An exhibition series and book, These Northern Types is a 16-part typographic exploration of Northern identity. Working with a team of writers, engineers, printers and members of the public, it brings together type design, experimental production methods, public engagement, and written work.

“Ambitious, expansive, and inventive… These Northern Types feels like an important sociological project… No one project can ever adequately summarise the state of a nation, but These Northern Types is as good an attempt as you’ll see all year.” — It’s Nice That [full article]

“Beautiful to look at yet uncompromising and direct…  These Northern Types offers a taste of the north that is unparalleled since someone in Wigan decided to put a meat and potato pie between a barm cake” — The Independent [full …

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“Jazz North is like the glue that helps hold us all together” — Northern jazz artist & promoter

We were briefed to create a brand identity for Jazz North that felt unapologetically bold, unexpected, creative — and on the very best side of weird!

This idea of being a ‘glue’ for the scene provided the inspiration to explore a fluid, globular, esoteric typographic concept, ultimately leading to the creation of a brand identity that stands apart from anything else in the local, national and international jazz scenes.

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We’ve been lucky enough to work alongside Keswick Film Festival since 2007, and as our longest-standing client, we were chuffed to be given the freedom to overhaul the branding in 2015, which we have continued to progress since then. This year, the festival celebrates 25 years, of bringing the highest quality of films from around the world to their beautiful corner of the Lake District.

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The Leeds Creative Family Tree is an ongoing not-for-profit project designed to showcase the huge range of creative individuals and organisations in our city and to help us all find other like-minded creatives and collaborate more locally.

The Creative Family Trees are distributed for free around the city and we hope that through the project, the creatives of the city – and those that work with them – will find all sorts of things they never knew existed.

All research and design is done for free by Split, but with the help of many.

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A typeface forged in the north of England as part of These Northern Types. What began as a self-initiated brief to make a “northern typeface” ended with building the giant People Powered Press.

The letters’ forms take inspiration from the north’s rich industrial heritage and steel manufacture, using the shape of the cross section of a steel I-beam as their starting point. But, with steel being manufactured all over the world, how could we make something ‘of’ a place? We decided the only way to do this, was to bring the letters, and local community groups to bring the words.

It’s this initial idea that formed the foundations of the People Powered Press — find out more here.

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On the 1st of July 2014, it was announced that our friends at Red Ladder Theatre Company had lost the entirety of their funding.

Seeing the volume of support on social media from the many communities Red Ladder have supported during their 40-year history, we felt compelled to do something. In partnership with PR wizard Jane Verity, on the 2nd of July we pulled our fingers out and set up Save Red Ladder.

The campaign was run on the stringiest of shoe string budgets. By our reckoning we spent about £250 for a return of over £30,000, which just goes to show what a well timed intervention, a simple and effective strategy, some hard graft and the support and input from hundreds of fantastic people …

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