AIGA Type Tuesday BLK LTR Type design experiment

I had recently completed my experimental typographic design project BLK LTR Series and it was discovered by AIGA [American Institute of Graphic Arts] writer Angela Riechers. Angela subsequently invited me to take part in an interview, and illustrate a quote using the style for their regular Type Tuesday feature. I was obviously keen to take part, but nervous about using the type style, as so far I had only created separate bespoke glyphs. The nature of the design also meant that it worked best at large scale, but the quote I had been given was rather long:

The hardest thing to see is what is in front of our eyes.

Fortunately, it contained a key, integral word – FRONT. Consequently, the style was applied solely for that word to ensure the letterforms could maintain sufficient scale. Abstract spacing used for the original BLK LTR poster designs directed the layout for the remainder of the quote.

The feature and design project were well received leading to press and awards. A subsequent re-visit to this design experiment has been developed, experimenting with the black letter typographic forms in completely new directions such as stained glass windows.