Letter by Letter
From Cool Hunting | by Doug Black
The 26 letters of the Roman alphabet operate almost subconsciously once ingrained in young minds. The resulting familiarity proves invaluable in life, but also makes it difficult to step back and examine letters as standalone objects. In "Letter by Letter", designer/calligrapher/artist Laurent Pflughaupt aims to do just that with an exhaustive overview of each letter in the alphabet.
He begins with a historical look at the creation of early alphabets,
starting with ancient hieroglyphics and proceeding to our current
Latin-based system. Next, he takes a formal analysis of their physical
structure using base-level observations while regarding letters as
simple combinations of straight and curved lines. The third and final
section occupies the bulk of the book. As the subtitle suggests,
Pflughaupt looks at each letter alphabetically, tracing their evolution
and noting their acute significance in various cultures. He borrows
from many different fields, looking at structure through the lens of
paleography, phonetics and graphic design. (Note below variations on
the modern "Q" and "R.") Though necessarily rudimentary at times,
"Letter by Letter" is an exemplary reference for those interested in
typography or language in general.
"Letter by Letter" will be available through Princeton Architectural Press when it's released on 1 May 2008. You can also order it now from Amazon.
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Comments
Is this the same point as saying that ANYTHING that is embedded into the routine of daily function tends to become automatized? It is not the LETTERS that have the power to be subliminal. It is constant exposure.
A check on what really is the patterning that has power is to consider the differences between letters. While the well-defined consonants (T, D, G, K, M) are powerful, there are other letters that have confused impact, create confused processing (like H, Q, C, W). The vowels are also wacky, not well behaved, and not clearly interpreted by viewers/readers.
Consider letters that are similar in shape but very different in function (R and B, and P, , and that suggests that the shapes are arbitary, not meaningful.
The fact that many people in the world use other writing systems, some not alphabetic, also suggests that the "power" of the Latin letters is a matter of exposure, not innate to the shapes.
I will have to read this. Thanks.
Lucy
Have a great night Reckon :)