Sophie Ammann (She/Her)
Process-driven Designer. My main interests lie in analogue processes such as print, bookbinding and sign painting, with a focus on typography and lettering. Humour is an integral part of my work. Some of my recent work has been finding and digitally preserving letterings from ghost signs around Glasgow and re-introducing them into a new context. If I could be any letter of the alphabet, I would be an S.
Phantoms of Times Past
Withered writing and faded letters on buildings remind us of times past and survive as fragments. Once freshly painted, shiny, and new the lettering of these signs are now just a memory of what used to be there. These signs risk being lost due to weathering, being painted over or removed altogether. This project is about capturing the fragments of signs and re-creating and preserving them as digital typefaces. The project began with a walk through Glasgow, photographing all the phantom signs I could find and then using the photographs as source material to digitise the type. I used type encyclopaedias and catalogues to re-create the missing letters from the sources.
Writings on the Wall
‘Free, the hedges grow’ is a mural project which speaks to the vibrant tight-knit community within Garnethill. We began an extensive research process into Garnethill – talking with residents to gain insight into people’s first-hand experiences. Searching through the archives of the Women’s Library and The Mitchell Library for old documents and photographs relating to the area. Scouting out ideal walls within the community to paint on, we merged type development with illustrative elements to create a bold, colourful composition. It was important to us that the mural spoke to the notion of putting time and effort into the community, creating a natural cycle that carries through the generations.
narrative/image
Silent comics are comic books using little to no dialogue and are driven purely by visual narratives. This book showcases ten silent comics from a range of different genres. Typography is used as a contradiction to the comics being silent. I explored the textures and materiality of the comics by scaling up small segments. The risograph reflects the traditional methods of comic bookmaking. The inspiration for this editorial came directly from the silent comics themselves. Silence is visualized through an interval of eight spreads. This book became the basis for a catalogue containing printed offcuts of the textures.
