Tea Leaf Type
Class: Experimental Typography
Duration: Two Weeks
Mediums: Tea Leaves, Adobe Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint
The Assignment
"The goal of project one for Experimental Type students is to create a typeface using unconventional tools and physical objects. These letters will then be scanned, fine tuned and cleaned up in Adobe Illustrator. Student will then name their display typeface, create a Type Specimen sheet, and create examples of their letters in use by designing a poster and a water tower."
My Process
Using Tools
At first we were given ink to dip random objects in to paint out letters on butcher paper. However not liking how it turned out while drinking my tea. I wondered if I could dry out the leaves and create letter forms out of that instead. I took the leaves out of the used tea bag and pressed them using paper towels and let them dry overnight. After that I formed them into letters and scanned them with my phone.
Tea Leaf shapes in a folder
Tea X
Tea 1
Tea Leaf shapes in a folder
Final Type Specimen Sheet
Previous version
English Alphabet together
Final Type Specimen Sheet
Creating a Type
After scanning the forms, I placed them into adobe illustrator and image traced the scans to create vector shapes. From there we were tasked with creating a type specimen sheet. I wanted to create something around Vietnamese culture and so I went back and also created the Vietnamese alphabet as well. Since I was also using tea leaves, I designed the sheet around Vietnamese tea ceremonies for weddings. I named the type "Love and Tea" or "Trà và Yêu." The banners on the left and right normally have some special meaning displayed on them but since I wanted to have a bit of silly fun I quoted my friend with "You pay adult taxes."
Creating a Poster
Our next assignment was to create a poster for an event, pairing the type we created along with other typefaces. Guilty Gear Strive had recently been released and so I decided to create a poster for a game tournament to celebrate. I used the original scans of the tea leaves for the title of the tournament and layered it with many colors and effects in Clip Studio Paint. The figure on the side is the main character of the game who uses fire, so I have him burning through the page. The "Tournament" is made with the actual vectored shapes with similar effects before. I originally had a lot of trouble placing the informational text since I wasn't sure how to align it without it being boring or too distracting so I played with it for quite a while.
Final Poster Design
Previous version
Example of layering effects (without background)
Final Poster Design
Final Mural Design
Previous version
Concept Sketch
Final Mural Design
Message of Love
Our final part of this project was designing a message related to love on either a water tower or a big wall. I chose a wall in the Seattle's Chinatown International District and created an illustration of a Vietnamese woman pouring tea into a flower that warps around and displays the message "Bloom Love" originally the message I thought was "Make Tea, not War" but I wanted a simpler message. Similar to the previous poster I layered the type with colors to have it flow with the illustration.