Typografische ontwerpen c. 1930

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made these Typografische ontwerpen, or typographic designs, at no specified date using graphite on paper. Looking at this, I imagine Cachet hunched over his sketchpad, ideas swirling like smoke, as he tries to get his ideas down on paper, wrestling with the shapes and forms. The page is filled with possibilities. It’s like seeing the artist's mind at work. The artist is thinking through the construction of type, the architecture of letterforms. Each line and curve are carefully considered, a balance between precision and intuition. You get a sense of his playfulness, it reminds me of my own process of trial and error. You just keep going until something feels right, even if you can't explain why. It's like a conversation, where each mark responds to the one before, and the final form is a result of all the adjustments. And, like all art, these sketches will have been informed by those that came before. It's always an exchange of ideas over time.