The Project
From Fall, 2023 to Spring 2024 I immersed myself in the calligraphic style of Textura, Blackletter. I approached the learning of this writing style in the same way we were taught to write all those years ago in Preschool & Kindergarten, through constant repetition.
At the beginning of this project I wasn't entirely sure what the final deliverables would look like, but I was certain that a book would be the best way to highlight my journey. Combining my love for print and thematically tying it to this art that preceded automated print, I saw it as an approachable and modern way to illustrate my journey through this project
Research
During the fall semester my research ranged from textbooks from our school library, to educational videos and articles found online. I spent a lot of time looking through textbooks and online sources about medieval manuscripts and the practices of scribes. these books and websites were of great importance to me as I learned extensively about the history of scribes, and their day to day practices of writing as a career. Additionally, I spent time revisiting a Youtuber (@MikeBoyd) I used to watch when I was younger who’s main focus was about learning something that fascinated him as fast as possible, giving himself milestones and a "final" that would determine if he met his self proclaimed standards of having learned said subject. I found inspiration through his videos as it gave me insight as to how to map out my methods for learning Blackletter.
Further Research & Connecting To My Audience
An integral part of this project was the ability to connect to those around us. Though this was a passion project for me, it was important that the message I was trying to get across would resonate with my fellow designers and peers (hard to do with those not so passionate about calligraphy styles from the 1300's, but we prevailed!). I held a small case study for my friends and family where I taught a short lesson on Textura. My goal was to have these individuals go from never having written with these instruments before and never having written in this style, to being able to write their names.
Presentations & Research Videos (After Effects)
Outcomes & Final Book
The day of the Senior Thesis show proved to be a beautiful success! My station included my two books, a black and white version (for dramatic effect). To my surprise my project was able to reel in my peers and fellow attendees. An onlooker filming the many tables had focused in on me at one point while I was writing on my notepad. Mo, as I learned his name was, zoomed into my hands as I made each stroke with my nib (calligraphy pen). suddenly I had the idea to ask "want me to write your name for your video?" from then on I spent the rest of the two hour show writing out the names of anyone who wanted to see theirs in the Textura style.
Some up close shots of my presentation, it was so rewarding seeing people interact with my book. Up until this point only a handful of my friends and professors had interacted with my work so I was thrilled to see people of all ages mesmerized by the work I had spent hundreds of hours immersed in.
Blackletter, By Aeneas Eaton
- 2 Version, Gloss White & Black Acrylic front & back cover, custom laser cut courtesy of the Digital Design & Fabrication (DDF) Lab at New Platz
- 45 Pages, includes 3 gate fold pages that expand outside the bounds of the 8in. x 10in. book
- 3 chapters, Letterforms, Lines, Words & Sentences
- All pages cut and bound by hand with the help & knowledge of my professors and the tools provided in the book binding room.
Reflection
The endnote includes the final masterpiece of my 9 month long project, a completely handwritten and illustrated manuscript of the poem by Dylan Thomas Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. This poem has been an immense inspiration for me throughout my college career and felt thematically perfect to close out my senior project. This manuscript of just 108 words took me two sessions totaling five hours to complete. I spent countless nights perfecting my craft in order to achieve this level of quality. I fell in love with the manual method of graphic design so much through this project and was truly proud of myself for creating such a stunning body of work to share with my community.
