typecuts - playground

TJ is my contribution to the Playground Project, originally started by Rick Valicenti and now under the direction of Satoru Nihei and Robb Irrgang.

TJ alias Type Jockey is a litteral approach to the notion of playing.
Instead of fixed letterforms a set of alphabetic structures allows the sampling and construction of a variety of typographic remixes. In this sense TJ is an instrumental device, a digital »TJing« tool everybody can play with to mix and compose lettershapes. With color as an additional design element there are plenty of different variations possible [the 26 characters shown at playground are just a selection out of many possible letter compositions].
TJ is an attempt to redefine letterforms in accoustic terms, reconsidering rhythm and sound, modulation and transformation, alluding to the aesthetics of electronic music.

TJ comes in 2 different font sets: background and alphabetical structures (14 fonts alltogether) which can be combined as well as superimposed. The overall design is based on a rigid grid with the size of a 1000 by 1000 em units divided by 40. All structures are »synchronized« which makes it possible to play many »tracks« simultaneously.
The background structures fit together perfectly and form patterns when the pointsize equals the lineheight. Because of the systematic grid the the letterforms themselves are based on basic geometric shapes. My focus hasn’t been so much on the outer shape but more on the inner life of the letters and how background and foreground structures interact.