(:-{~

February 20, 2014 9:28 AM

Alphabeard: New York City-based designer Michael Allen has sacrificed many beards in the creation of a typeface shaved away from his own facial hair. [image1] [image2]
posted by Fizz (20 comments total)

Bwahahaha.


That is all.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 9:31 AM on February 20, 2014

That left handed person has a crazy Mr. T haircut or horns, no?
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:45 AM on February 20, 2014

That's dedication.
posted by me3dia at 9:51 AM on February 20, 2014

I'd be more impressed if he had made a typeface by shaving bears.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:03 AM on February 20, 2014 [2 favorites]

I wish to make it clear that I was talking about wild ursine animals, the shaving of whom would (presumably) require more than a good line of patter and a winning smile.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:07 AM on February 20, 2014 [2 favorites]

No numbers... seems kind of half-assed...
posted by Navelgazer at 10:12 AM on February 20, 2014

Next step, alphabeard soup. Mmmmm.
posted by yoink at 10:19 AM on February 20, 2014

I'm not seeing the "b".
posted by michellenoel at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2014 [1 favorite]

Many men have had this idea; most of them then had another toke and forgot all about it. Only this man bothered to actually do it.

Also, semi-relatedly: the monkey-tail beard.
posted by Scientist at 10:44 AM on February 20, 2014 [3 favorites]

I think that we've reached some sort of hipster singularity here.
posted by octothorpe at 12:25 PM on February 20, 2014 [6 favorites]

Much less gross than the beer made from beard
posted by exogenous at 12:34 PM on February 20, 2014

So this had to be done over multiple sets of beards, right? You could get most of the letters on the first go, but you'd need to regrow to get the rest. For example, the 'I' and the 'J' are mutually exclusive beards.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:37 PM on February 20, 2014

This would make for the best captchas.
posted by frimble at 12:38 PM on February 20, 2014

Beards, sweet jesus do I ever not get it. Look, I have a beard! I made a beard-themed cupcake! I knitted beards that people can wear and I sell them on Etsy, am I not adorable?

Um, NO?

All these emaciated 20-something dudes loitering around looking like Civil War deserters...

/checks/ 35 posts tagged with beard ... of course. This is a millenial thing, right? It's the ultimate in everybody-gets-a-medal-ism. What are you going to do with your life? Are you going to change the world? I am going to grow a beard!

One cannot help but notice that that is an achievement which could be accomplished by a person IN A GODDAMNED COMA.

I hope you're very proud of yourselves.
posted by hap_hazard at 2:02 PM on February 20, 2014 [8 favorites]

Speaking as someone with a beard, I think it's just ongoing exuberance at being finally freed from 100 years of stultifying clean-shaven tyranny. During pretty much all of the 20th century, beards were very much out of fashion. Then 2000 rolled around and suddenly all bets were off! So much more fun, so much more interesting! Can't help but celebrate a bit.
posted by Scientist at 2:21 PM on February 20, 2014 [1 favorite]

ooh ooh, now do sharks.. and jumping... and jumping sharks...

... said the bearded guy.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:23 PM on February 20, 2014

Beards were out of fashion? Nobody told me. I've had one almost every winter for the last thirty years or so.
posted by octothorpe at 2:33 PM on February 20, 2014

what's not to get about beards? they are a current fashion accessory and a damned inexpensive one to boot.
I've had facial hair for 30 yrs and one thing about it is that it's fun to play around with sometimes when you're bored or want to try a different look. growing it out is time consuming for some, but cheaper than trendy boots, the right coat or the trendiest vest, and once you start to trim and shave anything goes: wanna look like wild bill cody? go for it. Amish? go for it. zz top? alrighty then.
if you don't like it shave it off and start over.
I do a double take when i register just how young some of the bearded ones are these days, but it's harmless fun for the most part and a good way to tell if your bartender makes his own simple syrup or bitters.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:38 PM on February 20, 2014

good way to tell if your bartender makes his own simple syrup or bitters

...or bathtub methamphetamines.
posted by hap_hazard at 2:45 PM on February 20, 2014

Cute, but not entirely unprecedented. Software artist Scott Draves (of Electric Sheep fame) did this years ago with his Hair Font.
posted by otherthings_ at 3:08 PM on February 20, 2014