For 36 Days of Type, I created my own original set of 36 characters (English alphabet and numbers 0-9) using personal inspiration and design tools at hand. Whether the concept varied for all 36 characters or a pattern was established, each character had to be a unique work that explored typography and spotlit the distinct beauty of letterform. In my case, a single theme applied to all 36 characters: the modernization and fusion of Mayan and Aztec glyphs.
As I sketched, I examined historical texts and online museum collections to emulate Aztec and Mayan motifs. Certain letters, like T, are created using transformed hieroglyphs in their entirety. Every letter is roughly the same width and height; every number, slightly thinner. Counters, legs, and bowls were measured with by-hand with a ruler to create a system of “sameness” across the 36 characters; in many letters, they are identical.
Once I finished sketching, these drawings became my references for digitization. Every character is made with standard Illustrator techniques. After constructing the base glyphs, I colored them with the traditional Mayan palette (red, goldenrod, jade green, blue, and white), placing less emphasis on blue and white since they were traditionally accents. As I colored and finalized each character, I cleaned up leftover paths and streamlined layer groups for future use.
This concept was not the one I originally chose. I went through several rounds of exploration sketches and digitization before restarting my project entirely. Since the original hieroglyphs and illustrations were geometric and stylized with a simple color palette, the Mayan/Aztec fusion theme was straightforward to digitally replicate. It also was an instinctual choice; as someone who’s name and cultural history ties closely with historic Latin America, I have always had a fascination with Mayan culture and folktales. This project allowed me to turn a personal interest into design, and explore further into the history that quite literally made me as I am today.
