Protoform Stencil
Laser cutting and engraving on stainless steel
170 x 120 x 0.4 mm
This lettering template was produced to celebrate the publication of Protoform: Origins of Unsquared Hangeul. It demonstrates the modular nature of Protoform, our first Korean typeface inspired by Cho Young Jae’s 1976 proposal to restructure Korean characters for typewriters.
In some respects, Cho’s essay shares much in common not only with the works of Korean scholars and engineers concerned with the mechanization of Hangeul but also with radical proposals from European avant-garde designers in the early twentieth century. This affinity is most superficially evident in the formal characteristics of his illustrations: the geometric, monolinear forms crafted using rulers and compasses, stripping away any trace of handwriting, display a considerable resemblance to the speculative letterforms of Joost Schmidt, Herbert Bayer, and Jan Tschichold from the interwar period. (Protoform: Origins of Unsquared Hangeul, 86)
- Project type:
- product
- Typeset in:
- Protoform
- Commissioned by:
- Workroom Specter
- Crafted by:
- Gwangilgeumsok
- See also:
- Workroom Press webshop
