Handmade type development

Apple

I used a small knife to cut the letter out of the apple. I think this looked really effective because the colour of inside of the apple had a good contrast against the red so it really stood out. I chose to do a sans serif capital 'A' because it was easier and more accurate to cut straight lens then it would have been to curve them.

I first tried with flash but it reflected too much against the apple so I decided natural lighting would be best.

I tried various positions in front of some wood but I decided a more natural outdoor background would work best with the apple, and I also didn't like the wall being visible behind the apple.

I placed the apple outside on some stone and I think this complimented the colours of the red and allowed the apple to really stand out against it. I tried a few different angles and positions but chose to centre it in the end so that the entire front of the apple could be seen as this made the letter stand out the most and kept its legibility.


Buttons

I arranged various coloured buttons into the shape of a 'B'. I chose a sans serif capital 'b' because I thought it looked a lot bolder than a lowercase one and allowed me to use more buttons and a larger variety of colours.

I neatened up the 'B' slightly in this image and made the top and bottom rounder and slightly more equal in size to make the letter look neater and more accurate.

I wanted to experiment a little more with the shape of the letter so I chose to make it using negative space by filling the background with the buttons. I think the legibility was lost a little here and it looks a little messy so I decided to stick with the original.

I think this looks effective because the colours really stand out against the white and it pops off the page. I chose to put similar colours together because I didn't want any of the colours to clash.

Confetti

I used various types of sweet confetti and mixed it together to add more variety and colours to the letter.

I first tried it over a white background but I thought this didn't really emphasise the word 'confetti' and looked a little plain.

I shook one of the varieties on to the paper in the background and I think this looks really effective because it gives the effect of floating confetti.



Daisy

I clipped the tops of daisies and arranged them in the D shape. A capital 'D' worked better with this because it's a simpler shape so stood out more in the grass.

I tried placing them over stone because I thought it would have a strong contrast against the white but I decided that grass would be more effective because it would look as though the flowers were growing from it.

I think the grass looks most effective because there is a strong contrast between the green and white so the flowers really stand out.



Erase

I used pencil to colour in the entire piece of paper and then used a rubber to erase out an 'e' shape. I went with a capital again because I think it gave the letter a bolder impact.

I first took an image without flash but it looked far too dark and wasn't very legible.

The image looks a let clearer and brighter with the flash and I will be able to darken it using photoshop to give a bigger contrast between the colours. I think using the rubber was effective as it gives it an etched out look and fits well with the word 'erase'.


Fur

I cut out an 'f' shape from fur material. I chose a bubbly lower case font for this one because I wanted it to look softer and more rounded to go with the softness and soft edges of the fur. I chose to do it over a coloured background as the white would not have stood out on plain paper.

The flash made the image too bright and reflected too much on the white of the fur.

Although the image without flash is dark, I can brighten it up in photoshop and I think it will be easier to brighten it up then to tone it down. The fur also came out a lot clearer this time.



Glitter

I placed glue in the shape I wanted then shook glitter over it to fill in the shape. I decided to use a script style font as I thought this went best with the glamour and elegance associated with glitter.

I tried adding to the background by sprinkling it with glitter but I think it looks a little messy and when zoomed out makes the page look dirty.

I pushed all the glitter aside and I think this helps give a better contrast between the paper and letter and makes it stand out more and looks overall cleaner and more professional. The excess glitter can be removed using photoshop to make it cleaner.



Hay

I chose to arrange the hay in a capital 'H' because it was difficult to work with and wouldn't have moulded easily into the curved lines of a lower case one. I placed it over a wood chip floor to give it a rustic look.

This area of wood chip was too light and had too much sunlight so the hay didn't stand out very much.

I moved it on to a darker bit of wood chip with darker lighting and this helped the hay stand out against the background. I can also make it stand out even more when it is edited.



Ice

I froze ice cubes into small squares and arranged them over a wood board because this gave a good contrast against the white and helped them stand out.

I first arranged them in a lower case 'i' but the dot wasn't very clear.

I think the lower case 'i' looks far more effective. I had the ice cubes rounded side up and I think they would look flatter and more square the other way up.

I placed them flat side down and I think the edges look a lot straighter this way. I think this looks effective because the white ice really stands out against the wood, and the shadows caused by the lighting give it depth.

Jellybeans

I arranged jellybeans into a capital 'J' shape. I chose to to try this to start of with as the jellybeans were small and easy to manipulate so a more complex shape was easy to achieve.

I found that the rounded edges worked best with the jellybeans so I decided to remove the straight edge. I think this looks more effective as it looks neater and cleaner.



Knitting

I cut up small lengths of wool and arranged them into a capital 'K' as it was difficult to manipulate so straight lines were the most effective to create.

I neatened up the edges a little and cut off strays to make it cleaner and more legible.



Lipstick

I used lipstick to write on a small bathroom mirror. I chose to do a swirly script letter as this goes with the girly and elegant theme that comes with lipstick. I chose a deep pink so that it would be clear and legible on the mirror.

This 'l' looked a little small and plain so I would like to do something bolder and more elaborate.

I think this 'L' looks a lot more effective and having it in uppercase allowed me to make it more detailed.

I wanted the fact it was made from lipstick to be 100% clear in the image so I added in me applying the lipstick to the mirror in the corner of the picture and I think this makes the idea a lot clearer. I chose to included the entirety of the mirror to try and show the background as I thought the bathroom went along with the theme of applying lipstick.


