Editorial, Print, Typography
Format
28-page zine, 8x10 in, print/digital
The Brief
A type specimen shows off a typeface. I wanted this one to tell its story. IBM built Plex around the relationship between mankind and machine, with natural and engineered forms in balance.
So I paired it with a story about the same idea: Mobile Suit Gundam, where human pilots and machines work as one.
The book covers the full Plex family (Sans, Sans Condensed, Serif and Mono, in eight weights) while letting the type and layout carry the narrative.
The Decisions
I set the whole book up like a Gundam model kit. The cover shows the title on a plastic runner like parts you’d snap off, and the back cover is the same runner, empty, like you’ve just finished building the kit.
Inside, the weights are measured on a cutting mat, and every page is labeled with the typeface, weight and size so it still works as a reference.
I kept the colors to cyan and magenta: cyan for IBM’s tech side, magenta for the loud anime energy. I put every photo and illustration in those same two colors so the anime stills, model kits and data center shots all feel cohesive and fun. It also solved a big problem I was running into: high-res images of Gundam models and stills from the anime were really hard to find, and the two-color treatment made the lower-quality images look intentional.
01 The Story
Wings of Freedom, the Zero System and Gunpla scales frame the type.
02 The System
Four families, eight weights and every glyph, each page labeled with face and size.
03 The Scale
Plex from 1100pt display type to global scripts.
The Outcome
The finished book covers all four Plex families, every weight, the full alphabet and the seven scripts Plex supports, all tied together by one consistent system of labels, colors and layouts.
To let the type lead the story, I set it big and expressive on the story spreads, then broke those up with quieter reference pages like the weight chart and alphabet system, so the book still works as a real specimen.
