Claire Allison
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36 Days of Type 2021

36 Days of Type is a yearly open call inviting designers, illustrators, and artists to explore the creative boundaries of letterforms. Participants are challenged to design a letter or number for 36 consecutive days.

For my 2021 alphabet, I was inspired by the contrast of nostalgic and ornate elements with glossy futurism. The futurism trends that emerged in 2020 and 2021 were an interesting push into new technologies and software. Simultaneously, I felt that there was a general longing for tactile elements that weren’t just flat on a screen and nostalgia for the past as we were all going through a global pandemic. I wanted to incorporate elements of surrealism, sculpture, and ornament, which are all things that I typically gravitate towards anyway, but with a twist of incorporating new software and workflows, like working with Cinema 4D.

Planning the alphabet

I started with initial rough sketches to get an idea of the styles I wanted to use. I knew I wanted to have a system in place to rotate between four general type styles throughout my alphabet while still being able to make each letter unique.

 
 
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After deciding on type styles, I sketched out each letter. Some felt like they hit the mark on the first sketch, while others took quite a few sketches to go in the direction I was hoping for. I sketched out rough forms, knowing that I’d be able to work out details digitally.

 
 
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Planning a color story

Knowing that I’d be doing letters every day for 36 consecutive days, it was important to land on general forms for my sketches before the challenge began so that I could focus on the details when it came to creating the final pieces. After landing on sketch forms, it was time to plan out a color palette.

 
 
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I drew inspiration for the palette from the general color story I had going on in my Instagram feed at the time. I also knew I wanted to start incorporating more purple and greens into my work, so I took this opportunity to start experimenting with those colors.

 
 
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Building it all out

I completed the first four letters far before the challenge started to perfect the details in each of the four type styles. I then was able to use these first four letters as a guiding reference throughout the creation of the rest of the alphabet to make sure all 36 letters and numerals would feel cohesive as one family.

 
 
 

I used my color palette to create a gradient across the full final alphabet. To create the final pieces, I used a workflow that incorporated Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate. My letter “D” was selected to be featured on 36 Days of Type and Adobe Create on Instagram, and on Adobe Discover, the editorial section of Adobe.