SERIFY / NESERIFY

Serifs are an inseparable part of the typeface known as antiqua. Along with the shading of letters, they have a crucial impact on the visual appearance of a typeface.

We observe how serifs are designed within a specific font and take note of their individual shapes, which, through repetition, define the character of the letters and ultimately the entire text. Among the vast variety of fonts, we encounter serifs that are subtle or exaggerated, bold or thread-thin, regular or asymmetrical, rounded or angular, elegantly tapering or abruptly attached to the letter’s body, delicately refined or starkly minimalistic, split, rounded, rectangular, square, and even triangular.

In our project, we explored what happens to an antiqua typeface when we digitally remove its existing serifs. The letters become unstable, vulnerable, their balance is disrupted, and they appear "naked." Alongside traditional serif and sans-serif fonts, we modified these altered forms by attaching our own serifs, designed freely according to our imagination. This resulted in unexpected and even bizarre combinations—letters fused with flowers, pasta, Roman column capitals, human body parts, and even pink slippers.

Another set of designs features serifs that crumble, swell, or detach, requiring them to be stitched back together. In this process, serifs were not always placed in their conventional locations (as dictated by typography rules). Instead, they appeared where we would least expect them—challenging norms and sparking creativity.

This exhibition aims to demonstrate that letters are not merely dry symbols we consume daily for reading and writing, often without much thought.

The creative exploration of the refined shapes of the Latin alphabet can become a playful artistic experiment—full of imagination, humor, and unexpected surprises.

Text by: M.A. Lenka Baroňová