Lautner

2023

Borrowing structural forms from John Lautner’s architecture, Lautner is a typeface that creates a system of building blocks designed to pair with photography of his iconic mid-century homes in southern California.

Different components of the typeface’s anatomy honor the individuality of a particular architectural site. If multiple parts are found together in one letterform, the building blocks harmonize under one voice that speaks across the lines of type in use.

Although all of John Lautner’s homes stand alone as a unique structure, independent from the rest of his projects, the same mind and level of skill are reflected in the profiles of each building.

I enjoyed collecting scans of photography books and drawing over pictures of John Lautner’s homes that caught my eye. Interestingly enough, almost every house created an F, 5, R, or E that I could fine-tune in my head.

I then prioritized identifying a kit of parts that could be used to create a new letterform anatomy. Searching for literal letters of the alphabet in Lautner’s homes would call for designing font styles that matched each one-of-a-kind house (an idea that will not go away until I do it one day).

Hidden within the OTF file, sketches of four entirely different fonts stare back at me, waiting for their moment. At the end of the project, I did not expect to spend a month hand-drawing so many intricately designed characters of type to realize that successful fonts come from letterforms that work together, rather than ones that act as line art of their own.

I reserved space for my favorite within the type styles of the download because it is the blueprint for the display face.