Crafting Character: From Kiln to Glyphs
Serena Wan
This project explores the relationship between contemporary type design and the handmade process of molding clay. Using traditional clay bodies and methods of construction—porcelain, terracotta, and coil hand-building—along with digital tools like Glyphs, I examine the structural differences between the tactility of handcraft and the precision of present-day tools. My work challenges the expectation that type must always be flat, perfect, and uniform. By incorporating the imperfections and textures of ceramics, I argue for a methodology of type design that is as much about process as it is about final form. The latter should always suggest traces of its making.