How a 944 Turbo kickstarted one of the world’s most renowned type foundries.
The legendary design studio House Industries began with the sale of a Porsche 944 Turbo. Now responsible for some of the most recognisable fonts of the last quarter-century and a frequent collaborator with Type 7, co-founder Andy Cruz reignited his Porsche obsession as way to find inspiration away from the desk, using the emotion he finds on the road as a way to push design further.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta let go of things to make more important things happen,” Andy Cruz explains in our latest film. The Porsche 944 you see above was the thing. “When I was 20, I scrounged up enough for a 944 Turbo,” kicking off a lifelong affair with the brand, just as the now-legendary type foundry and design office began its life. At the time, vanishingly few designers were working digitally: Cruz and his co-founders saw an opportunity, and to provide the computing power required – and an engagement ring for his wife Stephanie – the 944 had to leave the garage.
“Everyone applies their personal aesthetic experiences to the fonts they see,” Cruz continues. A lifelong subculture from hot rods to skateboarding, mid-century architecture, and aficionado of the zany, futuristic styles of the ‘60s and ‘70s, House quickly carved out a niche that continues to this day, leaving collaborations with the Eames Office, JJ Abrams, and of course, ourselves, in their portfolio.
