Found Font (1995 - Present) - FGD1 The Archive - Medium

Found Font (1995 — present) - FGD1 The Archive - Medium 15/07/19 17:14
Found Font (1995 — present)

Chloe Wooldrage
https://medium.com/fgd1-the-archive/found-font-1995-present-2328b96459fe Page 1 of 17
Bits, Paul Elliman
Paul Elliman, born in 1961, is a British artist and designer based in

London. His work mainly focuses on communication and different ways to
communicate through sound, language and typefaces. He attempts to find

new ways to use the human language and he finds typography, languages
and alphabets within the environment. He created the first typeface made
from found items in 1995.
Alphabet, Paul Elliman, 1992
One of Paul Elliman’s earlier projects, his first major typeface for Fuze
magazine, was called Alphabet, a collection of photo booth images of
people forming different letters of the alphabet. The first version of
Alphabet was a collaboration with 26 students in a photo booth in London
University, 1992. The purpose of the design was to question if expression
and interpretation could be larger than language itself. I think that from
the pictures it is quite hard to tell what letter of the alphabet each person
represents, and at a first look, I would not have understood that they were
creating a typeface from their stances or positions.
Break down of what letters the people are representing
After looking at the break down of the letters represented by people, it is

slightly easier to understand. I find the method of using people to create
letters of the alphabet very effective and quite unique as it gives the
language literal form and expression making the reader look further into
the images to try and understand the message being conveyed.
Bits, Paul Elliman
Found Font, also known as ‘Bits’ was developed by Elliman in the 90’s and
was published in Fuse. Later it was included in the Cooper-Hewitt Design
Triennial NY in 2004, which made ‘concept type’ a recognised part of the

design world. The aim of the project was to create a typeface where no
character form is used more than once, which requires an infinite amount
of characters. Found Font began as a collection of found human made
items that were often thrown away, broken or worn out, which he started
collecting while he was travelling in 1989. By using human made items to
form a typeface, it shows the connection between construction of the
environment and construction of language. There was a criteria to the size
of the found items: each piece must be small enough to fit in the mouth, or
to be passed from hand to hand like money. This made sure all of the
shapes were nicely sized.
Found Font: Dead Scissors, Paul Elliman, 2004-ongoing
Elliman sorts his collection of found items by the sources for letter shapes
(the product that the found item is), materials of the items, or
geographically where the items were found, he does not sort them
alphabetically by which letter the item represents. This makes for a much
more interesting layout of the collection.
Found Font, Paul Elliman
He groups the objects together based on their shapes to replicate letters.

The creative technique Elliman invented to create a typeface is very eye
catching. It stands out and you can’t help but read it as there is such a
contrast between each letter. However as a typeface it does take some time
to decipher what the collection spells out, it’s not that easy to read,
therefore this type probably wouldn’t be best used on billboards or posters
in the street. It works well as a piece to appreciate on its own.
The Interview, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hans Peter Feldmann, 2009
Elliman’s typefaces suggest a new way of communication. Another design

with the primary focus on communication is The Interview, by Hans
Ulrich Obrist and Hans Peter Feldmann, made in 2009. The
communication in the book is mysterious as Obrist asks a question and
Feldmann answers using only an image. This is clever as it uses words and
visual language, conveying social issues and irony. The reader also has to
interpret the connection between the visual language and the question,
resulting in endless possibilities. I feel that in a way, this is a similar idea to
Elliman’s typeface, as it is more than just words. He wants the reader to
find a connection between the visual language of the typeface, and what it
is actually saying.
Elliman is inspiring as he was the reason that ‘concept type’ became a

recognised aspect in design which has then developed and be used around
the world. I really like that he finds the good in old items that other people
would have thrown away because they have no use for them. The idea that
an object can be used to represent a letter only once is interesting and quite
a different technique to keep each letter perfectly unique for every new
type. Interpretation is the main focus in his typeface, words are not the
main focus, the use of a body or objects can be used to successfully create
forms of communication.

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Found Font (1995 — present) - FGD1 The Archive - Medium 15/07/19 17:14

Found Font (1995 — present)

Bits, Paul Elliman

Paul Elliman, born in 1961, is a British artist and designer based in

communicate through sound, language and typefaces. He attempts to find

Alphabet, Paul Elliman, 1992

Break down of what letters the people are representing

After looking at the break down of the letters represented by people, it is

Bits, Paul Elliman

Triennial NY in 2004, which made ‘concept type’ a recognised part of the

Found Font: Dead Scissors, Paul Elliman, 2004-ongoing

Found Font, Paul Elliman

He groups the objects together based on their shapes to replicate letters.

Elliman’s typefaces suggest a new way of communication. Another design

Elliman is inspiring as he was the reason that ‘concept type’ became a

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