This weblog is the digital paroxysm of our ongoing investigations on typographic auxiliaries of non-alphabetic nature. Initially conducted for an exhibition at Gallery R21 in Oslo/Norway, the fascination for the sheer infinite potential of these typographic gems made wider investigations inevitable.

Sharing the physical properties required for letterpress printing, the umbrella term non-alphabets gathers a vast variety of paraphernalia such as ornaments, borders, geometric elements, modular illustrations, vignettes and stock images — in brief: all typographic units that do not bear alphabetic signs.

This platform catalogues historical sources and highlights typographic artists that use non-alphabetic material as an essential part in their design work. Furthermore we give insight into our own digital renditions as well as access to a set of non-alphabets for the purpose of hands-on experimentation.

Ellmer Stefan || Johannes Lang
@ellmerstefan     @langustefonts