Askew Design Inc.
Pangram Play

Pangrams are those fun little sentences using every letter of the alphabet at least once. Many people recognize the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. One day I started playing around to see if I could create one. This then grew to a challenge to come up with 10 of them. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. I’d pick a topic and try to put something together and come up a few letters short. However, I persevered and plugged my way through it.

Once I had the 10 sentences, the next challenge was to find typefaces that suited the content without purchasing new fonts. It was just what could be found on my computer at the time. Then, just for fun, I decided to see what the page layout would be for each pangram based on the subject. It was typographic challenge on top of typographic challenge. At least it was a fun project to attempt. Below are the results. They may not be the most stellar typographic result, and there may be arguments regarding typeface selection; however, this is what I came up with to have a bit of type fun. I hope you enjoy them.

This was one of the earlier pangram creations, and you can see my sentimental nature. When deciding on the page layout I opted for a 2:1 page proportion to signify a breakup and then within the one half section of the page, the text area used a 1:1 margin. The idea was to give a sense of isolation to match the pangram text. The text was set with a script typeface, Author, to match the romanticism of the content and yet have a slightly masculine feel to it. A bit of stereotyping by assuming it would be a male voice. The black background was chosen to match the isolation and the darkness of heartbreak.

The proportions for page and text area were inspired by the yield and caution signs. Since most signs are universal, an ISO (1:√2) page proportion was used. The text area was based on 2 mirrored equilateral triangles with a base the same as the width of the page. The margin was brought in to the point the triangles made contact for the inside and outside margins. Top and bottom margins were made the same size to match the equilateral approach. The typeface, Impact, was chosen for its chunkiness and ability to stand out as a warning. It also matches the non-seriousness of the message. The yellow background and text matches the yellow of a caution sign.

Page proportion to match the vestibule proportions on a train and text area used the golden proportion to imitate nature. I like the way the proportion makes the text block look like it’s cowering in the corner. The typeface was a surprize find on my computer called Jungle. It kind of matched my feeling of the mix up of humans and big cats in close quarters – blood will be spilt. The background was a bit of fun with claw marks in blood red.

Another animal pangram. If it isn’t bleeding heart sentiment, then it’s animals. This experiment used the golden proportion for both the page proportion and the text area proportion. Text is Cochin Italic because the letters, especially the d, had a fun light approach. The d’s reminded me of a come hither finger motion or a jaunty kick. The background was a simple play on the subject matter.

I thought this pangram was appropriate with the financial situation in some places. The page was based on Fibonacci proportions to link mathematics to the content – bean counters. The typeface is Georgia, which is considered to be a fine alternative to Arial in financial texts to portray a sense of trustworthiness. The background colour is Old Money with a textural overlay to give the sense of the texture of money, or a thinning suit.

The return of the blood line for a bit of fun. The page used Van de Graaf proportions to match medieval texts (2:3 page with 2:3:4:6 margins). Again, the typeface, Zombified, was a weird find on my computer. I have no idea how it got there or what I was thinking whenever I did put it on. Perhaps it was chosen for the extra long ascenders and descenders, the fun g’s. The e’s make me think of an open, hungry mouth. Perhaps they’re crying out for brains or blood. The background uses a blood red with a quilt pattern of crosses. Not sure if they would work on zombies.

Morning Suprizes pangram

Exquisitely laughing. Who wouldn’t want exquisite laughter, especially in the morning?The page used the ratio of the screen holes to classify a supremo coffee bean – one of the highest rankings of coffee beans (so a website told me). The page uses a golden proportion for the text area to match nature. To give the text the flow and feel of steam and laughter, Zapfino was used for the typeface. The background was given a rich brown colour with an overlay of “steam”.

This pangram layout was all about rigidity. The desire was for something reminiscent of jail or a vault where memories are locked away. Therefore, the page and text area used a 1:1 proportion, although I did consider the proportions of a cell. The typeface, Academy Engraved LET, added the element of the structure of lessons from school etched in stone. The text is set with IBM blue. The background is reminiscent of jail bars. It’s a mishmash of rigidity.

Something for the young folks. The page size was based on root rectangle proportions, or 1:√2. There was rationale for that, however it has escaped me. The text area was created from fitting an anarchy symbol on the page and moving the margins to the outer parts of the circle. This gives the page a slight discord. The typeface is Propaganda and the background is supposed to represent graffiti reading “not my fault.”

I had a request to create a pangram about trolls after one too many days of dealing with poor bathroom etiquette in the shared office bathroom. Not my poor etiquette, just to be clear. This pangram was the result. The desire was to give it a medieval, fantasy feel without the drawing skills to make that really happen. The page uses Van de Graaf proportions for medieval texts. The typeface, Anglican, was chosen for it’s modern looking ancient styling.

So that was the result of a bit of typographic play. What did you think? It was great to mess around with something light and have some fun. Now back to an outstanding fun project with coding. Hopefully, I’ll get that up on our fun page soon to share.

Comments are closed.