Will Mower's Open-source Stamp set for Experimenting with Typography

You may have grown up without ever interacting with physical type if you are a digital native. Here's a nice new project to complement that experience.

It's difficult to recall that typography was a strictly tactile art for hundreds of years because we spend so much time working digitally today. But here's a terrific way to get that analog experience for yourself if you don't have access to a letterpress studio of your own.

BlockFace is a stamp set created to assist you in exploring typography and other topics. It's essentially a simple-to-use modular typographic printing kit that was created by graphic artist Will Mower. To create letterforms, create typographic posters and cards, and discover the joys of printmaking, you simply assemble the stamps.

OVERVIEW

Will is a printmaker, designer, and artist who first developed an interest in modular systems and prints in 2013 when experiencing a creative slump. He started creating toolkits that could free up his approach to making, influenced by a fascination with play.

The first BlockFace type kit, which was initially marketed under the name Alpha-Set, was made available in 2018 and included 16 laser-cut rubber stamps with wooden handles and a guide for designing a single typeface.

A revised version of the set, which provided greater flexibility and a wider range of typeface alternatives, was later produced through workshops and released in 2021.

OPEN AND TRANSPARENT SOURCING

Will teamed up with the Open Press Project to figure out how to make the kit more broadly accessible because he was unable to keep up with the demand.

Like Will, the Open Press Project's creators are passionate printmakers who want to open up the medium. They have been producing small 3D printed printing presses since 2020 and have shipped more than 5,000 of them to countries all over the world, demonstrating their proficiency in the reliable mass production of 3D printed parts, product assembly, and shipping.

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They collaborated to build the BlockFace kit as it is today, which consists of 24 rubber stamps with a 3D-printed grip and a layer of padded foam. The kit includes the Typebook, a booklet with instructions on creating six alternative letterform styles, and a decorative cardboard box with a magnetic closure.

NOW ACCESSIBLE

Through a Kickstarter campaign, you may acquire the BlockFace kit. BlockFace is an open-source project as well, allowing you to freely download the files and instructions to make your own kit if you have access to a 3D printer or laser cutter.