We love a t-shirt that makes us stop, ponder, then ask questions. And that’s exactly what we did when we spotted the A to Z shirt by Stymie Apparel, a collaboration between San Francisco print and installation artists Claire Nereim and Julie Cloutier.
The first design in what they plan to grow into a collection of limited-edition t-shirts may at first appear to be emblazoned with two sides of an unfinished triangle, but the simple print is actually the result of an in-depth exploration of the Stymie typeface that led them to start creating letters out of other letter parts.
Featuring an “A” made out of a “Z,” the design above points out the mutability of the symbols we rely on most for communication. Need an explanation? We did, too.
Nereim explains, “Julie and I first met in a typography design class and began talking about our interest in what makes each letter form legible. This seems to us to be at the core of written communication and how language functions, and on close examination starts to seem almost arbitrary!”
Using the 1931 typeface by Morris Fuller Benton as a starting point, Nereim and Cloutier set out to reconfigure the alphabet by cutting up large letters and repositioning their parts. They created new letters and, eventually, the entire alphabet from these parts. For a closer look, you can view the project online by visiting Nereim’s web site and clicking the “work” link.
Turning to fabric was the next logical move for the duo, who have more experimental typographical designs up their short sleeves. T-shirts are available in three unisex sizes and come white and cream.
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