Univers Revolved

The alphabet we use every day took thousands of years to develop. When it finally stopped evolving, it was settled that people would read and write from left to right, and from top to bottom. How uncreative! Today, the computer makes it easy to visualize objects in 3D. Using a 3D modeling program, designer and art director Ji Lee has developed a three-dimensional alphabet - Univers Revolved - that, while based on the alphabet we use every day, is an intriguing conceptual challenge to decipher. Starting with the popular font called Univers, Lee made letters that can be rotated in space. Instead of ordinary type, he gives us pictures of words floating in space - to read them, we must use visual clues to find out where words and sentences begin and where they end and discover what they say. Suddenly reading is mysterious and fun. Univers Revolved is not only a whimsical "invitation for imagination," but also a thoughtful challenge to the convention of linear reading and the way we are trained to process information. As Lee says, "Unlike our standard alphabet, the letters of Univers Revolved are symmetrical and may therefore be read in any direction. Because they are three-dimensional, they can be stacked, arranged in circles, or set in motion; they can become toys, pieces of furniture, buildings or chocolate candies. This allows us to recapture the element of experimentation our alphabet held in its early days and bring back the excitement we experienced in learning it as children."