Today’s Poster ·· Routed Type in Wood + Concrete

Why this week’s poster

I wanted to work with material instead of type style or colour.
So I cut the same layout into oak, walnut, and concrete.

Same forms.
Different attitude.

Wood feels warm.
Concrete feels cold.
Walnut sits between the two with a slower, heavier tone.

The design doesn’t change •• only the surface does.

That was the whole point.

The build

• Base layout. A fixed letter grid routed as one piece.
• Carve depth. Consistent cuts, rounded shoulders for natural tool behaviour.
• Materials.
  • Oak for light + openness.
  • Walnut for richness + contrast.
  • Concrete for blunt, weighty presence.
• Lighting. Soft top light for grain definition · thin rim to lift the edges.
• Type. No decoration; the shadows do the work.

What worked

• The forms stay readable across all three.
• Material alone changes mood more than colour would.
• Concrete version feels new for this series •• almost architectural.

What I’d push next time

• A deeper cut pass on the concrete plate.
• Grain scale variation on the wood versions.
• A motion test to compare material feel in sequence.

Print details

• Edition: Open weekly release
• Sizes: A3

Close

The layout stays the same.
The voice shifts with the surface.

Sometimes you don’t need new ideas •• you test old ones in a new material.

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