Letterform Variations by Slanted Publishers

Nigel Cottier

Letterform Variations

Nigel Cottier

Letterform Variations

Key

A Letterform Variations 00

B Letterform Variations 01 Letterform Variations 02 Letterform Variations 03 Letterform Variations 04 Letterform Variations 05 Letterform Variations 06 Letterform Variations 07 Letterform Variations 08 Letterform Variations 09

IR DFO SFO DM DSFC DFCD SFCS DFCS SFCD

Further Grids FG01 FG02 FG03 FG04 FG05 FG06 FG07 FG08

Internal Round Dot Fettered Open Square Fettered Open Dot Ma Dot + Square Fettered Closed Dot Fettered Closed Dot Square Fettered Closed Square Dot Fettered Closed Square Square Fettered Closed Dot

Nigel Cottier Letterform Variations Slanted ISBN: 978-3-948440-35-0

004 008 310 574 584

Foreword and Introduction A Letterform Variations 00 B Letterform Variations 01—09 Further Grids Index

For M& A

Foreword Georges Perec, one of the most versatile and innovative French writers of the 20th century, is renowned for the consistent use of complex mathematical and linguistic structures to frame his words and ideas. When asked to justify his playfully formal attitude to writing, Perec’s reply provided a useful outline of the powerful functionality and beauty of systematic processes in generating all kinds of creative work. ‘There are two ways of getting water,’ he wrote. ‘You can go to the spring and bring it back in buckets, or you can lay down pipework and pumps to make it play before your eyes. It’s the same water either way’. The book you are holding in your hand aligns both aspects of Perec’s proposition within an elegant visual framework. It is the product of Nigel Cottier’s methodology for developing letterforms that are based partly on visual transformations generated by algorithmic functions, such as constraints, rules, grids and modules, and partly on designerly judgements about composition, balance and visual dynamics. Cottier’s modular systems are built within expansive design spaces that facilitate the production of an almost infinite range of outputs, but what distinguishes them is the considered choices he makes subsequently, categorising and editing his results as competent and handsome representations of alphabetic forms. This connection between impartial geometric shapes and the alphabetic code brings to mind Paul Elliman’s contention that the boundaries between typography, typology and topography are never distinct. Leafing through these pages evokes memories of the work of pioneers in the use of generative production methods; people such as Douglas Hofstadter, François Morellet, Manfred Mohr, Dimitri Bruni and Manuel Krebs, but Cottier’s work is most evidently inspired by Sol Lewitt, a progenitor of conceptual and

004

serial art who once famously said that: ‘to work with a plan that is pre-set is one way of avoiding subjectivity. It also obviates the necessity for designing each work in turn. The plan would then design the work’. The Letterform Variations project extends this idea exuberantly, reminding us that generative design in action is similar to a game to be played or a recipe to be followed. For final outcomes to be satisfactory, they are dependent entirely on the rules, the pieces and the turn of play or, alternatively, the ingredients, the measurements and the processes. Generative systems are deeply rooted in the historical context of graphic design, and, as a vital component in the mechanisation of words for mass communication, the field of type design has always been defined by systematic, technology-driven processes. Since the advent of the digital era, type designers have increasingly made extensive use of programming and similar parametric methods such as interpolation and extrapolation to generate variant letterforms. Cottier’s project exploits Opentype variable font technologies to broaden that trajectory in the creation of new and unpredictable glyph iterations and combinations. Although type design is an unusually conservative and retrospective field of practice, trapped forever within the amber of the roman alphabet’s shape and its bioaesthetic origins in the human body, as a systematised encoding of language, Cottier’s work shows us that carefully managed evolution is both desirable and fruitful. I can think of no words more appropriate to introduce Letterform Variations than Paul Elliman’s: ‘Language moves between us and the world on patterns of repetition and variation, and a mimetic example of this might be something like an alphabet’. On the pages that follow, hundreds of modular forms are presented, each one an exquisite piece of something like an alphabet. Paul McNeil

