Love Letter
By working with modern and traditional letterpress materials (P22 Blox and metal type), students were asked to design a letterpress print that honors a character of the alphabet. We were to do this by using the modular objects to create a visually engaging letterform that demonstrates an understanding of typographic form, color, contrast, hierarchy, and balance. We also had to typeset a body of text in homage to our chosen letter using metal type and careful attention to detail.
These are the shapes of the P22 Blox
With the Blox modular objects programmed into Adobe Illustrator, I created many iterations of the letter B. I investigated how each block interacted with one another to create the form.
From the iterations, I chose three which I thought were the most successful. I then used them for the next step which involved adding color.
By adding two different colors in Adobe Illustrator, I was able to see how they would interact with one another when printed on Vandercook SP-20 printing press.
After adding orange and teal, I decided to add two other color combinations to the designs that maintained resemblance to the letter B and were dynamically interesting on their own.
From the multiple iterations, I chose my favorite to move on to the next step.
As I continued to manipulate the letter, I found it fascinating that if one reflects two Bs, it creates a butterfly shape. I continued to develop this idea for my final design.
For the final product, the digital design was used as a template to assemble the P22 Box. The butterfly shape was then printed on the Vandercook SP-20 printing press. Finally, a poem was written that told the story of the B. It was then carefully printed with metal type on the Vandercook. Overall, this project taught me that multiple iterations and extreme attention to detail can create a successful product.
Love Letter
Prof. Erin Beckloff
Adobe Illustrator, Pantone Ink, P22 Box, Metal Type, Vandercook SP-20
