Alphabit

Alphabit is a cabinet of glass type. All 68 glyphs found on a standard Latin-script keyboard are rendered in a 5-pixel by 5-pixel murrine typeface. The murrine process acts as a material metaphor, using a 16th century glass technology to mimic the infinitely scalable nature of today’s vector graphics. Each glyph is sorted in backlit glazed trays that conflate the layout of the QWERTY keyboard with the structure of letterpress type trays in five descending sizes. This work collapses the material histories of typography, paying homage to the era of transition from letterpress to the vector graphic.