#HTE

An Assistant Graphic Design Professor’s Typographic 3D Printer

Before making it to Maker fame, Taekyeom Lee was researching unconventional methods of creating three-dimensional type. It was part of his work as Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Appalachian State University, where he tinkered with techniques for developing three dimensional type design using unusual materials. That’s where things got a little weird. Not content with digital modeling, and despite having no strong background in either 3D printing or ceramics, Lee set about building his own 3D printer fitted with a clay extruder to push this study forward.

After a good deal of trial and error, Lee succeeded. His creation is a delta esque ceramic 3D printer that produces sculptures which push the boundaries of typographic tangibility. Clay is a tricky and notoriously nuanced medium—Lee was attracted to ceramic 3D printing in the hopes that he could avoid the tools and space required by a traditional ceramics studio. Constrained by both budget and space, he did what ceramic artists have always done—he made his own tools. 

He needed to increase the capacity of the DIY kit he started from, adapt a traditional glue extruder for the heavier clay body, and reassess the load placed on system elements without introducing air bubbles or causing damage. 

To improve the pneumatic system’s lack of precision, he designed and 3D printed custom screw shaped extruders and swapped plastic glue dispensers for more resilient materials. With each wave of improvements, Lee’s pieces became closer to the designer’s hoped-for typographic ideal. 

At this point, Lee has developed a series of functional typographic works, as well as a range of sculptures that speak to the relationship between digital design and its physical products. 

Lee’s work is continuing in this vein by pushing typography to consider materiality more seriously in our increasingly digital landscape. Learn more about his trial and error process at Maker, his site, or on Instagram.