ryan panos

3D alphabet shows the history of type

the ‘arkitypo’ project by london-based design studio johnson banks creates a physical ‘alphabet of alphabets’: a complete set of 3D printed letters, each showcasing the character and history of a particular typeface.

the project is a collaboration with ravensbourne, UK-based digital media university, developed as a means of testing and showcasing the school’s inhouse 3D prototyping technology.

for each of the letters ‘A’ through ‘Z’, the designers selected a typeface beginning with that character, which is used in the sculptural work. each piece furthermore encapsulates a bit of the history of the typeface: the ‘J’ adopts the form of a metro system map, because its fontface ‘johnston’ was originally designed for the london underground; the ‘C’ is composed of ‘courier’, used in 1950s typewriters, and thus is composed of an assemblage of typewriter keys.