#typeface-design

#typeface-design

Blackletter typefaces elicit many contradictory emotions depending, of course, on the context in which they are used and the manner in which they are composed. Sometimes they bark commands - STOP or BEWARE. Other times they are comforting in an ecclesiastical way - Christmas and Easter greetings. During World War II Blackletter was menacing for those in occupied lands who read it as exclusionary - as in FORBIDDEN or DANGER; others accepted it as patriotic

Working with F37's Ryan Williamson on the production of the font, the typeface spans three eras of Harriet's writing life: ages four, 13 and 30 years old. The glyphs are an amalgamation of her diary scribblings, which, when included in the typeface, become a an archival project of not only Harriet's stylistic habits but also of the time of writing - there's no hashtags or @'s to be found in thes early texts.