Readings for Project 1. CSS Typeface
Tauba Auerbach P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-E
Donald Knuth The Concept of a Meta-Font
and Paul Chan FAQ on Alternumerics
Response The variety of exploration of typography across the three texts is inspiring to me. From the meditative calligraphy of Auerbach, to the near-infinite possibilities of the meta-font, to the subversive nature of Chan's Alternumerics, for someone who has never designed a typeface before, the readings offer a variety of starting points and processes. It does, however, seem a daunting task to undetake any of the three. Perseverenace, computing knowledge, and a sense of wit are required for the three processes, respectively, and I'm both excited and intimidated by that.
Beyond the project at hand, I'm interested in the repeatability of each of these process, and how they all seem to work within a system: a personalized system of practice, a set of coded instructions, and a font that computes alphanumerics to other stand-ins. The typeface as a piece of art also supplies its own medium that lends itself to the possibility of further production of art – the font. The idea of something being a finalized porudct but also the starting point of a new product is exciting to me. I wanted to find an analogy for the typeface and the font, like a painting and paint, but since the two constantly reference each other, I couldn't find something apt (the painting references the paint used, but paint does not reference the painting that used it). I hope we might be able to find one in discussion.
Discussion question What would be an adequate analogy for the relationship between a typeface and a font?