PHONIC
TYPOGRAPHY | EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
PHONIC is an abstract font derived from the typeface Block Berthold. PHONIC uses the sounds that letters make when spoken aloud as inspiration for the creation of the letterforms.
Block Berthold (sometimes also referred to simply as “Block”) was developed in 1908 by the H. Berthold Foundry. It has been credited to the font designer Hermann Hoffman, who developed many fonts for the Berthold Foundry.
The letterforms themselves are not modified in any big way. Instead, the common qualities between the shapes are used to create a new unified form. Modifications to the shapes are made after the fact to create equal spacing and balance within the set of letterforms.
By using the original letterforms to create the abstractions, the new forms maintain their roughened shape and soft feel while simultaneously taking on a new identity.
A different treatment is applied when creating the numbers. Spelling numbers themselves is too wordy (numbers like Eight would be hard to make into new forms while maintaining the shape and size of the letters).
The numbers instead use equations to determine their parts. 8 becomes a form made up of two 4s, for example. This allows the numbers to maintain a sense of unity with the letter set. The new forms are created from their counterparts, and this is appropriate as it aligns with the process for creating the letterforms.
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