Mercado - handmade font

Mercado was inspired by those old neighborhood businesses that seem to resist the passing of time. Every town still has a few, although there are fewer and fewer every year. Dry cleaners, hair salons, shoe repair shops, local bars, tiny stores with hand-painted signs…

I took inspiration from those vintage storefront letters made by sign painters, painted by hand with brushes and imperfect precision. While there are many different lettering styles, this time I wanted to focus on reverse contrast, a less common style with a very unique beauty and a surprisingly difficult balance when designing each letter.

Mercado is an all caps typeface designed for headlines, branding, packaging, posters, and projects that want to feel handmade while still standing apart.