The Eyebone is an experimental typeface exploring how biological structures can inspire visual systems.
Instead of beginning with traditional grids or letterform logic, the project uses public-domain macro photography of the human iris to identify organic shapes that could evolve into letterforms. These fragments became the foundation for a fully developed display alphabet.
The project examines how perception, randomness, anatomy, and visual intuition can merge into a functional typographic system — demonstrating that structured design can originate from unexpected visual sources.
01 — Concept
Guiding Question
“What if typography didn’t start with rules — but with biology?”
The human iris contains a micro-universe of rings, fractures, shadows, organic structures, and chaotic patterns. By isolating shapes from publicly available iris photography (licensed/open-source images), I extracted irregular optical fragments that resembled potential letterforms.
The project challenges traditional typographic logic:
Eyebone is not designed — Eyebone is discovered.
Structure emerges from natural irregularity.
Readability grows out of chaos rather than geometry.
This conceptual direction proved that even biological randomness can evolve into a coherent typographic system.
02 — Process
1. Visual Extraction
Used publicly available macro photography (open-source / royalty-free images)
Identified organic visual fragments within the iris structure
Mapped emerging shapes into rough alphabet silhouettes
2. Analog Form Development
Hand-drawn explorations on A3 paper
Stroke-driven refinement without baseline constraints
Preserved natural irregularities instead of correcting them
3. Systemization
Established a recognizable visual DNA across all characters
Balanced uneven shapes into functional rhythm
Created harmony inside intentional irregularity
4. Digitization & Webfont Creation
High-resolution scanning
Vector refinement in Photoshop & Illustrator
Export to Calligraphr to generate a usable webfont
Testing across sample layouts and display interfaces
03 — Result
Eyebone is a complete experimental alphabet including
Uppercase & lowercase
Umlauts & special characters
Organic silhouettes echoing iris textures
Raw, expressive, handcrafted character
Surprisingly readable despite irregular forms
Works well for
Experimental branding
Creative digital interfaces
Posters & installations
Speculative editorial layouts
Visual research projects
04 — Outcome & Learnings
Outcome
A fully functional, downloadable experimental webfont derived from biological source imagery, blending randomness, analog craft, and digital refinement into a cohesive typographic system.
Learnings
This project strengthened my ability to:
Translate unconventional visual sources into structured design systems
Develop typefaces without traditional constraints
Merge analog + digital workflows
Refine irregular forms into functional alphabets
Explore non-traditional research methods in typography
Build conceptual and aesthetic frameworks from found imagery
