By the way – typography and material behavior
By the use of various media, the master thesis describes a free design experiment that has evolved over time into a modular system consisting of two components: The self-made font, produced by 3D printing, which is thereby associated with a variety of physical processes.
With references to the associated website, the book documents, among other things, the search for constants for the experiment, the design of the font, studies of different physical phenomena, the origin of 3D printing models, and the development of the own laboratory.
The project deliberately uses traits of digital applications and translates them to analogue media. Not only the acronyms of the models are common abbreviations used in the internet jargon, the experimental kit furthermore allows an analogue simulation of the effect of time dilation (Slow Motion), which is otherwise realised digitally.
Concept and design:
Thomas Wirtz
Supervision:
Prof. Philipp Teufel
Prof. Gabi Schillig
Dusseldorf University of Applied Sciences
2016
The basic idea of the project was to conduct a free experiment, and to see where it would lead me. I had to start somewhere, and so I started out with a simple glass of water that I manipulated step by step in little experiments. The range of possibilities was so vast that sometimes, I didn’t know which turn to take next. I tried to translate my disorientation into graphics, and that’s how my labyrinth-typeface came into being. Ultimately, analog experiment and typeface design have developed in parallel. They join in the course of the project.
Apart from several substances for the effects I think the 3D printer is the most important tool I used for my work. During the implementation period of my project, I had created my typeface and I had analyzed a range of physical effects, and I was eager to put both together. This step was harder than I thought, as I had to test different sizes for each model. In that situation, a good friend of mine convinced me to buy a 3D printer, which allowed me to not only test different model sizes in a short time, but also - and more important - to create a modular system of characters.
The project received a surprisingly positive response. Especially the use of 3D printing created additional attention. My mentoring professor strongly supported my plan to expand the project through 3D printing. In his opinion, the concept would hereby be „taken to another level“. As a matter of fact, his presumption was proven true by the reactions I got when I published. The term „next level typography“ was used a number of times by the critics, which made me especially proud. I am very happy that my venture was not only received well by design-platforms, but that it also found distribution beyond them. The nicest compliment I received for the project was the question of some people whether the film and the photos were digital animations or whether they were „real“. Thanks to 3D printing, everything is real and touchable.
