vowels

tracy zuniga

Not everybody has feelings about letters. I mean writers probably do —

as words. And, most graphic designers do — as art. Since I began school,

I have found, that for a project to be a success, I need to feel something about

it — so why not letters? If I could have feelings about the weather forecast

then letters make perfect sense. Like so many other things, I have a favorite

letter. I’m guessing most people don’t think about individual letters too

much, but I do. And from time to time, I wonder what life would be like as

those individual letters. Lets concentrate on the vowels for today.

vowelstracy zuniga

tracy zuniga

© Copyright 2009 Tracy Zuniga. The book author retains sole copyright to her contributions to this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners.

a

Aoh,ais such a �eautifu� letter.

aSOMETIMES WHEN I HAVE A TYPOGRAPHY ASSIGNMaaMYSELF JUST DRAWING A NICE ROMANTIC LOWERCaaaaTHERE IS NO REASON BEHIND IT, IT IS SIMPLY PRETTaa

abcxyzJust like it starts off the alphabe t, sometimes it can start up my creativit�itit .��

apoorBUT, she is all

a lone

aa cat, a dog, a man, She is one thing – always.aat d

loneSHE IS LIKE THOSE SAD MODELS THAT SAY THEY ARE TOO BEAUTIFUL TO GET DATES. POOR A, YOU CAN’T HELP BUT TO FEEL SORRY FOR HER.

BUT IS HER SADNESS HER OWN DOING? IF SHE WERE FRIENDLIER, WOULD SHE STILL BE ALONE?

aaloneAoh,

aaaapooraaBUT,she is all a lone

is such a letter

Just like it starts off the alphabe t, sometimes it can start up my creativaa� eautifuaatifuaaaa aa�� aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaSOMETIMES WHEN I HAVE A TYPOGRAPHY ASSIGNMaaMYSELF JUST DRAWING A NICE ROMANTIC LOWERCaaaaTHERE IS NO REASON BEHIND IT, IT IS SIMPLY PRETTaal ff h l h a

i

WHAT A STAUNCH INDIVIDUAL THE LETTER I IS. ALWAYS A STIFF UPPER LIP, ALWAYS BY HIMSELF, BUT CONCEITED ABOUT IT TOO.

I OWN EXPENSIVE THINGS... I AM HERE NOW, WE CAN BEGIN. I, I, I — IT’S MADDENING AND IT’S SAD ALL AT THE SAME TIME

HE IS LIKE YOUR STRANGE FRIEND THAT TALKS IN THE THIRD PERSON ABOUT

HIMSELF ALL THE TIME

BUT IF WE LOOK

DEEPER INTO I– DO YOU THINK HE IS

HE CONCEITED OR SCARED AND ALONE? HE SEEMS TO COVER UP HIS DEEP ROOTED SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

WITH BRAVADO. THINK ABOUT

IT…

Much like a, i seems to be wandering around the alphabet searching for a partner. And eventually, when the two meet up, they can form a Do they chose to be alone, or are they waiting for their other half?

My grandfather has a saying:

For every pot,there is a matchin� �id.

family

iA IS I’s LID

Its a �ove stor� rea���.

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Much like A, I seems to be wandering around the alphabet searching for a partner. And eventually, when the two meet up, they can form a family. Do they chose to be alone, or are they waiting for their other half? My grandfather has a saying:

“For every banged up and dented pot, there is a matching lid.”

IBO

UT IT

BOU a II � GGove stoGG R�� G �

ANA HIR

HIRve stoNGNG RRRR�� NGN ���

LL T

HL

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LLTT

LL

eaaTTTT ������

A IS I’s LID

BUTIF WE LO TTDEEPER INT TT

DO YOU THINK STSTHE CONCEITE SSSCARED AND A SSHE SEEMS TO C SS

UP HIS DEEP ROSELF-CONSCIOU

WITH BRAV RRTHINK ABO RRIT… RST

o

OThe renaissance man of the

vowel gang is the letter

…and funny – always cracking jokes.In fact, you couldn’t even tell a joke without O.

he’s very well rounded

He has a deep, hearty laugh too.

HOHHHHHOHHOOOHHOOOO

HHHOOH

OOOHHOOOO(Maybe you remember it from when you were a kid?)

He is the knowledgeable one too – he is well versed in evolution, the constitution, heck even revolutions.He can tell you about almost anything.He can be very logical, but also irrational, so look out for that.

But what most people don’t realize is that O is the sexy vowel too. With his

ABSOLUTE SYMMETRY ONE STROKE FORM PERFECT CIRCLE NEVER ENDING

O�OO ����� �OO�OO ���� a�������������

O is the George Clooney of the group.

O is the guy you want to hang out with, but is also the sexiest letter alive.

But that was obvious.

O�OO ����� �OO�OO ���� a�������������But that was obvious.

O is the George Clooney of the group. O is the guy you

want to hang out with, but is also the sexiest letter alive.

The renaissance man of the bunch is the letter n O. He’s very well rounded.…and funny – always cracking jokes. You couldn’t even tell a joke without O.

He has a deep, hearty laugh too. HO HO HOMaybe you remember it from your when you were a kid?

He is the knowledgeable one too – he is well versed in evolution, the constitution, heck even

revolutions. He can tell you about almost anything. He can be very logical,

but also irrational, so look out for that.But what most people don’t realize is

that O is the sexy vowel too. With his

ABSOLUTE SYMMETRY ONE STROKE FORMPERFECT CIRCLEONE STROKE FORMONE STROKE FORM

NEVER ENDINGPERFECT CIRCLEPERFECT CIRCLE

u

U

THE ANGRY LONER OF THE VOWELS IS

NDONEWhat is most frustrating to U is that everything he does isU

CRAMMEDHe also has to be the workhorse vowel.

