Avondale Type Co. ATC Type foundry artist series

Avondale is a type foundry based in Chicago. As part of their third annual artist series, I was invited to create four typographic illustrations based on one of their typefaces.

For this project I selected their font ATC Rosemary. The brief stipulated that you must include your initials, their logo and one other character. I wanted to experiment further with an idea I had used for the seven in the Klaws experiment, with the character actually taking the form of a void. My initial attempt led to a surreal place with multiple, mechanical worms creating the form of the S on their route down into the abyss. This was striking, but not practical for all of the letters. I then moved towards a more geometric approach, starting with the F – the most difficult of the characters.

A simple approach using concentric paths to convey a sense of depth was highly effective. So much so, this graphic technique was also employed for the Fedrigoni 366 2020 calendar submission. As the paths increased in scale the opacity was progressively reduced to create smooth fade transition into the background.