There was once a young couple with young kids looking for their little piece of paradise. The couple settled on a modest house in Beauce region within the province of Quebec. This humble abode was home to not just the nuclear family that were the principal residents, but also many extended family members, friends and neighbours that passed through its doors.

The house on 283 Saint-Louis St. was built in a neighbourhood meant for returning WW2 soldiers to aquire a house and start a family. The Gagnons were the second family to occupy the house and the last ones. They maintained the ownership of the proprety for almost sixty years.

For the past few decades, the neighbourhood was plagued by reccurent flodding. The unfortunate issue got worse from one year to another until the problem became unsolvable. The houses started being torn down one by one as the community windled away. 283 Saint-Louis house was one of the last ones standing.

Feeling as if a part of his personality was scheduled for demolishion, Louis Gagnon wanted to honour the house he grew up in and pay hommage to all the people that visited and shared memories with the Gagnon family. With the help of his family, he plastered the names of everyone within his memory that had ever set foot in the house.

Louis had asked me to help him with his vision. We agreed that a bespoke typeface would make this project special. The base of the typeface was Times New Roman. It portrays sturdiness and tradition as well as the passage of time and familiarity. The upper serifs were modified to loosely ressemble the outdoor beams found on the porch as it is the most distinct feature of the house.

The house is no more, but the memories will live on within the people who remember it fondly. I was honoured to have been involved in small part of this project that left a big impact on Louis and many others.

Work done at Paprika.