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The 27th Letter

​This is a project I did for my Typography class. We were challenged to create a 27th letter for the English alphabet. We focused on stress, stroke, and serif to ensure that the letter fit in with the current alphabet.

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Adobe Illustrator

combination of the letter j and k embossed on white paper

 

Process

To start, I chose a font, completed research, and brainstormed many letter combinations in my sketchbook. Then, I did more formal sketches before moving into Illustrator.

 

Research

I studied the font I chose — Baskerville — and did a complete analysis of its anatomy. I wanted to find each letterform’s nuances as well as similarities that may help me combine them.

Typeface Study on the font Baskerville

 

Thumbnails

I completed many thumbnail sketches to test different combinations more thoroughly.

first sketches of 27th letter
thumbnail sketches of 27th letter variations

 

Transfer to Digital

I chose my six favorite thumbnail sketches and got to work in Adobe Illustrator. I primarily used the pathfinder tool to clip and merge letter pieces together.

6 Thumbnails-4 (dragged)_edited.jpg
6 Thumbnails-6 (dragged)_edited.jpg
6 Thumbnails-3 (dragged)_edited.jpg
6 Thumbnails-1 (dragged)_edited.jpg
6 Thumbnails-2 (dragged)_edited.jpg
6 Thumbnails-5 (dragged)_edited.jpg

 

Final

I chose the best letterform and then added it to the alphabet.  I also created a mockup of what it would look like embossed on paper.

final 27th letter
lowercase alphabet with 27th letter included
combination of the letter j and k embossed onto white paper
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