In life, it’s easy for me to lose focus of God’s active presence and goodness that is always sustaining me and keeping me “afloat” in the sea of life – I wanted this piece to be a visual reminder of that.
Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
Media Specialist in Production and Outreach, Center for Teaching Quality and Owner of Fontique
Fun Facts: I have an emphasis in Video and Film and a specific interest in documentaries, but will watch any movie if there is a bowl of popcorn. I have spent the past year living and working in South Korea and now prefer chopsticks to forks.
The opening line of the classic hymn that inspired this piece is “Come thou fount of every blessing”. The author is comparing God to a fountain that is continually giving blessings. The rest of the song continues as the author tries to align his heart in a way that recognizes God as the giver of all goodness.
I chose to create a typographic piece that included all of the lyrics of the hymn, using the stanzas to create an ocean – symbolic of the “fount” and other water metaphors prevalent throughout the song. The typeface I chose was one of my own font designs. I chose this decorative script because I felt the connected letter forms further conveyed the “wave” look I was going for.
Floating on top of the lyrics is a ship. The ship is symbolic of myself continuing to sail forward in life, supported by the truth of God’s blessings keeping me afloat — although I am not always aware of it, He is the one sustaining me and propelling me ever forward.
As a handwritten type-designer, I find my graphic design work is generally typography driven. In my work, I am always striving to maintain the incredibly gorgeous and unique atheistic of handwritten lettering – and seeing how far I can push my fonts in achieving a convincing handwritten look.
