Reclaim
The Introduction Reclaim 4
Graffiti - it is all around us. It is the process of an artist reclaiming their environment with letters and words to make their presense known to the city. From the crude tags of Peckham to the intricate street typography of Brick Lane it has become an integral part of the urban landscape. It can be destructive and decorative simultaneously and acts as a unique art form in it’s own right.
Nature is a street artist reclaiming it’s environment. From the crude weeds between paving slabs to the intricate patterns of vine on the walls. It is both desctructive and decorative and it’s aesthetic and presense is a unique and integral part of city life and the urban landscape.
Reclaim is a typographical experiment looking at the way that nature moves into the man made environment. This book is a type specimen that documents the idea, the process and the outcome of that experiment.
The Equipment
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The Process Reclaim 6
The inspiration for this idea came from the aesthetic of natural disruption within the manmade environment. The picture above was taken near Bethnal Green and it perfectly encapsulates what is meant by this.
However, it also reveals the graffiti behind and forces a comparison to be made and in this case, similarities to be drawn too.
This resulted in the image on the right hand side which was a first attempt at tackling the idea.
It was simply created by The project arranging therefore, went foliage collected from on to begin experimenting the area into letterforms. with this idea of nature and urban life.
The Progress Reclaim 10
Progress is gradual though and whilst these images were easy to create and easy to read they did not convey the idea fully. It was therefore time to set about the more difficult task of creating these characters in their natural environment.
This was accomplished by using a variety of plants, moss, sticks, vines and a range of natural materials. By arranging the assorted materials on the ground, tying the vines together, hanging them
on nails and sticking them to walls the letterforms could be created with relative ease. The first letter created with this method was the capital S shown on the right and this provided a basis on which to work.
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Sellotape
The Progress Reclaim 12
Some post production effects were used to make the letters more legible. For example the photgraph of the T here was incredibly dark. By cutting the letterform out it can be highlighted and placed back to make it easier to see.
The Progress Reclaim 13
Similarly with the B, the base was coloured green whereas the rest of the vine was red. By selecting certain leaves, altering their colours and even adding new ones the legibility can be increased.
The Outcome Reclaim 16
Reclaim was born out of a love for both the urban life and the natural aesthetic and combines the two in a thoughtful and thought provoking manner. The final typeface is creative, experimental
graffiti as an and although inspiration for it may not be it’s form. as readable as more traditional typefaces it can still be useful. It is an exploration of the way that nature moves back in to the urban, man made environment and uses
The Quick Brown
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The Alphabet
The Alphabet
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The Poster
The Poster
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