hat trick design: typographic chess set

typographic chess set by hat-trick design

hat-trick have designed a typographic chess set based on chess notation, K for king etc. the forms are based on the typeface champion (lightweight) by hoefler frere jones.

the limited edition of 50 sets are laser cut from 25mm acrylic. the king is 50mm tall, the pawn is 30mm. the board is made from two 2mm pieces of greyboard, and foiled in black. the whole set comes in a foam tray with a greyboard sleeve.

typographic chess set by hat-trick design jim sutherland of hat-trick told us more about the set:

‘the original idea started on the same holiday that I started the typographic playing cards, in 2007. it’s been a long period of gestation and production testing.’

‘it was a really tricky production in order to get the fine detail and the counters sharp etc, plus making sure everything stood up properly for example the Q and P had to be redrawn for stability and the ‘Kt’ ligature for knight was redrawn.’

‘we added a couple of lovely quotes which I added to the info sheet in the packaging, which includes information about the moves and chess notation. there is also a small set of postcards, showing how each piece moves.’

‘chess is the most elaborate waste of human intelligence outside of an advertising agency. raymond chandler

I did a lot of research into chess art, graphics and products, so I’ve started a small tumblr site about the things I’ve found, which I’m adding to when I get time.’ – jim sutherland

typographic chess set by hat-trick design typographic chess set by hat-trick design

typographic chess set by hat-trick design

typographic chess set by hat-trick design

typographic chess set box by hat-trick design

guide to the pieces

chess explained through typography

jim sutherland’s sketch book