Had new and somewhat exciting evening at the TYPE TUESDAY talk with Hamish Muir and Paul Mcneil.
The talk was really interesting it was great to see first hand the process that goes into creating their collection of TwoPoint typefaces.
Starting with a simple mathematical grid and conjuring forms representing letters with different geometry constrained by the system.
It's amazing how unlimited the rule set is, they've discovered so many new avenues to form letters. In addition, the layering of the typefaces upon one another to create new combinations has undergone beautiful exploration.
I liked how Hamish used the metaphor of clouds passing by or like farmers cultivating their crop to describe the process by which the system allows them to tinker, invent and discover.
They're both advocates for letting the process organically conjure the ideas in their work. It's something I relate to. It can be chaotic and overwhelming to have a clear idea and vision from the off, to many things going on in my head at once, instead I like to start with a building block and let the 'What If?' Questions throughout the process take hold and see what interesting place it ends up in.
Like watching the clouds pass by.
Another line that has stayed with me is the nervous questioning of 'How do I know if it's good?' This is a common question and not one you'll every really know the answer too without a sound board of people to feed off. What's interesting about the systematic approach is it kinda handles the obstacle of doubtful thinking.
Picked up one of the type specs which I can't wait to add to the wall of inso.
