Work/Typography · Pratt Institute
Dave Sans
A custom display typeface made from hand-carved citrus peels: a playful study of typography, texture, and organic form.
Try Dave Sans
Type anything. Change the size, spacing, and colors to see how the peel-cut letters hold up.
Dave Sans
Process
Lemons, limes, and cocktails
Every letter was cut by hand from citrus peel, so no two strokes are quite the same.
Method
1. Study the peel
How far it bends, how thick it cuts, and where it tears.
2. Sketch
The alphabet, numerals, and punctuation in pen on a gridded sheet.
3. Cut
Each character from orange peel with a peeler and a paring knife.
4. Photograph
Every letter on its own against light paper.
A to Z, by hand
Digitizing
Into a working font
Photographs were traced into outlines, debugged, and extended into a full character set.
