Letters: A Code System

At the root of its identity, the Latin alphabet is a code system. It is a series of symbols that create a visual pattern that resemble the spoken language. From Morse code to stenography, there have been numerous inventions to express letterforms that go beyond the conventional A-Z. If dots and dashes can convey the Latin alphabet, what other unconventional methods could be used to express letterforms? Once we determine what makes a letterform a cohesive system, how far can that logic stretch before it breaks? How can this way of thinking apply in our current times, where algorithms are increasingly becoming adept in predicting systems and generating patterns? We will take a sweeping survey of letterforms and visual systems to gain a new perspective on our alphabet.

This event is part of the Letterform Lecture series, co-presented by the San Francisco Public Library, and sponasored by Adobe.