Typeface research and response

NoFoundry hosts a 30-hour type design marathon for designers across Europe
https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/nofoundry-saturday-type-fever-graphic-design-310119

These typefaces were created in a really organic manner which is important to my theme as it can relate to nature and contrast against plastic pollution. They were created using creative materials that pushed designers out their normal ways of working. 

Designers: Eszett, Joanne Dietz, Karla Kniep.

This typeface is interesting as it was based on the lines seen in plastic wrapping and therefore there are both straight and curved strokes which contrast with the sharp apexes and vertexes, even disrupting the standard curves in the bowls of glyphs such as in "g" whereas the shoulder of letters such as "h" are completely curved. The eye of the "e" is angled towards the same angle in which the disrupted curves of letters are, similarly to the "c", whereas the finial of both these letters are completely curved. This combination of both angles and curves represent the irregularities in curves and lines found in wrapping. The stem however is always rigid and straight, which even affects the tittle of the "i" which gives a very rigid and fixed stroke weight throughout the whole typeface. 

Designers: Double Jeu Workshop

This typeface really contrasts the first one as it's much more organic. It's made by ripping pieces of paper to then create the letter and the leftovers then create a different typeface. There is a fixed set of rules however to create some consistency - each method of cutting must be used (ripping, using scissors then circle cutting). 4 pieces of paper at minimum should be ripped off and to create consistency in baselines, the letter must be as high and wide as the original paper in which its being cut from which therefore forces a more flat aphex on glyphs that reach the top of the page as seen in the "A" and "C". The sides and terminals of all the letters also have a fixed edge. 

These inconsistencies and the use of circle cutting create a very organic more playful typeface.

My Response

Using the technique I learned in the 3 shape modular typeface task, I created a typeface using 4 images of crushed plastic bottles from my research as I wanted to focus in on the specific idea of plastic bottles as they are the biggest contributors to plastic pollution in the ocean. Their varying shapes allow for a less rigid and more experimental typeface as with the Double Jeu Workshop typeface. I did not follow much of a strict rule such as using a specific amount of bottles for all the letters but I used the same bottles to keep a consistent size and also generally followed the rule of having one of the more straight bottles as my main stem. However the lack of rules and the quick putting together of this typeface represents the speed and excess of plastic pollution and the layering of the bottles rather than showing each one whole relates to the idea of them stacking up in the ocean.  The bottle caps act as the terminals of most of the strokes, and they were put together to actually resemble the glyph so that when used, the message would still be legible. There is no fixed baseline and with no rule, this all  represents the stacking and throwing away of plastic carelessly.