Souvenir typeface cookies

For this project, I was asked to choose a typeface that interests me and create a piece inspired by it, in any form. Its form had to reflect the spirit and personality of the typeface. The typeface I chose was Souvenir, first created by Morris Fuller Benton in 1914 then revived and expanded upon by Ed Benguiat. I had to do an analysis of the typeface before diving into the project, which required information on the background on the typeface, its details and features, its personality and examples in use, and why we chose the typeface. One quote that stood out to me during my research was by Allan Haley in ABC’s of Type: “ITC Souvenir is like a Times Roman dipped in chocolate”. This inspired the piece I created.

I decided to make cookies with the font ITC Souvenir Medium, and write the word “Friendly,” because that perfectly describes the look of the typeface, with no sharp edges. Although I didn’t dip a “Times Roman” in chocolate as per the quote, the quote inspired me to see what a typeface would look like dipped in chocolate. I 3D printed the cookie cutters which was not too hard, but the hard part was making the actual cookies, getting them to keep their shape, and not making a total mess when dipping them in chocolate. I baked five sets of the letters of “Friendly” and ended up with only one set I was completely happy with after dipping them.