005

Introduction I began drawing alternative letterforms in the back of maths exercise books when at school, the simple square grid layout being the structure or guide for creation. Finding new methods of drawing letterforms using basic grids and geometric units has become a mild obsession. This book is an attempt to formalise these and further grid and unit based type sketches, experiments and fonts into a study on letterform construction. Section A (Letterform Variations 00) contains a series of alternative characters or stylistic sets for each basic Roman symbol (a—z, A—Z and 0—9), all drawn using the same simple and primitive line grid ( ) for construction. With 16(a) stylistic sets for each character and additional punctuation this counts over 1,000 symbols. Section B of the book contains 9 variations of the original complete set. These character sets (Letterform Variations 01—09) are adapted versions of the original system replacing the line grid structure with more nuanced forms, geometric forms and combinations of geometric forms ( ). By replacing stems and terminals with alternative forms the language of the typography shifts. These characters have varying levels of legibility but express a secondary form of creation and graphic language; the geometric components within the characters visually interact with adjacent characters to create a kind of coded gridded patterning. Each Letterform Variation character set contains two defined weights(b), which totals at 19,840 characters. Furthermore each set has been created as a variable font file, allowing for any weight between the two to be displayed, creating an almost infinite number of variant letterforms.

006

The book also contains a Further Grids section which displays example sketches of other potential grids ( ) for creation, the intention being to show the vast possibilities within grid based letterform development. Nigel Cottier

(a) Minor form duplication occurs within certain character sets: 1 and l, M and m, O and o, Y and y, X and x. (b) The term weight has been used to label the variation between the two forms. The variation can be a number of properties within each font and is not exclusive to weight.

Nigel Cottier is a designer and typographer with an ongoing interest in creating work of beauty using formulae, hidden systems and data as tools for creation. As Principal Designer at Londonbased design studio Accept & Proceed he has led notable commercial projects for Apple, BMW, Google, Nike, NASA and Rapha.

Paul McNeil is a graphic designer, writer and educator. In 2009, he co-founded MuirMcNeil with Hamish Muir, a design consultancy focussed on exploring the use of systematic methods in visual communications. He was formerly Course Director of the MA in Contemporary Typographic Media at the London College of Communication.

007

0 Letterform Variations 00

A A

008

00 A

009

oooo oooo oooo oooo LV 00 o ss.

200 00—15

144

P LV 00 P ss.

200 00

145

01 B B

310

— 09 B

311

Permutation From Wikipedia, the free encyclop Jump to navigationJump to search For other uses, see Permutation (disambiguation). “nPr” redirects here. NPR (disambiguation).

For

other

Each of the six rows is a differe permutation of three distinct bal mathematics, a permutation of a s loosely speaking, an arrangement members into a sequence or linear or if the set is already ordered, rearrangement of its elements. Th “permutation” also refers to the process of changing the linear or an ordered set. [1]

vw %#

Permutations differ from combinat which are selections of some memb of a set regardless of order. For example, written as tuples, there six permutations of the set {1,2, namely: (1,2,3), (1,3,2), (2,1,3) (2,3,1), (3,1,2), and (3,2,1). Th are all the possible orderings of three-element set. Anagrams of wo whose letters are different are a permutations: the letters are alr ordered in the original word, and anagram is a reordering of the le B The study 312of permutations of fini is an important topic in the fiel

1111 1111 w1111 x #? 1111

pedia

uses,

see

ent lls In set is, of its r order, , a he word act or rder of

tions, bers r e are ,3}, ), hese f this ords also ready d the etters. ite sets lds of

313

avcde ghijk mnopq stuvw yz&%# +/£$€

ermutation rom Wikipedia, the free encycloped ump to navigationJump to search or other uses, see Permutation disambiguation).

nPr” redirects here. PR (disambiguation).

For

f f

other

use

ach of the six rows is a different ermutation of three distinct balls athematics, a permutation of a set oosely speaking, an arrangement of embers into a sequence or linear o r if the set is already ordered, a earrangement of its elements. The permutation” also refers to the ac rocess of changing the linear orde n ordered set. [1]

ermutations differ from combinatio hich are selections of some member f a set regardless of order. For xample, written as tuples, there a ix permutations of the set {1,2,3} amely: (1,2,3), (1,3,2), (2,1,3), 2,3,1), (3,1,2), and (3,2,1). Thes re all the possible orderings of t hree-element set. Anagrams of word hose letters are different are als ermutations: the letters are alrea rdered in the original word, and t nagram is a reordering of the lett he study of permutations of finite s an important topic in the fields B 314 ombinatorics and group theory. [2

ef kl qr wx #? €*

dia

fff fff

es,

see

t s In t is, f its order, a word ct or er of

ons, rs

are },

se this ds so ady the ters. e sets s of 2]

315

Letterform Variations 01 Letterform Variations 02 Letterform Variations 03 Letterform Variations 04 Letterform Variations 05 Letterform Variations 06 Letterform Variations 07 Letterform Variations 08 Letterform Variations 09

B B

IR DFO SFO DM DSFC DFCD SFCS DFCS SFCD

324 324

Internal Round Dot Fettered Open Square Fettered Open Dot Ma Dot + Square Fettered Closed Dot Fettered Closed Dot Square Fettered Closed Square Dot Fettered Closed Square Square Fettered Closed Dot

325 325

AAAA AAAA AAAA AAAA LV 01 A ss.

