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“On a certain level, letterforms are too familiar to provoke deep contemplation" (Kunz, 2000)
The removal of embedded conventions of letterforms yields an attempt to defamiliarise the form and complexity of existing letters. Attention towards the letterform’s internal structure and micro-aesthetic details breaks the form apart. As one begins to explore new expressions and meanings, the letter becomes a platform of possibilities for change and reinterpretation.
Given the 26 existing letterforms, out of which we communicate all of the factual and emotional gestures of information, one must constantly search for new ways to implement meaning regardless of the restricting parameters of the system.
This program stemmed from an investigation into typographic experimentations. As the research was laid out, the overview began to reveal the relations between the compositions. By categorising them into simple procedures, one gains awareness of how they work and what processes are applied. This grouping transforms them into a set of instructions—or functions—that generate new forms.
The program explores type experimentation by applying traditional methods to digital means. It allows for different manipulations of form, providing a platform for playful exploration, and subsequently, a new approach to perceiving the existing letterforms. The goal being to encourage a different way of thinking about and seeing letters both on the page and on the screen.
A database was set up as a tool from which one can curate and export their own research, as well as an archive that showcases the endless possibilities inherent in the manipulation of existing forms. It also serves as a visual reminder to challenge yourself to see the overlooked and recognise the ability of letters to be more than just content building blocks.