Speculatype: A Transformative Approach to the Perception, Understanding and Creation of Latin Letterforms

This book investigates the transformative effect that experimentation and speculation can have on the perception, understanding and creation of the Latin letterforms. Deliberately exploring and reflecting on the letterforms outside the influences of history, printing and language, this study means to push the boundaries of what letterforms can be. First and foremost, this is not a study about fonts, nor a study about alphabet, language or printing history, as many other authors have already comprehensively covered each of these topics. This publication explores the letterforms of the Latin alphabet, not as a problem-solving project, but as a scientific lab experiment or an artistic body of work. Rather than question what a letter should look like, this work ambitiously explores what letters could look like, establishing a radical model, where the designer actively erodes their preconceived expectations of typographic form. Includes nine case studies that focus on the perception and understanding of letterforms, and model what letterform investigations from an experimental and speculative viewpoint can look like in practice. Published and designed by Barry Spencer Design, 2017 Hardcover, 254 pages, b&w images, 7.25 × 10.25 inches ISBN: 978-0-64-808420-4