David Rudnick Unveils Rocastle, a Bespoke Blackletter Typeface for Arsenal Football Club
After more than four years of development, designer David Rudnick has unveiled Rocastle, a hand-drawn blackletter type family with three weights, specifically for Arsenal Football Club. This collaboration with Johnnie Campbell from Arsenal Creative Studio was presented on 9 October 2026 at the Design Museum during a Q&A session featuring Olivia Hingley, associate editor of It's Nice That. The launch coincided with the Arsenal by Design exhibition, taking place on 10–11 October. Named in honor of the iconic player David Rocastle, who joined the club at 15 and passed away in 2001, Rocastle is part of a visual identity initiative stemming from a brand strategy update in 2021/22. Rudnick characterized the design journey as 'borderline impossible,' involving extensive research and numerous iterations, with the typeface reserved for key cultural events.
Key facts
- David Rudnick designed Rocastle, a bespoke three-weight blackletter typeface for Arsenal Football Club, over more than four years.
- The typeface is named after David Rocastle, an Arsenal player who made 277 appearances and died in 2001 at age 33 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Rocastle was revealed at a Q&A at the Design Museum on 9 October 2026, alongside the exhibition Arsenal by Design, which ran 10–11 October.
- The project is part of a larger visual identity system that includes Northbank for Team and Chapman for Community, with Rocastle for Culture.
- The typeface was designed in terrain by David Rudnick with Léa Bruneau.
- Arsenal Creative Studio lead Johnnie Campbell collaborated on the project, which began after a 2021/22 brand strategy update.
- Rudnick described the design challenge as 'borderline impossible,' requiring thousands of iterations and extensive research into blackletter forms.
- Rocastle will be used sparingly, reserved for the club's most significant cultural moments, according to Campbell.
Entities
Artists
- David Rudnick
- Johnnie Campbell
- Olivia Hingley
- David Rocastle
- Léa Bruneau
- James
Institutions
- Arsenal Football Club
- Arsenal Creative Studio
- It's Nice That
- Design Museum
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Emirates Stadium
- North London
- New York
- United States