What happens when two designers take a simple modular assignment and push it through the paces of algorithmic scripting, physical stamping, and variable typeface engineering? For Deborah Khodanovich and Saachi Mehta, the result is Tangent, an evolving generative superfamily built on the mechanics of connection, movement, and the ways information shifts as it travels.
Originally sparked in Kelsey Elder’s Variable class at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) under the assignment title Kit-Car, the project has grown from a set of static glyphs into a robust, multi-axis variable type system encompassing both Sans and Mono iterations. Drawing inspiration from Sister Corita Kent’s philosophy of learning to see the world one piece at a time, Khodanovich and Mehta set out to examine how modular components could mirror communication, storytelling, and the fluid, transforming nature of gossip.
Pit Stop 1: (Crossed) Pathways
The foundational brief for Kit-Car directed students to observe the world around them, identify a source based on fundamental shapes, patterns, or objects, and create a set of static glyphs from those components. Corita Kent’s enduring advice to observe the world one piece at a time served as the conceptual compass for the project.
From the outset, Khodanovich and Mehta intended to collaborate, which required establishing a modular starting point that could be passed back and forth between them. At the time, both designers were independently exploring parallel themes around stories, dialogue, and how ideas converse, connect, and evolve from person to person. This prompted a central design question: what would a typeface look like if every glyph remained fundamentally connected to its neighbors?
They began by sketching the simplest modules possible. Mehta gravitated toward the continuous, over-under twisted qualities of ribbons, while Khodanovich explored custom path-drawing within digital environments like Animal Crossing. Despite exploring different conceptual rabbit holes, both converged on textiles—specifically knitting, weaving, and embroidery.
This shared interest quickly transitioned from solid, connected forms to layered strings of parallel lines capable of weaving in and out of one another like thread. This breakthrough established the core mechanic of the project: a single weight, single-axis system featuring round or square, twisted or untwisted modules that could function as a pattern-making font.
Underpinning the visual mechanics was a deeper conceptual inquiry into oral storytelling and gossip. The designers questioned how oral narratives shift shape, how stories become twisted over time through dialogue, and what lineage conversations follow as they move through social networks. Working together on the same screen and sharing physical sketchpads, they developed an initial grid of parts designed to link seamlessly, setting the stage for the variable experiments that followed.
Pit Stop 2: (Finding Our) Axes
Once the initial system proved functional, instructor Kelsey Elder raised a fundamental challenge: how does a user actually type with a modular, twisting, connecting system? While Khodanovich and Mehta could navigate the system intuitively, external users faced a steeper learning curve.
To address usability, Elder suggested conducting keyboard mapping tests with peers, drawing inspiration from digital gaming interfaces to determine the most intuitive ways to assign connecting parts to standard keys. Alongside digital prototyping, the designers explored physical interactions, creating custom rubber stamps to let people stamp glyphs onto extensive grids and experience the modularity by hand.
They also experimented with alternative input methods, developing a Processing sketch that allowed users to draw their way into the system rather than relying strictly on traditional keyboard input. Surrounded by fellow graphic designers, the duo noticed an instinctive pattern: whenever participants were handed the modules, they immediately defaulted to forming Korean and English letterforms without prompting.
Pit Stop 3: (Going off on a) Tangent
The observation that users naturally formed letters when interacting with the system marked a turning point. Bolstered by their enrollment in a variable type class, Khodanovich and Mehta expanded their grid dimensions and began constructing full alphabets equipped with contextual alternates. They tested color variations and explored a sans-serif iteration, transforming Tangent from a purely modular pattern system into a functional typeface.
Leaning further into the project’s generative nature, Elder posed another question: if the system is inherently generative, what would happen if a computer generated every possible permutation?
Establishing strict rules—a three-by-three grid, mandatory utilization of every spot, guaranteed connections, a cap on empty slots, and a ban on rotating pieces to bypass constraints—the designers utilized artificial intelligence scripting tools like Claude to automate the process. The script successfully generated 971 unique glyphs. True to their background as type designers, they immediately began discerning letterforms within the computational noise, an exploration that ultimately led to the development of the Mono version.
Pit Stop 4: (It takes a) Superfamily!
With the system established across multiple formats, Elder introduced a final challenge: introducing motion. This inquiry returned the project to variable typography territory. The designers built out a comprehensive five-axis system controlling twist, weight, amplitude, stretch, and radius across both the Sans and Mono editions.
Developing the variable fonts presented technical hurdles. The designers frequently encountered frustrations when the font-production software, Glyphs, resisted their complex workflows or refused to export the files. Having a collaborator proved essential during these bottlenecks. When one designer hit a roadblock with the software, they passed the file to the other, whose fresh perspective often unlocked a solution.
The project’s inherently generative nature has left the designers with a running list of potential new axes and spinoff versions for future expansion. What began as a static classroom assignment has evolved into an open-ended superfamily.
Khodanovich and Mehta are currently inviting fellow designers, students, and creators to experiment with Tangent for posters, personal projects, or visual identities, offering font files to those who reach out.
Deborah Khodanovich is a Toronto-born designer and educator based in Providence, Rhode Island, having recently completed her MFA in Graphic Design at RISD. Her practice investigates gossip as a methodology for producing and sharing knowledge, examining information networks and intimacy through typography, textiles, and books.
Saachi Mehta works at the intersection of visual design, motion graphics, and systems, translating concepts into visual experiences across identity, environmental, and editorial contexts. A graduate of RISD’s MFA program in Graphic Design who has taught motion design at the institution, her professional background includes design work for the RISD Museum, Netflix, and HP.
