‘It’s the story of my childhood’ – Pham Nguyen Thien Phu talks about his typeface design which was inspired by the book ‘The Adventures of a Cricket’ written by To Hoai.

Entering Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts at the age of 25 after having a stable job and a future set out for him to become a restaurant manager, Phu decided to start over, working odd jobs to support his life and study. And the font set – Phu’s 2013 graduation project – was the accomplishment for his 5 years of hard work pursuing the passion for fine art drawing.

The ‘Adventures of a Cricket’ typeface consists of 26 letters and 10 numbers, retelling the story of Cricket and his encounters with the characters that he met on his way to explore the world. The artwork on each letter represents a character in the book and their natural habitat. Letter ‘A’, showing an ant in an underground tunnel system, reminds the viewer of the battle between Cricket with his companions and the aggressive, ill-tempered fire ants. Letter ‘C’ is the miniature of the Swamp Kingdom that Cricket once traveled past, where the fish live under the reign of the Frog King. All the memorable scenes and details in the book are beautifully visualized through Phu’s imagination and skillful hands.

The colorful insect world from To Hoai’s book comes to live in Phu’s swirly and lively illustrations. To Hoai has passed away, but his works will always be the inspiration for generations of young people, in this case, a young man named Phu with a big dream to become a graphic designer.

By SDMedia