Graphic heritage and the making of place

This article centers on three retail sites within Walthamstow, East London in the UK – Walthamstow High Street and Hoe Street; Orford Road within Walthamstow Village; and the western end of the High St in the St James area. Each of these sites utilize everyday urban “graphic heritage” – shop front design, colors, typefaces and symbols – in the making of place. However, the graphic heritage contributes to the development of very different “designscapes” and experiences of place for different people. Drawing from a range of interdisciplinary sources the article focuses on graphic heritage as a little studied feature of the urban retail streetscape. It suggests that, in a retail context, graphic heritage is used strategically by different stakeholders in placemaking activities. In some cases, this unfolds as an organically developed designscape over time. In others, formal development creates a more planned makeover. The different approaches discussed raise questions as to how this type of everyday urban graphic heritage might contribute to processes of gentrification and experiences of inclusion and exclusion; how the power and politics inherent in these seemingly mundane design choices can impact on the making of place; and how the notion of “design literacy” can be further refined in relation to the diverse range of stakeholders within the urban retail environment.