200 00—15

326

A LV 01 A ss.

200 00

327

EEEE EEEE EEEE EEEE LV 09 E ss.

200

00—15

358

E LV 09 E ss.

200

359

eeee eeee eeee eeee LV 01 e ss.

100 00—15

362

e LV 01 E ss.

100 04

363

GGGG GGGG GGGG GGGG LV 04 G ss.

100

00—15

374

G LV 04 G ss.

100

375

JJJJ JJJJ JJJJ JJJJ LV 01 J ss.

200 00—15

398

J LV 01 J ss.

200 07

399

J LV 01 J ss.

200 11

400

JJ LV 01 J ss.

200 15

401

jjjj jjjj jjjj jjjj LV 02 j ss.

200

00—15

402

j LV 02 j ss.

200

403

KKKK KKKK KKKK KKKK LV 03 K ss.

200

00—15

406

K LV 03 K ss.

200

407

kkkk kkkk kkkk kkkk LV 04 k ss.

200

00—15

410

k LV 04 k ss.

200

411

SSSS SSSS SSSS SSSS LV 01 S ss.

200 00—15

470

S LV 01 S ss.

200 00

471

S LV 01 S ss.

200 10

472

SS LV 01 S ss.

200 11

473

ssss ssss ssss ssss LV 02 s ss.

200

00—15

474

s LV 02 s ss.

200

475

w LV 01 w ss.

100 02

508

ww LV 01 w ss.

100 07

509

FURTHER GRIDS

574

575

A a

1-9 1-9

B Further Grids

578

A a

1-9 1-9

B Further Grids

579

INDEX

584

Letterform Variations 00 Letterform Variations 01 Letterform Variations 02 Letterform Variations 03 Letterform Variations 04 Letterform Variations 05 Letterform Variations 06 Letterform Variations 07 Letterform Variations 08 Letterform Variations 09

IR DFO SFO DM DSFC DFCD SFCS DFCS SFCD

Internal Round Dot Fettered Open Square Fettered Open Dot Ma Dot + Square Fettered Closed Dot Fettered Closed Dot Square Fettered Closed Square Dot Fettered Closed Square Square Fettered Closed Dot

585

ABCDEF GHIJKL MNOPQR STUVWX YZ1234 567890 LV 00 A—Z, 0—9

200

Index

604

ss.

abcdef ghijkl mnopqr stuvwx yz&%#? +/£$€* LV 00 a—z, punctuation

200 ss.

Index

605

LETTERFORM VARIATIONS 01 IR INTERNAL ROUND LETTERFORM VARIATIONS 01 IR INTERNAL ROUND

Index

618

fff fff fff 200

188

176

164

152

140

128

114

100

LV 01 f ss.

Various weights 00

Index

619

I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

620

200

weight:

00—15

ss.

A—Z

Internal Round

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

A B

Letterform Variations

ss.

I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

100

weight:

00—15

ss.

A—Z

Internal Round

A B

Letterform Variations

ss.

621

0000000000000000 1111111111111111 2222222222222222 3333333333333333 4444444444444444 5555555555555555 6666666666666666 7777777777777777 8888888888888888 9999999999999999

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

!#$%&()+/.-

!#$%&()*+/.- ,{}£©®–—

,{}£©®–— ‘’“”•‽€:;=?@

200

0 1

weight:

Internal Round

ss.

Letterform Variations 01 0—9 + punctuation ss. 00—15

[]\^_

‘’“”•‽€:;=?@ []\^_

Index

624

0000000000000000 1111111111111111 2222222222222222 3333333333333333 4444444444444444 5555555555555555 6666666666666666 7777777777777777 8888888888888888 9999999999999999

4 5 6 7 8 9

!#$%&()+/.-

!#$%&()*+/.- ,{}£©®–—

,{}£©®–— ‘’“”•‽€:;=?@

‘’“”•‽€:;=?@ []\^_

[]\^_

Letterform Variations 01 0—9 ss. 00—15 + punctuation

100

0 1

weight:

Internal Round

ss.

