Rules First, Forms Later
Unreadable Alphabets and Type Design Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.82068/pgjournal.2026.23.43.17Keywords:
Type Design, Lettering, Abstract Alphabets, Design Education, Generative SystemsAbstract
A recurring practice in visual culture is the construction of unreadable alphabets, graphic systems that are not immediately decipherable. This is not a deviation from functional writing but a design exercise capable of making normally invisible aspects of typographic practice visible. By removing the conventional decoding function from signs, attention shifts to the structures that govern their operation: generative principles, formal relationships, spatial organisation, code construction. In the didactic perspective proposed here, the design of unreadable alphabets is considered a pedagogical tool capable of suspending established perceptual automatisms and compelling students to engage with writing as a system. The contribution presents a selection of case studies that highlight processes of application, experimentation and development of the method.
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