quasi: experimental writing systems more+




TITLE

Contour Code

ARTIST/DESIGNER

Calder Ruhl Hansen

DATE

2019

Contour Code is a writing system that encodes text in two-dimensional compositions of shapes. A procedure was designed for converting the outlines of the compositions into sequences of characters. This was achieved based on two design goals: to produce beautiful abstractions, and to create a versatile code capable of deciphering any arrangement of geometric shapes as text. The inspiration for Contour Code lies in the concept that shapes in our environment could be engaged in a hidden discourse, with their concealed meanings unveiled through the code. The design process was focused on achieving harmonious balance between aesthetic allure, algorithmic finesse, and user-friendliness. Each print on display showcases a word inscribe in Contour Code—the leftmost pair spells “shape” in distinct variations, while the rightmost pair conveys “yes” (top) and “the end” (bottom).

Top left: top right: bottom left: bottom right:


Artwork courtesy of Calder Ruhl Hansen. All rights reserved.
abjad
abugida
acrophony
acrostic
alphabet
alphasyllabary
asemic writing
automatic writing
boustrophedon
character
character set
cipher
code
conscript
cryptography
encode
experimental
grapheme
glyph
hieroglyph
hieroglyphics
imaginarium
language
letter
letterform
linguistic
logosyllabary
logographic
logogram
nat scirpt
neography
optophonetic
phoneme
phonetic
pictograph
quasi
re-worlding
script
syllabary
syllable
symbol
speculative
torus
versimilitude
writing system
Mark
Mark