Creating simple calligrams with Facebook’s Status
This is probably bullshit but you’ll love it. Promise.
Did I clickbait you here? Were you expecting to reading something insightful written by some hippie designer who’d go out of his way to write like he’s bored out of his brains while hoping to the cosmos that the shit he’s spewing as ideas get adopted?
If your answers to both questions (which are completely unrelated to this post and are a poor representation of who I really am. I’m a nice guy. Honest) are a big resounding NO, then allow me indulge you about that one time, sometime last week while i was going home from work, bored and on the verge of status-posting my middle-class problems on facebook. (Don’t fret, it’s a “millennials” thing, totally normal)
But instead of words coming out, I went like “OMG!!!! Facebook added new gradients to their status backgrounds!!!”
After my excitement had died down, I returned to the dilemma of what to write. I always want to sound insightful and deep so people will think I’ve attained some kind of inner zen.
Nope.
No words.
But look! The typeface looks nice and maybe I can do wonders with the letter spacing.
And with that, I began. No special software. No plugins. Just Facebook, a bunch of gradients and a curious mind.
I tried as many words and combinations as I could until I eventually ran out. I wouldn’t lie, it was a refreshing experience, having to really think and use my limited knowledge of typography and spacing to create something minimal and sweet.
My take-away: never let the medium limit your expression.
What started as a few bored finger flicks turned into a worthwhile experiment of calligrams for me. At least, I’m not bored anymore.
