This is my most recent experiment. The inspiration was something my high school art teacher told me years ago. While on the phone he would scribble onto a piece of paper and try to find human faces from the resulting lines. I've tried to do the same with letterforms.
After I located a set of upper and lowercase I placed them on top of each other to further the idea of unconscious scribbling and layering.
I've been playing with this very much off and on (mostly off/ignoring) for three months but not at all sure how to develop or improve on this very basic idea. Any thoughts? Do you think the idea is even worth it?
Cheers,
Nick Plant.
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I think seeing faces in scribbles or a clown face ( or whatever) in a cloud is a fine experiment. I think you would have to stay at it for about 10 years+ to really find something tasty & font worthy in it. It seems like a fine excersize in looking/thinking/seeing though.
When you say 'worth it' - what do you mean precisely? I was just guessing above...
I may develop it at a later date for a future design brief/project but is it worth it as a font on it's own? It has it's own chapter in my notebook.
IMHO: I think this is a good idea for a poster or lettering or something in which one could see the concept more clearly. As a font, it loses impact; it looks like a simple sketch.
Thankyou both for your comments. Eduardo, I'll try an experiment showing the original scribble aswell as the letterforms.
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Sorry, my mistake.
Now I am starting to see where you are going. Especially the s!
You know Fontfont had some interesting experiments & FUSE too a while ago that remind me of this. Have you looked ta that stuff?
This kind of thing is definitely out of fashion now of course but I myself feel sympathetic to the experimental urge. I want to encourage you!
What is your technique now? It isn't completely scribbled is it? I wonder what it would be like if you were laying handwritting over & over to start to find new shapes/relationships.
-e.
You court me out. Those weren't the original scribbles the letterforms were made from. I set the word and added the scribbles after but I like the results and it's close to the asethetics of my first sketches.
Your handwritting idea is interesting. I experimented a lot with handwritting and signatures on my Foundation Art and Design course before university, layering signatures from the student signing in book on top of each other using acetate. I'll try to find the experiments to show you and work on.
Cheers Eban,
NP.
Great. I think to make something you really like - something of long term value it would still take a long time!
But I am happy to see what you are trying out & what you like.
I guess where I was going with this in my own mind was that the forum of typophile & the urge to put something up that can create may not be the shape or length of time needed to do good work. While my enthusiansm may help at first if you rush to meet it - it might constrain your process. And I don't want to see that happen.
Now that I write this idea down it seems a little partronizing. If it feels that way - sorry. Like I said before; I want to encourage you.
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