Typefaces get the graphic treatment with art and design projects that infuse lettering with fun and functionality alike, from ‘Braille Neue’ to specific typefaces rendered as dog breeds. What makes a German shepherd Helvetica? How can you sculpt your facial hair into every letter of the alphabet? Which letters make the best miniature golf courses?
Braille Neue Infuses Existing Characters with Accessibility
Braille and English characters come together in the font ‘braille neue’ by Kosuke Takahashi (also available in Japanese form.) The typeface overlaps the tactile bumps representing each letter with slightly modified versions of existing characters for a surprisingly seamless result that makes you wonder – why hasn’t this been done before?
“Currently, we rarely see braille implemented in the public space since it takes additional space and sighted people consider it not important. Braille Neue addresses this issue by making braille easy to use for sighted people. By spreading this typeset I believe more people will get acquainted with braille.”
Dogs as Fonts
If you had to pair dog breeds with typefaces, how would you go about the process? Designs studio Grafisches Büro compared the characteristics of bulldogs, pugs, dalmations and more with the look and feel of specific typography designs and paired them for a series of fun silk-screened posters. Do you agree with their findings?
Illustrated Typographic Mosaic Illustrations
The colors, patterns and other design sensibilities that make individual cities unique are distilled into typographic mosaic murals by designer Nick Misani. Real as they may look, this motifs inspired by Misani’s travels are actually digital. “For a long time, I’ve been obsessed with lettering, interior design, and decorative art, so mosaics – as an intersection between these three passions – have always been fascinating to me.”
Letter Desks
Do you need a lot of privacy and space to yourself? Maybe you’re a D. Prefer to share a desk surface with a friend so you can bounce ideas off each other? Y. If you like privacy but don’t need as much space, you can share an F with a friend. Designer Benoit Challand illustrates letter-shaped desks with his ‘Fold Yard’ concept, showing how each one can offer a unique workstation that meets very particular needs within an open workspace.
Interactive Font Map
The patterns that make specific fonts similar to each other are visualized by artificial intelligence in this useful interactive map by IDEO. The design team used AI and convolutional neural network for enhanced pattern recognition, displaying 750 fonts in an arrangement that can help designers choose which ones they want to employ for various projects. Check it out here.
