Warphabet is a series of alphabet prints, inspired by armed conflict. An illustrated typeface I wanted to design for a while now and which, unfortunately, became current and very urgent. Clearly these are not images about the beauty of weaponry, but a commentary on its uses, results, sale, and distribution. Thus the series is titled "Warphabet" and not "Gunphabet," as originally planned. The use of arms and armor throughout covers a wide but random chronology of man killing man. Random, because it made no sense adhering to any kind of order when it comes to something so senseless.

By molding guns into letters, the connection between the horrors of war and our daily vernacular becomes an even closer one. Reporting, describing, and discussing conflict-related death is a casual part of our routine, even if we are physically so distant from it. This off-course is nothing new, but with our unprecedented ease of spreading information and visuals has turned carnage into something we are served with at our every turn, and has inevitably made us completely numb to it.

When many years ago, I asked my grandfather Barouch Sevi, a World War II veteran, about war, I expected a movie like description of guts and glory. He only said it was filthy and spoke no more about it. Maybe this explains the fact that these letters are not shiny tributes to military technology, but a fusion of rusted metal and broken bones.



Viktor Koen, June 2011