Matchstick

I burnt a number of matches about 1/4 of the way down and arranged them in a capital 'M' as the letter had to have straight edges. I chose to burn the matches to add some extra depth and colours to the image.

I used two matches for each line to make the letter thicker and bolder. I placed it over a wooden background because I thought this complimented the wood of the matches nicely and looked a lot more interesting then paper as the letter is quite thin. The matches still stand out well because the wood is a lot paler or darker in places so the contrast is strong.


Needle

I used a needle to map out holes and then stitched along them with embroidery thread. The edges needed to be straight so I chose to do it in a the style of a sans serif capital 'N'.

I took the image with flash to make the thread stand out against the white. I think it looks really effective because the green really stands out off the background.



Oak

I used a knife to carve an 'O' shape out of the bark of a tree.

I also found an 'O' shape within the tree but I decided against using it because I hadn't technically created it myself and I wanted the book to be based on hand crafted typography.

The yellow under the bark made the letter really stand out in the tree and I think it looks really effective.


Pompom

I used various coloured pom poms and laid them out in a p shape. I chose a basic 'p' as they were difficult to manipulate into clear lines so it worked best to keep the letter simple.

I chose a white background because it allowed the colours to really stand out and as there are lots of colours used they would clash against most shades of most other colours.


Quartz

I used sugar crystals to represent quartz stones as it allowed me to easily acquire a large amount in a variety of colours.

I first used the green over a blue background and although the contrast is good so it stands out and is legible, it didn't really jump off the page.

I mixed yellow in with the green and this gave it much more dimension and helped it really jump off the page and look 3D.



Rice

I arranged granules of rice over a wooden chopping board as this goes along with the food theme and has a good contrast against the white.

I think the rice really stands out against the board and the soft rounded edges of the 'R' that I created go along with the illusion of having fluffy cooked rice.


Shadow

To create the effect of a shadow, I cut a basic 'S' shape out of white paper and shone a torch through it onto a plain wall in a dark room. I kept the shape basic as I wanted the lines to be clear when the light shone through and simple lines come up best.

I tried a variety of angles and positioning of the torch and I think this last image works best because it has a lot of warmth and depth to it and the darkness of the background contrasts strongly with the late making the 'S' shape really stand out.



Tape

I cut lengths of tape and layered them to create a capital 'T' shape, as it had to have straight edges to work with the straight tape.

This image looks a little dull and the tape doesn't stand out too much so I decided to try it with flash instead.

I think the flash works a lot better because it gives a bigger contrast between the wall and the tape. I think layering the tape worked well as it gives the letter more dimensions and makes it look more 3D. I chose to do it on a plain background as the red would clash with most other colours and be drained out by shades that it matched with.



Untie

I used pink laces to show the word untie because I associate it with un-tieing shoe laces. It was hard to manipulate the laces so I tried as simple 'U' shapes as possible.

I first laid it out in a length but I think it looks a little plain and boring.

I also tried doubling it up to make it bolder but I think it looks a little too untidy.

Next I tied nots at the edges of the shape but again it looks a little messy and isn't particularly legible as a 'U'.

I moved away from curved edges as I couldn't get them neat enough so I straightened out the edges and folded them over to create the 'U'. I think this looks really effective as it is much neater and rider than the previous attempts and it is clearly visible as a shoe lace as I managed to make the plastic cuff visible.



Vine

I cut two small pieces of vine and laid them out over a stone background.

I think this looks effective because there is a good contrast between the green and the stone so it really stands out. I kept the 'V' shape very simple because the leaves on the vine make it look very decorative and I didn't want to overcomplicate it or remove the legibility it has.



Watercolour

I used one shade of watercolour paint to create a 'W' shape. I kept the shape simple and instead added detail by layering the paint to give the illusion of depth.

I first tried taking the image without flash because I didn't want it to reflect on the paint but it was far too dark and the quality was affected.

By angling the camera away from the centre I managed to stop the reflection of the flash in the pain and I think it looks really effective because the background has a strong contrast from the blue and it the letter really stands out with the layers of paint giving it depth.



X marks the spot

I used an old map as the background and a large red marker pen to make the cross as this really stood out against the white and is what I would associate with crosses on pirate maps.

I tried a variety of positions but centre worked out best as I could make the 'X' very large so that it was the focal point. Because the background is so busy, the X needed to be large to be focused on.





Yolk

I cooked an egg and then tried to etch out a 'Y' in the yolk. It wasn't visible when I scratched it out so I tried drawing it on using white glue to match the white of the egg.

It looked very messy and ran off the edges and I don't think this is a high enough finish to put in my book.

I took some photographs before I touched the yolk so I will use this instead and try to edit in the 'Y' shape to have a neater and more professional finish.




Zip

I arranged three zips in a 'Z' shape over a white background.

I chose a white background because I wanted a strong contrast against the zips. This image was a bit dark so I decided to try one with flash. I also didn't like the messy edges of the zips in the middle so I wanted to neaten this up.

I neatened the edges in the middle by joining them to the top and bottom of the letter and I think this looks a lot neater and improves legibility as a 'Z'. Using flash brightened the background and improved the contrast between the blue and white making the letter stand out more.