Piccinini) (1995); De Overkant, Den Haag Sculptuur, The Hague (2007).