Alphabet in Motion

KELLI ANDERSON _ ALPHABET IN MOTION _ 2025

Alphabet in Motion

How did we end up with so many different styles of letters? An ingenious feat of paper engineering that features an interactive cover, 17 pop-ups plus multiple manual experiments in light and shape, Alphabet in Motion is an immersive volume explains—and demonstrates—the technologies and philosophies that have shaped letterforms through the ages.

In addition, a 128-page companion essay reveals the rich meanings behind the typography that surrounds us—in our homes, on our screens, and in our streets. Whether projecting light through a phototypesetting pop-up or reconfiguring Josef Albers' Bauhaus stencil lettering, this masterfully crafted, hands-on publication will delight both typography experts and those who are new to the principles of design. Watch the Kickstarter Video »

The pop-up book pages (A-Z) introduce and demonstrate typographic concepts. Curious readers are invited into the longer-form essay on each topic, drawn from the history of typographic design and technology. Letters are culture.

Graphic designer, educator and author Kelli Anderson has been widely celebrated for her work in infographics, branding design, pop up books and risograph animations. She is a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award nominee, was a fellow at both NYC's Center for Book Arts and San Francisco's Exploratorium, and served as Adobe's inaugural creative resident. Anderson's previous publications include This Book Is a Camera (MoMA, 2015)—which transforms into a working camera—and This Book Is a Planetarium (Chronicle, 2017), which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide in two languages. Her work has been praised by The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Today Show, Wired, and more…

Early Pre-Release Press:
- The Eames Institute
- The Walker Reader
- Kottke

This book is distributed by D.A.P./Artbook worldwide and published by Katherine Small Gallery.

The letter J presents a rudimentary paper phototypesetting device to warp, bend, and distort projected characters.

Type history research is color-coded, printed in risographed duotone. This helps to visually connect the essay to the pop-up and keep the reader oriented.

L: An essay on Phototypesetting and the Psychedelic Era | R: Images documenting type's transition from metal to digital

P from one side, Q from the other | On the topic of interpolation in font families

A letterform anatomy puzzle for the letter F

Prototypes: L: Wim Crouwel's letter g for the Stedelijk Museum | R: Phototype pop-up demo

UV translates modular alphabet Patrona Grotesk into a stencil and Josef Albers' KombinationsSchrift into building blocks.

The pop-up accompanying an essay about the ancient origins of letterforms

The pop-up accompanying an essay about type's technological transition from lead to bitmap to anti-aliasing.

CD: On Signpainters' lettering, made with gestures

X: On Donald Knuth's MetaFont—with [paper] sliders to interpolate slant and width