Index

625

LETTERFORM VARIATIONS 02 DFO DOT FETTERED OPEN LETTERFORM VARIATIONS 02 DFO DOT FETTERED OPEN

Index

626

fff fff fff 200

188

176

164

152

140

128

114

100

LV 02 f ss.

Various weights 00

Index

627

I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

628

200

weight:

00—15

ss.

A—Z

Dot Fettered Open

DFO

A B

Letterform Variations

ss.

I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

100

weight:

00—15

ss.

A—Z

Dot Fettered Open

DFO

A B

Letterform Variations

ss.

629

LETTERFORM VARIATIONS 04 DM DOT MA LETTERFORM VARIATIONS 04 DM DOT MA

Index

642

fff fff fff 200

188

176

164

152

140

128

114

100

LV 04 f ss.

Various weights 00

Index

643

I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

644

200

weight:

00—15

ss.

A—Z

Dot Ma

A B

Letterform Variations

ss.

I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

100

weight:

00—15

ss.

A—Z

Dot Ma

A B

Letterform Variations

ss.

645

0000000000000000 1111111111111111 2222222222222222 3333333333333333 4444444444444444 5555555555555555 6666666666666666 7777777777777777 8888888888888888 9999999999999999

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

!#$%&()+/.-

!#$%&()*+/.-

,{}£©®–—

‘’“”•‽€:;=?@

[]\^_

Letterform Variations 09 0—9 + punctuation ss. 00—15

[]\^_

200

0 1

weight:

SFCD Square Fettered Closed Dot

ss.

Index

688

0000000000000000 1111111111111111 2222222222222222 3333333333333333 4444444444444444 5555555555555555 6666666666666666 7777777777777777 8888888888888888 9999999999999999

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

!#$%&()+/.-

‘’“”•‽€:;=?@ []\^_

[]\^_

Letterform Variations 09 0—9 + punctuation ss. 00—15

100

0 1

weight:

SFCD Square Fettered Closed Dot

ss.

Index

689

Imprint Slanted Publishers UG (haftungsbeschränkt) Nebeniusstrasse 10 76137 Karlsruhe Germany T +49 (0) 721 85148268 info@slanted.de slanted.de @slanted_publishers © Slanted Publishers, Karlsruhe, 2021 Nebeniusstraße 10, 76137 Karlsruhe, Germany © Concept and Design by Nigel Cottier All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-3-948440-35-0 1st edition 2021 Concept & Design: Nigel Cottier Foreword: Paul McNeil Publishing Direction: Lars Harmsen, Julia Kahl Typeface: Neue Haas Grotesk Production: KOPA, Lithuania Disclaimer: The publisher assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of all information. Reproduction and storage require the permission of the publisher. Signed contributions do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher or the editor. The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at dnb.d-nb.de.

Slanted Publishers is an internationally active independent publishing and media house, founded in 2014 by Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl. They publish the award-winning print magazine Slanted, covering international developments in design and culture twice a year. Since its establishment in 2004, the daily Slanted blog slanted.de highlights events and news from an international design scene and showcases inspiring portfolios from all over the world. Over the years, more than 200 video interviews with designers and entrepreneurs have been made, forming an archive that bears witness to our time. In addition to the Slanted blog and magazine, Slanted Publishers initiates and creates projects such as the Yearbook of Type, tear-off calendars Typodarium and Photodarium, independent type foundry VolcanoType and others. Slanted’s publishing program reflects their own diverse interests, focusing on contemporary design and culture, working closely with editors and authors to produce outstanding publications with meaningful content and high quality. These publications can be found in the Slanted Shop alongside other extraordinary products by young design talents and established producers from all over the world. Slanted was born from great passion and has made a name for itself across the globe. Its design is vibrant and inspiring—its philosophy openminded, tolerant, and curious. Nigel Cottier is a designer and typographer with an ongoing interest in creating work of beauty using formulae, hidden systems and data as tools for creation. Since graduating Edinburgh College of Art with a BA (Hons) in 2009 he has been a part of London-based design studio Accept & Proceed. As Principal Designer he has led notable commercial projects for Apple, BMW, Google, Nike, NASA and Rapha. letterformvariations.com process-pattern.com acceptandproceed.com @process.pattern

ISBN: 978-3-948440-35-0