Form in Erosion

My final project at Shenkar, titled "Form in Erosion," is a visual exploration of physical typography and the processes that affect it over time.​

For thousands of years, since the inception of writing, typography has existed in a physical space. Therefore, I found it intriguing and necessary to investigate the transformations that occur in the materials constituting the physical form of letters. The project is based on typographic examples that exist in reality but seeks to examine various processes and experimentally amplify them. I analyzed how these processes alter the structure of letters, impact their internal spaces, and affect overall legibility, as well as how these changes evolve over time.​

The typefaces examined were six widely used fonts: Frank Ruhl, David, Aharoni, Narkisim, Haim, and Hadassah.​

My research encompassed six experiments involving six different materials, each with a longstanding history of use, some spanning thousands of years and others at least a century: sand, iron, ice, clay, plastic, and wood.​

After selecting the typefaces and materials, I investigated common natural processes affecting these materials. The experiments focused on the following processes:​

Each process was repeated five times, creating progressively intensified stages.​

Various processes can cause structural changes that extend beyond the boundaries of the letter, while others may lead to reductions in the overall form. Additionally, certain processes, such as heat, can alter the skeleton of the letter itself—not merely changing the external or internal contours but modifying the angles of individual components, whether it be the leg, arm, base, or roof.​