I wanted to make it so that each square flowed into the next, in an attempt to disrupt the compartmentalizing quality of the squares as much as possible. I think that in part of the sequence, especially Y-P-O-G-R-A, I was really successful. It got a little hairy with the first T and P-H-Y, but overall I’m happy with it. Fitting the numbers in was really the hardest part – first I just slapped them on top of the letter composition I’d already made. They totally looked like just an afterthought compared to the carefully-considered letters. Then I got the idea from the first T, where I simply made a notch in the cross bar to show the shape of the number “1,” that I could find a way to fit all of the numbers harmoniously within the letters (or the negative space around the letters). My favorite example of this is with the “r” and the “6,” because in that square they both really carry the weight equally. Depending on how you look at it, the “r” is dominant OR the “6″ is dominant. That play with foreground and background, positive and negative, complete and incomplete shapes is what I was going for. For the most part I think that it was successful, and I hope that’s reflected in my grade….he word “typography.” Then we had to also incorporate the numbers 1-10 into the squares, in order. Several of my classmates had very interesting concepts and narratives for the way they chose to arrange their letters and numbers, but I really only focused on one thing: the negative space and counter shapes.

And, dear lord, I spent SO much time on this assignment fighting with Illustrator over the most miniscule things. I wanted all the lines and curves to be flush with each other. Damn “snap-to” lines!!!