Sebastiano//
a typeface design inspired by a historic stone plaque in the Basilica San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. The letterform carvings were made by Dionysius Filocalus for Pope Damascus in the 6th Century. Drawn in by the sheer beauty and unique qualities of these handmade stone carvings, in this space of spiritual contemplation on the site of one of Rome’s oldest and most venerated catacombs, they seemed like the perfect inspiration for a typeface design.
The alternate letterforms grew roots, stems and tentacles, connecting them to each other, and to their ancient past. I became interested in playing with the idea of how letterforms intertwine and connect in many global scripts. Swash or more decorative capital letterforms are not often set together iinthe Latin alphabet…but why not?? Perhaps they can relate and connect in new ways in our alphabet as well!!

Included in the images are:
— An image from the letterforms posted for 36 Days of Type
— Photos of some of the original reference
— The uppercase character set
— The alternate character set