T1 (2021) → Wearable Typography
The Hat as a font
This project explores how typography can emerge from everyday objects—specifically hats—and how meaning shifts when letterforms are placed back onto the human body.
The process began with street observation. I documented hats worn by passers-by, capturing their variety in shape, style, and context. These observations were then translated into a series of experiments: arranging my own hats into letter-like forms, scanning and reconstructing them, and eventually developing 3D models that could be “worn” again.
A key discovery emerged during this process: when isolated, these forms often lost their legibility as both hats and letters. However, when placed on the human head, they regained a dual identity—simultaneously readable as typographic forms and recognizable as wearable objects. Meaning, therefore, is not embedded in the form alone, but activated through context.
Type, Identity, and the Body
Rather than functioning as a conventional typeface with a fixed system, this project operates as a contextual typographic language. Each letter is shaped by the constraints and possibilities of the hat, resulting in a set of forms that are unified not by strict structure, but by a shared transformation process.
The work also touches on the role of hats as markers of identity—objects that both express and obscure the individual. By turning hats into letters, language becomes something that is worn, performed, and situated on the body, shifting typography from a static system into a lived experience.The final outcome consists of a series of 3D typographic posters, where each letter is presented through a human figure wearing the constructed form. These compositions are paired with short phrases and idioms related to hats, reinforcing the relationship between language, object, and identity.
Type Beyond the Page
Rather than treating typography as a fixed system, this project proposes a more fluid relationship between language, object, and identity. By relocating type onto the body, it challenges the conventional boundaries of graphic design—suggesting that typography can be worn, performed, and situated in real space.
This shift opens up potential for collaboration with fashion and lifestyle brands, where typography becomes part of the product experience itself. Instead of simply communicating information, it creates moments of recognition, ambiguity, and interaction—allowing audiences to engage with language in a more physical and personal way.