alphabet
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0135d89cb83df5506d24691dea88b5ec2012e3f0a36e32ee527fc44b5061abea/folded-poster.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ee26801344360d508a070d0ae7d68257d86a6d009b148801a21d563960099fa1/folded-animation.gif)
This typeface design project has evolved in an interesting way. Let me outline the process. We were prompted to find shapes to use as a base for creating a typeface. I focused on the images found on Overview. (Overview uses satellite and aerial imagery to demonstrate how human activity and natural forces shape our Earth.)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c4aecee08ec1631377d9105d0141fee047b4d66ef01e14927ef80a8f4e3e09ab/alpha-source-images.jpg)
![Some interesting shapes here](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c1784bd3cf9682dfd696ef9832566d3717093ad7be871c87da53b00c5b5c2288/alpha-source-images2.jpg)
Next, I cut the shapes out of paper many times — these are now my building blocks to form my alphabet. I liked how tactile this process was; it gave easier insight into how the shapes would connect in order to form the familiar typographic figures. I didn’t have the bias of the computer to tell me how to do it; there was more room for experimentation.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/75a800241b3f4ba8c29170a3e971c23eb120b5d18b4602d610270f30b421672a/747249CB-F0A0-4807-A767-21AAE2FA7E1F_1_105_c.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8b4053eb5d2aec3f185590a7682f5b4eafa3ea47e346bdfa18f9e7a490981715/25A5D290-A1A9-4DE4-91DB-590F16B5CE98_1_105_c.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/42215edc7c00214458809b0417ad5a12e9bbe67a89b77efc219009f45fba68fd/B243AF11-E053-4D28-817A-2E259A9C1BD0_1_105_c.jpeg)
I assembled each character (after a lot of trial and error) and glued it to a white sheet of paper.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6353b8c4698512a8d73d25ec811a8131c5cd89a0be062bd8a106973e32a77a65/9A571497-B095-4967-AECE-E175498A00FC_1_105_c.jpeg)
This was a fun set; but I was especially into the way the letters “u v w x y z” looked. Turns out I only used the half hexagon shape for those letters:
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d60c7ee233e2a920d6abf2b659ca56e6493774c236c358c91fae6aab265f8bfb/uvwxyz.png)
I decided to explore creating the whole alphabet using only that hexagon shape. It gave an illusion that one could achieve the forms by folding paper cut on an angle. For a few characters, I needed to use a cutout shape of the top of the hexagon to form a counter or bowl (”c” & “e”), but the rest are just the same hexagon shape overlayed or placed next to each other.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/426a1b3c8ecf07aac9107684e829fc37e8f61109aee454c0e2a7282e8d485c4e/folded-alphabet.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0135d89cb83df5506d24691dea88b5ec2012e3f0a36e32ee527fc44b5061abea/folded-poster.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ee26801344360d508a070d0ae7d68257d86a6d009b148801a21d563960099fa1/folded-animation.gif)