On a visit to the special collections at the Providence Public Library, I came across the 16th century book — the Grammar of Ornaments by Owen Jones. The vivid and complex color systems for pattern making used in each cultural period formed the springboard for this project’s research on Synesthesia, exploring a language system that borrows its structure from color theory.

ChromaScript is a conceptual, ornamental typeface that explores the neurological phenomenon of Grapheme-Color Synesthesia. Transcending the traditional model of a typeface, it utilises the synesthetic framework of associating letters and glyphs with specific colors and shapes, thereby allowing for a system that is generative examining the intersection of color, form & syntax structures. Grapheme-color synesthesia is a condition characterized by enduring and consistent associations between letters/glyphs and colors. For people with synesthesia, letters have fixed enduring conscious color associations.

ChromaScript questions what defines a language and a typeface, that is, to provide a coherent platform for communication—flipping it, to create an atmospheric language through color, layer and form.