Red Tape
Red Tape
German graphic artist Gert Wiescher created the Red Tape typeface in 2004. The idea came to him while travelling in the US: “On one of the famous, practical tin mailboxes that line America’s streets one of the residents had put his house number on the mailbox with some tape. I thought that was a cool idea.” Wiescher designed letters using pieces of tape and re-shaped the edges. The result was a graphic design that had a provisional and makeshift feel that can work well atmospherically with the intended message of a text.
The name Red Tape appealed to the designer for the ambivalence in its name: a reference to the red tape formerly used to bind together official documents, the idiom “red tape” now connotes excessive bureaucracy or stifling regulation. The uniform-width sans-serif is well-suited to advertising and record covers.