Digitizing Eric Marland's alphabet for stone carving in Jesus College, Cambridge University. Font production.

Deep in Cambridge green streets and lanes there's an old chapel filled with fine lettering pieces.

It is Eric Marland's workshop where he works on lettercarving and teaches as well.

Eric Marland teaching.

And me studying.

After the workshop with Eric and Tom Perkins which I was happy to attend, Eric gave me a commission to digitize one of his alphabets and make a font. It would simplify the layout part of his work for Jesus College: the names of donators are to be added from time to time.

So I received a sheet of precisely drawn letters from Eric to work on. And numerals too.

This is capitals only type, very elegant and thoughtful in details. The feeling of stonecarving is in every curve.

Eric's drawings are very sharp and clear but the process of transferring them to Bézier curves is filled with design decisions.

That was a great pleasure to define the details of these lettershapes. 

Since the font was generated and sent to Eric, he uses it for making layouts for his stonecarving in Jesus College in Cambridge.

Recently the font was also used for the "Alphabet Museum" exhibition identity. The exhibition was organised by Eric Marland to show his collection of stone carvings by his collegues and some other works starting from Edward Catich's alphabet. Exhibition is on display in Snape Maltings at Lettering Arts Trust. It's hard to imagine a better headline type for this exhibition — built of letters drawn for carving.

Exhibition catalogue designed by Charlie Behrens.

I'm happy with this project!