Typography Design: Mira Display by Mira Mayne

Mira Mayne designed Mira Display with optical lens geometry. This typography design uses subtractive cuts and Dwiggins principles.

Mira Mayne created Mira Display from a question about how we see. In Spanish, the word mira means to look. Mayne uses this meaning to study how people recognize letter shapes. Optical lens shapes guide the form of each glyph. Convex and concave cuts slice through the letters. Some cuts pull the eye inward toward a point. Other cuts spread focus outward across outer curves. These sharp cuts are not just extra ornament. They build the true frame of each glyph. The typography design asks viewers to look closely at every letter.

Optical Lens Geometry and Subtractive Typography Design

The project takes ideas from designer William Addison Dwiggins. Dwiggins carved wood puppets with flat planes. He saw that flat facets carry strong feeling at a distance. Mayne brings this carve method to modern type design. Deep angular cuts give each character bold visual weight. Carving into a letter does not make it weak. Instead, flat negative cuts add life to display letterforms. Subtraction becomes the main tool for visual character. Each missing stroke makes the eye complete the whole form. Strict geometric rules keep the wild shapes steady. High contrast between black ink and empty space gives strong rhythm.

Historical optotype eye charts also shaped the font. Eye charts test the line where marks turn into readable letters. Mira Display sits on this edge between pure form and text. Reading turns into an active visual act. Printed posters pair dark black glyphs with soft paper tones. Large headline layouts celebrate the deep cuts along every curve. Digital screens show the sharp corners with crisp precision. Captions prove that the typography design holds clear form in small sizes. Mayne shows that cutting away strokes can build distinct editorial style.

This experimental typography design gives a clear lesson in visual reduction. The specimen proves how negative cuts can shape modern graphic craft. See the full project by Mira Mayne on Behance.