a journey

A journey originated in the context of Severin Geissler's intermediate diploma in the spring of 2017. It is a self-initiated exploration into Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical ideology. Through the medium of text, Geissler examines Steiner's design theory and his philosophical ideas. The detailed research began with several visits to the Goetheanum in Switzerland, the headquarters of the General Anthroposophical Society and the Free School of Spiritual Science. Parallel to exploring content, Geissler focuses on contemporary techniques of typeface design, aided by the Swiss graphic designer and typographer, Philippe Karrer.

Within four months, the two fonts “Philia” (Greek: affection) and“Metamorphose”(Greek: change) were created. “Philia”, an organic sans serif typeface, is based on the concept of affection. Like most fonts, it does not work with purely additive letters; they are reactive, meaning each letter matches the form of the preceding one. The
characters seem tobe leaning against each other, resulting in a harmonious typeface. Through appropriate programming, suitable characters are selected from existing variants for each respective environment. If a letter is wider at the bottom for instance, the following letter becomes narrower at the bottom and wider at the top.

The font “Metamorphose”is based on the principle of metamorphosis, the change from one form to another, and is a central aspect in Steiner’s design theory. All the letters of this font consist of three elements: a circle, a right angle and an organic, fluid form. The flow of the changing organic form determines its character design.