26 sound butterflies
and how
to
catch them
26 sound butterflies and how to catch them is a research project based on the interaction between sound, biomimicry and type design.
Sound vibration is a way in which nature organizes its matter. I wanted to create an organic ephemeral typeface, therefore using sound vibration and a DIY construction with a moving laser beam, as tools for visualizing the volume and frequency of soundwaves.
By using the biomimicry principle as a way to simulate a natural system, the 26 unique characters are mimicking the erratic unpredictable movements of butterlies.
By using the biomimicry principle as a way to simulate a natural system, the 26 unique characters are mimicking the erratic unpredictable movements of butterlies.
I used a visualization tool composed of a speaker that would play 4 soundwaves from a tone generator: sine, square, triangle and sawtooth waves. The speaker was placed into a plastic box, that would itself vibrate. On top of the box a stretched out balloon was attached. And finally a laser that points into a small piece of mirror, attached to the balloon. When the red light reflects from the mirror it generates various shapes, depending on the frequency, volume, wave played.
While generating the letters with the laser tool, I wanted to immortalize their ephemeral nature into static shapes and see how moving sound can become a flat character. In order to achieve that I drew the movements on top of the laser letter, while they were moving.
The book documents the process of creating each character, the type of wave used, volume, frequency as well as depicting the drawings together with the immortalized skelletons.
