Different

The continual advance of technology and production techniques has opened new and exciting opportunities for contemporary graphic designers to create, distribute, and discover each other’s work. Likewise, as the design profession evolves to adapt and incorporate changing technologies, so too have the methods and techniques employed to visually explore the communication of information and language. Recent works by studios Fathom and Synoptic Office investigate unique ways in which typography can be used to illustrate stories or visualize data. Frankenfont, by Ben Fry at Fathom, is a typographic visual narrative created from incomplete letterforms and fonts scavenged from PDF documents found online. Alphabet Topography, by Caspar Lam and YuJune Park at Synoptic Office, is a three dimensional typeface and information graphic which visualizes the frequency of letter usage in the English language. Both projects are noteworthy in that they showcase the diverse ways in which technology allows designers to experiment in new ways with typography and letterforms.
Frankenfont exists as a printed edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein set in characters and glyphs extracted from PDF documents found on the web. At a quick glance, the simplicity of the layout might not reveal anything unusual; however, the gradual visual progression of the narrative belies the complexity of the underlying process. Frankenfont is a fascinating study into the manipulation of the hidden aspects of every day technology to create new and exciting interpretations.
Frankenstein begins typeset in the most frequently used characters and fonts found online in random PDF’s, mainly Helvetica, Arial, and Times New Roman. The occasional mixing of these fonts early on results in a calm visual narrative that subtly foreshadows the events to come. As the novel progresses the typographic journey slowly devolves into combinations of less frequently used fonts, at times even substituting pictograms and symbols for various letters. The slow transformation of the typography into increasingly more grotesque forms neatly parallels the progression of the storyline. The publication is an excellent example of typography visually expressing the narrative of a novel.
To produce Frankenfont, Ben Fry developed a program to exploit the method software programs employ to encode fonts in PDF documents. To prevent individuals from extracting a font for practical use, PDF’s are typically encoded only with the necessary characters resulting in an incomplete typeface. Ben Fry’s program functions by searching and collecting the most common fonts and letters found in PDF documents and cataloging them based on the frequency of their use. The resulting menagerie of fonts was then matched up to the frequency of letter usage in the novel, providing a unique palette for visualizing the story of Frankenstein.

A similarly unique approach to envisioning typography can be found in the project, Alphabet Topography, by Synoptic Office. A beautifully-crafted three-dimensional typeface whose letterforms are simultaneously sculptural and informational graphic. The formal qualities of the project are stunning; gently rising and falling peaks meld together in one letter and then plunge and rise dramatically in the next, thus forming a typographic mountain range of words. Because the alphabet exists as a physical piece, this allows for the shapes to transform from words and letterforms in one viewing to undulating abstract sculptures alive with energy and movement in another.
The typeface was created by modeling each letter individually in a six inch square using the architectural software programs Rhino and AutoCad. Word frequency was determined by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory with the maximum height for the most frequent letters set at 6”. This allowed for a difference of roughly one quarter inch between each successive frequency. Letters were then laser cut in sections out of architectural butter board and assembled by hand.
While traditional client projects still form the bulk of most designers work, technology has opened up the doors for an ever-expanding palette of tools to inspire and encourage visual research in visual communication. Similarly, the global reach of the internet and increasing proliferation of design blogs, peer-curated websites, and online journals have allowed instantaneous access to this infinitely diverse collection of work.  
Despite the fact that many of these projects may not be client-driven or have any clear practical application there can be no question that they serve to broaden and enrich contemporary discourse within the field of visual communication. Furthermore, these unique and diverse approaches to working with typography, imagery, and letterforms expand the lexicon of visual communication and blur the boundaries between art, design, and visual research. As the profession continues to evolve, this type of research becomes important in deepening our understanding of how we interpret and communicate about ourselves and the world we inhabit.  
fathom.info
www.synopticoffice.com