36 days of type 2023

April is always a delight for graphic and typographic designers alike. It marks the start of 36 days of type: 36 consecutive days n which 36 characters need to be designed. A to Z and 0 to 9.

It’s the second time I’ve participated in this incredible & colorful ‘challenge’.
But, to make life a bit easier, we turned it into a little collaboration together with some colleagues. I took the task upon me to design B, H, Y, 0 3, 7 & 9.

About 36 days of type

Surprisingly, there aren’t many rules. Any creative can participate to practice or show-off their skills. To get a good impression search for #36days or #36daysoftype on instagram. The variety or the media used is stunning, you’ll come across ink, waterpaint, oilpaint, drawings, 3D, illustrations, photography, and so on!

And, if you’re lucky, the 36_days_of_type jury might decide to put your work on display on their channel for a little extra exposure. A little glimpse of several 9’s below that got feature this year.

Why participate?

For me personally it’s simply a good moment and opportunity to spend a bit more time on developing a skill you’ve always wanted to try. For me, as you can see below, that is 3D.

O

The O is inspired by visiting the Swarovski store in Paris. It’s definitely worth a visit. The entire wall on all sides of the store are filled with tiny little boxes, all containing something a piece of jewellery or art.

B, 7, Y, 3

While my day to day job consists of mainly digital interface design and the art direction of it, 3D is kind of a new hobby for me. So challenges like the 36 days of type challenge are a great opportunity to explore and try out new skills and software.

9 & H

I already made a random 9 at some point, with a reference to the game Tetris.

But I actually wanted to elevate the 9 to a higher conceptual level, it was the last one in the entire series after all!

At some point (looking at the image you can guess where 😉 ) I got the inspiration for it so decided to add another 9 to the collection.

Even though the other designs might look visually more appealing, I think a level of creativity, or a deeper meaning, can make a design stand out more. It creates an “a-ha” moment or let’s people think for a bit longer, rather than looking at a (basically) meaningless image.