ग्राफ़िक//Graphic
How to [not] Design a Typeface // Toolkit design
This toolkit encourages embracing complexity of type design through logic, collaboration, and play, rather than rigid technicalities like x-heights and baselines. By establishing simple, intuitive rules or constraints, it enables the creation of unexpected, emergent outcomes—making type design more playful and less intimidating. This toolkit is ever-evolving, both a resource and an archive, where the true final form is the knowledge gained through the process.
Start from The Grid {step1} and come down to the block {step 3}. Open/move/play with
the kit; Make/break/follow/unfollow/learn/unlearn and most importantly have fun through the process.
The toolkit was developed through a process of trial and experimentation, testing each exercise and step with both creatives and individuals from diverse fields. By engaging a wide range of participants, it ensures that the methods are effective, adaptable, and accessible to anyone looking to break free from rigid structures and cultivate a sense of community.
The display fonts used in all three sections were developed during the second iteration of this toolkit, all derived from a single base grid that runs consistently throughout the system.
Workshops were held at University of the Arts London with creatives to introduce, explore and build the toolkit. This was a crucial part of the process.
A grid is ever changing; open, generous, inviting, organic and flexible to accommodate everyone rooted in community, politics, love and joy. It adapts & evolves through collective and conscious creativity, shaping connections that grow stronger over time, weaving together past, present, and future into a shared vision.
Grids are not monolithic. They help tell human stories in endless ways. The grid structure acts as a playground for a concious creation of a typeface.
{These are some pages in part one of the toolkit}
A new way to think about letter design, is giving users the freedom to continuously generate new forms. This step transforms helps transform each letter into something unique, anchored, and adaptable, shaped by the individuals engaging with the layout/grid and environment.
Letters are not just symbols; they are tools of rhythm and structure. They interact dynamically with space, responding to constraints and possibilities, creating harmony.
{These are some pages in part two of the toolkit}
This isn’t a book of facts to absorb or information to learn. It’s a handbook for action, a guide to creating playful experiences, and a book for fresh ways of thinking about type.
‘The block’ is built on the idea of learning by doing and getting past the creative block. If you shape experiences, collaborate with others, or contribute to culture in any way, you are designing type. Type design is not just knowledge or rules—it’s action, experimentation, and practice.
{These are some pages in part three of the toolkit}