The Biotypography project, as a design and research framework, examines and redefines the relationship between the form of Persian letters and the biological forms of living organisms. In this approach, letters transcend their role as mere writing tools and act as visual and meaning-bearing elements capable of conveying environmental concepts related to nature. The historical roots of these works can be traced to Iranian-Islamic arts, where letters were employed to represent creatures; a notable example is the “Bismillah Bird,” in which the letters of God’s name were designed in the shape of a bird. However, the concerns of artists and designers of the past were primarily focused on ritualistic, spiritual, calligraphic, and textual aspects rather than environmental issues, as they were not confronted with environmental crises—such as species extinction, air pollution, and drought—on the scale and in the forms that characterize the contemporary world.
The Biotypography project, through the use of the Persian language and typographic form, exemplifies the intersection of conceptual typography and visual communication, while simultaneously reflecting contemporary environmental concerns. The works displayed here are part of a larger, ongoing collection. It should also be noted that some of Mehdi Haghshenas’s earliest works, such as “Butterflies,” “Kalila and Demna,” and “Snakes Come to the City,” were created well before the development of this collection.
In these works, each letter is a living entity. Letters are not merely writing signs; they function as living organisms capable of growth, respiration, behavior, and meaning-making. In Biotypography, Persian letters are perceived not solely as tools for communication but as entities with an organic nature. Their forms transcend conventional and purely legible signs, taking the shape of birds, animals, insects, or plants. In this project, Persian letters simultaneously embody two identities: a textual identity, in which the roots of Persian script and type remain recognizable, and a biological identity, where the overall form resembles the body of a living organism, such as a “Ladybug” or “A Flock of Crowned Cranes.”
This approach transforms typography from a mere vehicle of meaning into a living, breathing, and dynamic entity, enhancing its conceptual function. The forms in Biotypography operate like cells in a state of continuous evolution, just as language and life itself are living. Through this process, the relationship between typographic form and biological structure becomes an integral part of the work’s conceptual meaning.
In Biotypography, writing is conceived as life itself. There exists a profound connection among language, writing, and nature, and writing in these works constitutes a biological act. The forms of the letters and the living creatures they represent follow a common pattern: roots, curvature, repetition, balance, and movement—the same patterns observed in the forms of animals, plants, or the flight of birds. Typography here is not merely a carrier of meaning; it is an integral part of a visual ecosystem.
Through writing, human civilization has transformed its relationship with nature into a culturally mediated one. In the Biotypography project, the objective is for Persian letters, in the form of conceptual works, to transcend their conventional and purely written status and acquire organic and biological characteristics as part of a visual ecosystem, in such a way that their forms are inspired by nature and living organisms.
Although Mehdi Haghshenas employs the Persian language and typographic forms in the Biotypography project, his concerns are global, as the concepts of nature and human experience are universal. The “Persian Squirrel,” created by inverting the Persian letter “sin” (س), is an endangered species and belongs to the global community. Likewise, the emotional bond between two penguins in the “Penguin Family,” represented through a shared point (نقطه) derived from the letters of both animals, symbolically represents the concept of “love,” which humans can intuitively understand and experience.
Through these works, Haghshenas seeks to demonstrate that the Persian language can also convey the universality of nature. In this sense, Biotypography acts as a bridge between letters and life, between typography and biology, with the potential to evolve through future projects into a bridge connecting people worldwide through works that visually and conceptually reflect the relationship among humans, typography, and nature.
Keywords: Biotypography, Conceptual Typography, Persian Typography, Letterforms, Nature, Biology, Environmental Concepts