EVERYONE uses HIM.

into words,NEVER ALLOWED TO SAY HIS NAME, JUSTTHERE TO HELP OUT THE OTHER VOWELS,

i t s d e f e a t i ng

Shaped like a catch basin for all things, a deep hole was dug out to form the letter U. Perhaps that’s why he is so depressed, he’s in a rut. He tries to understand his feelings, he longs to be touched, but in the end U is inevitably reminded that he is most famous for being an umbrella, shielding himself from the world around him.

UNAPPRECIATEDUNSOCIABLE

UNIMPRESSEDNAPPRECIATEDNAPPRECIATED

UNSOCIABLEUNSOCIABLE

f eff �ee s��U

UHE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND HIS PLACE IN THE world

at least that ’s wh at his

therapist tell s himU

NDONEWhat is most frustrating to U is that everything he does isUTHE

ANGRY LONER OF THE

VOWELS IS

CRAMMEDHe also has to be the workhorse vowel.

EVERYONE uses HIM.

into words, EVER ALLOWED TO SAY HIS NAME, JUST NEVERE TO HELP OUT THE OTHER VOWELS,THERE T U

least

UU’s wh at

UUtherapist

UUlls him, anyway.

UUp

UUHE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND HIS PLACE IN THE world

Shaped like a catch basin for all things, a deep hole was dug out to form the letter U. Perhaps that’s why he is so depressed, he’s in a rut. He tries to understand his feelings, he longs to be touched, but in the end U is inevitably reminded that he is most famous forbeing an umbrella, shielding himself from the world around him. U feels UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUi t s d e f e a t i n

g

y

Y My parents o

ffered my husband and I tickets to

see “Je

rsey Boys.” Don’t ju

dge. Yes, we

were the only ones in the audience under

6

5, but we enjoyed it. In the show, when

Frankie Valli goes on his fi rst date

with the woman who will eventually

be his wife, he discusses his

new show business n

ame

…

Frankie Valley. She

l

ooks at him and

says:

Valley? with a “y”?

You’re Italian, you need a vowel at the end of your name, like SinatrA, or PizzA.

besides

Yis a bullshit letter.

consonant?I T D O E S N ’ T K N O W W H A T I T W A N T S T O B E !

vowel orIS IT A UF KC NI G

that’s pretty funny

My daughter’s name is Lillianna. It’s a lot for a 7 year old, so she’s Lilly. My boys…Nicholas becomes Nicky and Theodore, Teddy.

But for me, y is the sweetening of any word.

It sweetens the pot, makes anything feel younger.

Its a cutiebut its not my favorite.

owel orII consonaII tiII owel orowel orIII

e

OTHER VOWELS ARE NICE, BUT MY FAVORITE IS THE LETTER EIT IS THE ULTIMATE LETTER AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED.

mwithout E, there is no ewithout E, there is onl� you & I,wenever

het mI would have to stay away,

I could never join

the� would have to stay sick .

get wellor even a littlebettee er

If a person is not feeling good, they could never

Never would the word

YESbe spoken.

OnlyNONono

SSSYESSSEEEYYYEEYESYYYEEE

Think of your fi rst crayon

box. All of the colors have the letter E,

except

How sad would that be?

Of the 5 senses: seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feeling, they all contain E.

Because life would be worse without any one of them.

BLAC

K

V

(( )

BROWNV (( )&

And forget crystal clear blue skies, only clouds

or rain with no E.

e ee eeeeeeeeeee eeeeeee

eeeeeee ee

eer

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Everyone gets a little something extra

out of E. Life simply becomes easier

when you have it. Good is fi ne, but

with the darling E everything could

be better or even the best. It is the

cherry on top of life. E lets you be

effective, exceptional and most of all...eextrxtreeee ���on top of lifn top of lifo p op o ee. EEeexceptional ananonal raorraaor i rr�� �����orrorr inarrnarri���

Other vowels are nice, but my favorite is the letter E. It is the ultimate letter as far as I’m concerned.

Without E, there is no me. Without E, there is only you and I, never we. I would have to stay away. I could never join them.

If you are sick, you could never get well, or even a little better. You must stay sick.

Never would the word Yes be spoken—only NO, No, no.

Think of your fi rst crayon box. All of the colors have the letter E, except black and brown. How sad that would be?

And forget crystal clear blue skies, only clouds or rain with no E.

Of the 5 senses: seeing, smelling, hearing, taste, and feeling, they all contain E. Because life would be worse without any one of them.

Everyone gets a little something extra out of E. Life simply becomes easier when you have it. Good is fi ne, but with the darling

E everything could be better or even the best. It is the cherry on top of life. With E can you be everything you dreamed of: effective, exceptional and most of all…extraordinary.

extraor�inar�

O�OO ����� �OO�OO ���� a�������������

The story for the book “Vowels” came to me during a very intense immersioninto typography at Savannah College of Art and Design. It is a silly little story

about how these letters would behave if only they were human.

“Vowels” is the story of two foolish lovers, an angry out-cast and a few more questionable characters. This

design took me out of my usual design styleand pressed me to really look at each word

from a new perspective. The design thatunfolds throughout the book is my take

on expressive typography.

~ tracy zuniga