Sophie Cooper

I have been having fun playing around with p5js and Python code* to create ‘tools’ to push the boundaries of letterforms. The input images I have used to create these are scans of my own hand drawn or painted type… Here are a few of the 100’s of outcomes. Very addictive!!!
* with the co-creation of Claude Code. #experimentaltype #experimentaltypography #typeasimage #creativecode

Is this the world’s first 3D printed type specimen? After many attempts to get the type to print in different colours and depths, here is the outcome. My idea was to create the pages thin enough to feel like 120- 150 gsm paper with embossed text and a few tip-ins. Love a tip-in. 
 A big thanks to @typeelectives and @juan_kafka for help with designing the font Geo. @contemporarytype @type01_

Part of my submission to Experimental Type with @slanted_publishers . This series of photos investigates how typography can exist as sculptural or spacial objects using 3D printing. #typeexperiment #experimentaltypography #3dprintedtypography @contemporarytype

While Geo is clean and precise, it does not reflect the reality of the deteriorated condition of many of Niemeyer’s buildings in Brazil. So, I experimented with 3D printer settings to capture the texture of deterioration and decay of many of his buildings, especially those seen in Belo Horizonte. The result is Geo Decay in lowercase, with each letterform generated from the outcomes of 30 different print settings applied across a–z. Special thanks to @juan_kafka and @typeelectives for so much help with the original Geo.

3D doodle pen alphabet. I traced a print out of geo font. Much harder than I thought it would be!!! #3dtype #3ddoodler #experimentaltype #experimentalalphabet

Highlighting the incredible work from our Display Type class, Fall 2025! 🔥🔥🔥 Geo by Sophie Cooper @typography.type Geo is a display typeface inspired by modernist architecture, especially Oscar Niemeyer’s bold geometric shapes and archways from a trip to Brazil. Designed for 3D printing, laser cutting, and screen printing, Geo features sculptural letterforms with strong geometric contrasts and simplified details. It’s part of ongoing research into Typography as Image, exploring how analogue, digital, machine learning and hybrid fabrication processes transform typographic form into image. Geo is a work in progress, with plans for diacritics and a variable version. ✨✨✨ Sophie Cooper is a designer, maker and educator based in Sydney, Australia. She is the creative force behind Scoops Design, a brand known for it’s sustainable jewellery focusing on bold colours, playful patterns, and destinctive design. Alongside her design practice, Sophie lectures in Visual Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. 💙 Each Friday we’ll be highlight two projects from our class and you can check out the whole showcase on our website and instagram @displaytypedesign (Link in bio) Huge thanks to our students for their dedication and creativity! Special thanks to our Fall 2025 instructors Juan Villanueva @juan_kafka and Corinne Ang @corinne_ang_ We’re grateful to our office-hour guests Noah Lee @sokehstudio and Mariana Navarro @mariananavarro.lettering , and our guest critics Betsy Schuster @queertype.co and Bea Korsch And thank you to everyone supporting our scholarship program! Your generosity helps open doors for more emerging type designers.

After finishing the Display Type fundamentals course @typeelectives with @juan_kafka I made a small type specimen book. #fontspecimen #typespecimen #typebook #experimentaltype #displaytypeface

Introducing… geo, a display typeface inspired by my visit to Brazil in June to see Oscar Niemeyer’s architecture with Dad. For the last 3 months, I have been sketching, digitising and learning how to design a typeface again through @typeelectives . I feel very lucky to have been taught by Juan Villanueva @juan_kafka and Corinne Ang @corinne_ang_ who were both amazing teachers and super inspiring. I have always loved typography and looking at letter shapes. My honours thesis and major project many years ago was about typography on screen. In the past few years, I have come back to experimenting with analogue, digital and manufacturing techniques using typefaces to create “Type as Image”. The experiments are to develop and create workshops to inspire my classes at UTS, but also because I love type and enjoy the process. I am using this instagram to keep a visual record of my type explorations.

3D printing tests of my work in progress font!