Plain Text 1
Plain Text is a printed publication for exploratory type design, edited and designed by Lucas Descroix and Benjamin Dumond, and published by type foundry Plain Form in January 2025.
From fiction to theory, from mystical analyses to visual works, Plain Text aims at exploring typographic imaginaries, moving beyond a strictly historical and technical framework, with a taste for the unknown and the dormant potential of writing. The first issue of Plain Text features voices from various backgrounds and generations, many offering a personal, even intimate or spiritual, approach to letters.
With contributions by Anne-Dauphine Borione, Lucas Descroix, Benjamin Dumond, Kirsten D. Dzwiza, Stefan Ellmer, Ayasha Khan, Zuzana Licko, Arman Mohtadji, William Skeen, Verso Wurm and Eager Zhang.
The texts of this black-and-white, bilingual publication are all set in the unreleased duo Basically Serif for the English and Basically Sans for the French. Additional information is set in Baskemo, also Serif and Sans, an automatically monospaced-and-skelefont’ed companion to Basically.
A number of display typefaces designed by Lucas Descroix and/or Benjamin Dumond are used throughout, for the title of each contribution as well as various emphasis moments. These include: Jester (in several styles), Michaux, Nostra Sett and Stream, Ready Active, Bygone and Clouded. Some unreleased display typefaces, either old or future, are also used but not shown here in the pictures.
The page numbers are set in Jester Hermit.
The publication opens with a number of dense pages showing hints of all upcoming contributions in their order of appearance.
Title set in largely squeezed Jester Hermit. The illustration on the right page shows Bonjour Monde’s Syne.
Title set in several layers of Ready Clouded Light. The article showcases the work of Anne-Dauphine Borione a.k.a. Daytona Mess, including her typefaces Sichem and Baleze Display, visible on the left page.
Title set in Michaux Bold. Left page shows a piece of lettering by Eager Zhang, part of her series “Family Portraits”.
Quote from Eager Zhang’s essay set in Michaux Bold for the English and Michaux Light for the French.
Title set in a generously squeezed Jester World. On the left we can spot bits of Ellmer Stefan’s asemic writing research.
Quotes from a conversation on asemic writing with type designer Stefan Ellmer ( The Pyte Foundry)
Title set in all-caps Nostra Sett
Title set in warped Ready Bygone Light, with a few floating outlined glyphs from Michaux Bold
Title set in all-caps Nostra Stream, together with works from Zuzana Licko
Title set in Ready Active Bold, with illustration by Arman Mohtadji. Left page shows bits of Tangly by Zuzana Licko / Emigre.
“Express Exegesis”, set on a circle in Jester Sun with a whole lot of negative tracking. The right page features the work of Julien Priez, a.k.a. Boogy Paper, with the unreleased Montreuil, his diploma project from Estienne ESAIG back in 2011.
