3D Typography

In this week's typography workshop we were given the challenge of creating 3D type which was presented in a way which connected both the definition of the word and the three dimensional format.

I chose to use light cushion stuffing as my medium and came up with the word 'float' as the material immediately brought to mind the image of clouds. The difficult part was figuring out a way in which to present the word and how to physically form the letters out of the material. Although the stuffing was easy to mould into the desired letters I struggled to find a way in which to ensure that it remained in shape. I thought about using things like glue or even something like hair gel/spray/wax to keep the light material in place before coming to the conclusion that I could mount the letters on the underside of clear tape. This meant that the word would remain almost weightless which in turn would connect the word with it's form of presentation. Above is an example of how I created the letters.

After creating all of the letters I next had to come up with an appropriate way of displaying them which resonated with the message I was conveying. I thought about ways in which I could make the word appear to be levitating and decided to use thin transparent wire to achieve this. However after experimenting with different compositions I chose to use a more visible means of hanging the work such a string. I felt that displaying it against the window connected the word float with it's meaning as it appeared at one with the clouds while at the same time the message was contradicted as onlookers can see how the font is clearly tethered and has constraints.