Alphabet | Ninja vs Penguin

Amitis Pahlevan bats her eyes

Ninja April 16th, 2009

Amitis Pahlevan creates a new typeface from false eyelashes.

Posts by Ninja , Type
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Artist and physicist: Christian Faur

Ninja February 26th, 2009

It seems that I’ve got a thing for crayons this week.

More than just pixel art with haunting stares, Christian Faur’s crayon installations have everything to do with codes and sequence. He went as far as developing a color alphabet system where each letter of the alphabet corresponds with a specific color. Hidden in Christian’s Forgotten Children series are hundreds of children’s names in each panel.

Taking a cue from Phoenicians, what I have done is to map a subset 26 distinct colors to a standardized set of signs (English alphabet or graphemes) that will allow me to construct meaning out of color directly and unambiguously using the English system of language that I am already familiar with. These 26 colors are to be housed in a set of handmade glyphs that allow a reader to more clearly navigate through the color data (although the use of these glyphs are irrelevant as long as the colors are distinct, standardized and the reader is given a direction for reading). The addition of unique set of “punctuation symbols” developed in the font, allow the more accurate mapping of meaning from a standard “glyph” based set of symbols into the color.
– Christian Faur

The Color Purple, 2009
Hand cast encaustic crayons
21 x 21 inches

Experiment 5, 2008
Hand cast encaustic crayons
12 x 12 inches

Experiment 5 detail

Where the sidewalk end, 2008
Hand cast encaustic crayons
21 x 21 inches

Popies, 2007
4773 Hand cast encaustic crayons
19.5in x 19.5 in.

Porcelain Womb, 2007
Hand cast encaustic crayons
19.5 in x 19.5 in.

Related link
+ Christian Faur’s website and portfolio

Art , Posts by Ninja
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Dutch Osborne’s photogram alphabet print

Ninja August 19th, 2008

I was browsing through Spring (a charming gallery/store in Brooklyn), when this photogram print caught my eye.

Rhode Island School of Design grad, Dutch Osborne, offers up this delightful, found object alphabet poster. This unusual alphabet poster was the AIGA winner for typographic design in 2005.

Composed of found, recycled, and reused objects, this new typeface is captured through the photographic process known as the photogram. Each letter is created by capturing the shadow of an object. There is no distortion of scale between the image that is captures and the object from which it was cast. As each object has a unique shape the signature of the shadow is often a surprise. As a collection these signatures have begun to define a new typography and an attitude towards reused and appropriation. While some images are familiar to adults, other present themselves to children. The purpose of this piece is to foster a dialogue of discovery and exchange.

For $60, you can order a 28 x 40 in. poster directly from the designer. Just email your request to orders@dutchosborne.com

Or if you prefer, you can get a smaller, 27 x 38 in. photo print from Spring for $68.00. Click here to purchase.