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Design

GIF Artist Sets Sculptural Typography in Motion

Inside the loop-de-loop of letterforms that is the work of Emmy-nominated artist Jon Newman.

Artist Jon Newman makes sculptural typography and sets it in motion by making his text into GIFs. Mixing pop art with the looping medium, Newman focuses on font styles and turns small objects into bigger words.

Newman, who has a background in type design, works under the umbrella of his New York-based design studio Daydreams and Nightschemes with the artist Ka Huen Kwong. “I love the idea of taking a classical font and reimagining and recreating it with an everyday object to give it a renewed feeling,” Newman tells The Creators Project. In his work titled, Blow Up, the Emmy-nominated artist uses a fan to blow air over Post-It notes to create the words "blow up," an example of the playfulness found in his work.

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“I had become captivated with the moving image but I've never associated myself as a director or videographer so capturing a short stop-motion animation is a lot more approachable than trying to take on a robust video shoot,” says Newman about his choice of using GIFs artistically. “For me stop-motion GIFs lend themselves to being an easier transition from the print design world.” He adds, “I'm constantly analyzing the everyday objects I interact with and the natural movements of the materials to create one of my pieces.”

Below, explore some of Newman’s GIF art:

For more of Daydreams and Nightschemes' work click here.

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