‘The Language of Plants' was a collaboration between ATYPICAL and house plant specialist GrowTropicals at Chelsea Flower Show. The installation was centered around a new typeface inspired by the organic forms of leaves and stems, creating a unique design language that celebrates the beauty and complexity of plants.

The installation then used the typeface to showcase vocabulary that exists in both the plant and typography world, such as the ‘stem’ of a plant or a letter or the ‘overhang’ of flowers or a shape. The typeface was displayed alongside the plants that inspired it, bringing the intersection of typeface design and botany to the public over 4 days. This unique installation gained the top accolade at Chelsea Flower Show and  is the first time a typography project has ever medalled

Inspired by the idea of a specimen existing within the plant and the design world, the installation acted as both a plant specimen, and a typography specimen. Custom labels were created using the typeface for all plants on display, as well as typographic postcards for visitors to take a piece of the exhibition home.

The Language of Plants installation is built with a custom experimental typeface at its core. This typeface alludes to the forms found in plants without directly translating exact properties into letters. The challenge of this project was to give the audience the impression of botanical shapes without the design being too literal or prescriptive. In order to achieve this, the first sketches took their roots from more traditional typography techniques such as Japanese calligraphy which naturally have more organic forms. By translating and modernizing these forms, the result is an experimental reverse contrast typeface with a strong personality.