[Emily Potts] Recently we introduced readers to Playing with Color by Richard Mehl, so this week we’re Playing with Type. This book, by Lara McCormick, offers up an array of typographic experiments that are designed to make readers think differently about type and how they use it. It challenges readers to take type to new extremes, and apply it in ways they never dreamed of. This sort of play encourages inventive ways of not only writing and drawing type, but rethinking how we use the usual type “standards” and try them in new contexts.
Challenge: Customize existing letterforms by hand
Select a neutral typeface and set a word or phrase in it. This will be the skeleton/blueprint for your design. Left: Linzi Clary; right: Suzanne Barros.
Challenge: Create a type-driven logo for a hypothetical restaurant called Apothecafe
Play with the letterforms, examine them, and see what alterations you can make to add visual interest. Designs: Masood Bukhari.
Challenge: Create a type-based composition that tells a story in six words and communicates something about your life
Top left: writer—Van Horgen, designer—Anne Ulku; top right: Evan Stremke; below left: David Yurkanin, Amy Rice; below right: Dylan Sneed, Hardy Stewart
Challenge: Practice lettering in a script style
Left: lettering—Nicole Alvarez; right: typeface—Edmonsans, lettering—James T. Edmonson
Challenge: Combine typography and food to create something amazing
Left: Anna Garforth; right: Eli Eng, Lauren Hom
Now go on and have fun playing with type…you may even learn some new tricks.
Get your copy of Playing with Type from Rockport Publishers, Amazon or your local bookseller.
Emily Potts has been a contributor to Felt & Wire since 2010, reporting on design news, new books and people she loves. Her day job is senior acquisitions editor at Rockport Publishers.
