Following up on my previous post, I just found out thanks to our friend Matt Soar, about a very similar and earlier project called GeoGreeting.

This interactive app allows you to type any message and localize each letter on a world map, then send the message to a friend. As the site tagline says “GeoGreeting …how geeks show they care“.

The first Google Maps alphabet, featuring all 26 letters, has been created from satellite images of natural features and buildings by Rhett Dashwood, a graphic designer from Australia.

“Rick Valicenti presents: The Playground. Curated by Robb Irrgang and Satoru Nihei. Our friends accepted the invitation to create an alphabet of 26 characters illuminated not to start a sentence, but to begin a thought.”

Lots more people here in Australia, are using Custom Letters for advertising and brand awareness for their companies. The people making new letters include type designers, letterers, sign painters, graffiti artists, stone carvers, calligraphers, poster artists, and graphic designers. One beautiful site you might like to browse for your new alphabet is The Playground. New typography is celebrated here and promotes looking at the things around us and noticing them anew.