Ombabika

custom typography / illustration

The Everywhere Project is a collaborative design project that pays tribute to the classic folk song “I’ve Been Everywhere”. When Adrian Walsh so kindly asked us to participate we were indeed happy to oblige.

We selected Ombabika for its Canadian-ness, its remote location and its excellent collection of letters. You can see our contribution here, and below is our story:

“Ombabika, Ontario is a remote northern area near Lake Nipigon in Canada. It was traditionally an Ojibwe community that was promised a reserve decades ago, before it was virtually deserted along with several surrounding ghost towns. What Johnny Cash and Stompin’ Tom were doing up around there is anyone’s guess.

Here we imagine an alternate history for Ombabika, the ill-planned efforts of some well-meaning entrepreneur who aims to turn Ombabkia Bay into a trendy 1970′s tourist destination. This gaudy luggage tag is all that remains of their ultimately doomed plans.

The design itself combines the geometric letterforms and bold, graphic shapes popular in the 70s (and popular forever in our heads) with aspects of traditional Ojibwe artwork.”