Word As Image, by Ji Lee

January 7, 2013 6:37 PM

Challenge: Create an image out of a word, using only the letters in the word itself.
Rule: use only the graphic elements of the letters without adding outside parts.
From the mind of Ji Lee

Previously on M-F

posted by growabrain (20 comments total)

That's neat. Though, to be nitpicky, spiderman, tunnel, and superstitious all add 'outside parts.'
posted by googly at 6:54 PM on January 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

When I read this, my first thought was WordWorld.

This is cooler.
posted by shoesietart at 6:58 PM on January 7, 2013

Spent the last half-hour clicking through Ji Lee's portfolio. He is exceedingly clever. It gave me much delight.
posted by Jode at 7:06 PM on January 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Oooh, this was neat, thanks!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:12 PM on January 7, 2013

Gets better as it goes along, but yeah.. it's not really about an image but rather animation.
posted by ReeMonster at 7:16 PM on January 7, 2013

These are way cooler than black-and-white text has any right to be. I especially liked "ill" and "horizon."
posted by vytae at 7:17 PM on January 7, 2013

up dn
posted by hexatron at 7:30 PM on January 7, 2013 [8 favorites]

Fun!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:46 PM on January 7, 2013

Ah, growabrain, I don't know how you do it but you have always had a knack for finding the coolest things. And I am glad to see you posting them here more often because I still sorely miss your wonderful blog. This is fun and clever, thanks for posting.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:47 PM on January 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

I had to come up with a few of these for an interactive design exercise for class. We weren't allowed to have sound, which I feel is the element that really makes a lot of his. But it's also the tiny details, like the Os bouncing off the ceiling in such a realistic way (in the word balloons).

For tallying purposes: mo°n was my favorite.
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:16 PM on January 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Ha -- I see what you did there hexatron . . . very nice.
posted by Toecutter at 8:34 PM on January 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

shark
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:41 PM on January 7, 2013

B ʘ ʘ B S

All those years of watching Match Game finally pay off!
posted by mazola at 8:44 PM on January 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

I can't decide between vampire or condom as my favorite. All of the words were really great!
posted by JujuB at 10:37 PM on January 7, 2013

Wonderful! I think moon and balloons were my favourites. The sound effects worked really well for them--and for tunnel too.

The one for elevator made me think of the Via Rail logo.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:25 AM on January 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

A lot of these would work amazingly well as company logos.
posted by moviehawk at 6:57 AM on January 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Mad Magazine did a series of this, IIRC in the 70's.
posted by plinth at 7:00 AM on January 8, 2013

I love the beautiful simplicity of "elevator."
posted by dlugoczaj at 8:04 AM on January 8, 2013

Yeah, I took Design I as an undergrad too. Granted, these got an A.
posted by cmoj at 11:06 AM on January 8, 2013

A poster for the London Design Festival by Quentin Newark of the agency Atelier Works
posted by growabrain at 5:11 PM on January 8, 2013