Reciprocal form and counterform

Diode is a modular geometric type system produced by MuirMcNeil in collaboration with Natasha Lucas.

The Diode project began as one of a series of visual experiments examining the interdependence of positive and negative spaces in typographic forms, a feature that Lucas had first begun to investigate in her Bisect typeface which was published by MuirMcNeil in 2018.

Using only three different geometric modules to build the Diode alphabet, Lucas explored the ways in which form and counterform could be manipulated reciprocally to construct letters and words that are playfully ambiguous but that always remain true to their alphabetic origins.

The result is a type system that is structurally incomplete but that maintains its visual integrity and legibility by optimising the use of space. Diode has been cut in three versions, one positive and two negative. Three additional fonts are provided –one for each of the geometric modules used to build to build Diode. These can be used in overlay for colour delineation.