I designed monday as a personal challenge to create a modular type—a font constructed of a limited number of shapes or modules. In this case, five different shapes are used, color-coded for distinction.

From this exercise, I learned that starting is often the hardest part. Should I create the shapes first? Sketch the letters as modules? I hesitated, worrying that building one letter might not lead to the most optimized set of shapes. I began by sketching a letter that only required a single shape: “e.” Although it may not clearly stand alone as an “e,” its form is understood within the context of the other letters and the repetition of the shapes throughout the typeface.

I chose to construct the “o” using two semi-circles instead of a full circle, as each letter incorporates a secret “sixth shape”: the negative space created by linear lines, presented either vertically or horizontally within each form.

Skills: typography