This is a Pylon

I’m sure if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know that I’m pretty interested in typography. One of the things I find fascinating about type is that there are still discovers to be made and gaps to be filled. It often times seems like an artform that’s already been fully mastered, but that’s just not the case.

Ascenders, arms, crossbars, counters, spines, shoulders, tails, stems and spurs, altogether there are over 20 components in the anatomy of type. There remains a gap in the vocabularly(sic) of this most respected of crafts, however.

In the designing or cutting of stencil letterforms, one is invariably brought to a point wherein the supporting canvas is joined to counter of the letter. Up until now, these supporting areas have gone without definition or label. A gross oversight by the standards of any industry, let alone one with as rich and respected a history as typography.

And this is where a Pylon comes in. An intent to fill a gap left in the language of typography.

The purpose of this initiative is to remedy this oversight by introducing a new term and definition into the common vernacular of designers and typographers.

The term, pylon, historically defined as either “a large vertical steel tower supporting high-tension power lines” or “a finlike device used to attach engines, auxiliary fuel tanks, bombs, etc., to an aircraft wing or fuselage,” works perfectly in this setting, helping to define its function and the means through which it performs it.

To learn more about the Pylon, visit thisisapylon.com