the ‘arkitypo‘ project by london-based design studio johnson banks creates a physical ‘alphabet of alphabets’: a complete set of 3D printed letters, each showcasing the character and history of a particular typeface.

the project is a collaboration with ravensbourne, UK-based digital media university, developed as a means of testing and showcasing the school’s inhouse 3D prototyping technology.

for each of the letters ‘A’ through ‘Z’, the designers selected a typeface beginning with that character, which is used in the sculptural work. each piece furthermore encapsulates a bit of the history of the typeface: the ‘J’ adopts the form of a metro system map, because its fontface ‘johnston’ was originally designed for the london underground; the ‘C’ is composed of ‘courier’, used in 1950s typewriters, and thus is composed of an
assemblage of typewriter keys.

‘arkitypo’ took over six months to complete. johnson banks first researched each letter, and then developed drawings, maquettes, and simple 3D renders before transferring the imagery and ideas to the team at ravensbourne. there, designers further developed the 3D models, collaborating virtually with johnson banks, before beginning the first test prints. some ideas worked immediately; others required refining in order to not fall apart.
the most involved of the letters took as long as eight hours to print.

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This is great. Here’s some more info:
• johnson banks was set up by Michael Johnson. He trained in Marketing and Design and set up johnson banks in 1992 after spending his twenties working in London, Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo.
• Ravensbourne sounds like a for-profit college
• A blogpost with info on each letter:
http://johnsonbanks.co.uk/thoughtfortheweek/ 

Some quotes:
“Some of the ideas worked straight away, some needed refining. Some fell apart, some were perfect…”
http://www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/thoughtfortheweek/index.php?thoughtid=711 accessed 3/4/12, no author listed
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“For each letter we carried out extensive research, made drawings, built maquettes and did simple 3d visuals on our machines, before handing the ideas over to Ravensbourne’s team.”
http://www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/thoughtfortheweek/index.php?thoughtid=711 accessed 3/4/12, no author listed
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Project credits:
Design: johnson banks
Client: Ravensbourne
3d imaging and prototyping: Jon Fidler
Photography: Andy Morgan
Project client: Jill Hogan
Project advisor: Ben Caspersz

W — Wilhelm Klingspor Gotisch
Rudolf Koch, who designed this font in the 1920s, drew heavily on the shapes and curves learnt during his training as a calligrapher, as he developed this ‘blackletter’ design.

V —Verdana
A font specially designed for use on screen: after being bundled into Windows software from the mid-nineties onwards it has become one of the pre-eminent typefaces on the worldwide web.

M —Machine
This infamous ITC typeface of the seventies took its inspiration from the American Midwest a century before. Now a classically brutal font perfect for all things industrial, it is interpreted here with a system of interlocking cogs.

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This is a great example of graphic design interfacing with technology. These forms would not have been possible without the rapid prototyping machines (3d printers). It’s interesting that the tech facility (college) came to them to test the limits of their machines. This means that technology needs design in order to improve. I also love how there’s the micro and the meta form in these pieces — the tiny, granular letters that make up the larger letterform. This project uses existing and sometimes old-fashioned form in a fresh new way. Finally, I’m struck by the clarity of the method developed by the designers: Take each letter, research a typeface starting with that letter, and go into a back and forth of drawing and printing the sculptural form. This is an illustration of the power of design us to establish processes for cool things to happen. In other words, process is a huge part of design. We design the process as well as the product. Designers can develop processes for interdisciplinary work well.
All this speaks really well to our method chapter.