As the definition goes, organic type would have to do with something derived from living matter, away from the neon signs and corporate influence. I wanted to totally deviate from that line of thought, so I went the opposite way. Zen.

I went back to nature to look for inspiration. Focusing on nature and plants (as animal carcasses would be taking organic type to an extreme) I looked at how I would be able to bend an organic form into a manmade form aka type.

I started off by gathering leaves and twigs. What would add visual interest would be these tiny fig leaves that would fall along with the twigs. Having dried up, they had a tanned, crisp look that i thought would go well with the dried twigs.

Before consultation, this was what I came up with. I split the thickness of twigs between the 2 words; with NATURE having the thinner twigs and BECKONS consisting of the thicker twigs. I thought it would emphasise the word BECKONS. What I didn’t realise was that it looked strange as the 2 words didn’t appear unified. Furthermore, the awkward space between the 2 words made the phrase look disjointed. Fortunately, the plus point was that the leaves did add interest.

The application of the first round of exploration also yielded much to be desired. The type was not the focus on the picture in the office desk on the left, and the structure of the words on the bottom ad were also haphazardly placed.

This was the result post-consultation. I mixed up the different densities of twigs and came up with a hybrid typeform. This looked a lot more unified. However, there was still work to be done regarding the space between the 2 lines of words. Angeline also suggested that I play with the texture of the twigs, shaving some off to reveal the orange bark beneath.

Above is the result of shaving off a piece of twig. It looks absolutely beautiful, with a touch of wabi sabi, with imperfections enhancing its beauty.

Having explored with the twig densities, I spruced in a few more leaves intermittently which resulted in a pattern of foliage. The shaved twigs gave the twigs a lot more life. I also corrected the spacing between the 2 words, bringing them closer. The result was a more unified typeform.

My choice for the single letterform would be N, as it has 3 interesting features.

  1. The leaves and twigs bend inwards slightly, giving the form a lot of holding strength and visual unity.
  2. The overlapping forms do not interrupt one another, allowing the viewer’s eyes to travel from left to right, inviting participation.
  3. I love the right terminal, almost similar to a serif font. Gives credibility to an organic type.

To establish credibility, the first potential partner I would pitch to would be World Wildlife Fund. This could be a jacket for conservationists and scientists.

These 2 ads are based on the notion of relaxation and adventure in the outdoors.

This project has really surprised me in terms of the ability to morph something from nature into a legible, engaging typeface. I will definitely seek inspiration from organic type in future.