Experimental Typography- Braiding Hair

Project Brief

Using a piece of literature as a reference to make an experimental typography poster. The idea was to use the essence of the elements in the poem to form and solidify the poster's look and feel. As a part of the assignment, I took inspiration from a poem I have written.

Date/ Year
May 2022

Project Category
Academia / 

When I was young
My mom used to braid my hair
before I left for school
When i grew up
She asked me to braid it myself

slowly I bloomed
left from home
for college, then work
outings, trips, dates and night outs
and all along
through all these 'for's'
I realised
I forgot to braid my hair.

Unintentionally, cut them
just so i didn't have to braid them.
Everyday,
for every month of the year
through every year of my life
and through all this
I understood,
I understood why
in the first place
my mother was right
why she asked me to knit my hair
knit them into x's and crosses
and tie them intact

so no one in this entire world
can untangle them
and I can have my fingers free
crossing them was not what she expected from me
and having them crossed all the time is not what I expected from the world
but well,
she had lived longer
and after 20 years
of surviving
I can very rightly quote my mother

"Braiding hair is stronger than pepper spray"


The line uses ‘braiding hair’ as a metaphor for crossing one’s fingers (forming x’s) as a symbol of shooing away bad luck. The line signifies the irony of how old traditions which young girls hated as children sometimes become the only safety shield that they carry.

Multiple pictures for experimentation and ideation

Using real hair, braided and composed to align with the layout.

Tying and curving the hair braid to replicate the curves of ‘G’ - like a flourish.

While real hair gave the desired look, I additionally used synthetic hair to achieve the necessary flexibility, thickness & length needed to achieve the layouts.

Using black pepper powder to exaggerate the essence of ‘pepper spray.’
The aim was to try and get as clear letters as possible by placing them and keeping them a bit messy to add the effect of ‘spread’ & realism.

Taking various angles and curves with the wig according to the compositions sketched out. 

To make the post editing and detailing easy, I took shots of hair in basic angles- straight line/ circles/ waves etc- to have the leavy of editing pieces together to form the exact curve needed 

Using real hair + synthetic hair to get the form of the letters needed. Additionally, I also used pepper powder to make the letters of the phrase ‘pepper spray’.

The idea was to show the momentary weakness of pepper in comparison to braided hair. Therefore, the top half of the poster conveys the feeling of safety and bonding, whereas the bottom half conveys the fleeting nature of pepper spray which can easily get lost in the wind.

Using Format