From fiction to theory, from mystical analyses to visual works, Plain Text — from the French type foundry Plain Form — explores typographic imaginaries, moving beyond a strictly historical and technical framework, with a taste for the unknown and the dormant potential of writing.

Paint Text 3 is an expansive site for speculative and experimental type design. Across its 80 pages, 13 distinct investigations interrogate the traditional limits of the alphabet. Contributions explore typography as a multiple, evolving practice—ranging from Eugénie Bidaut’s research into alternative legibility, inclusive scripts, and odd contrast methods, to Thomas Huot-Marchand’s examination of eyes and society through the work of Émile Javal.

Readers will find projects tuned to rhythm, drums, and improvisation (Playing the alphabet), an exploration of the visual grammar of ornament by Alex Balgiu, and a deep-dive conversation with Johanna Drucker on the magic of alphabets. Theoretical and artistic borders are continually pushed through Gabriele Čepulytė’s study of asemic writing and absence, Hélène Marian's collection of strokes from unseen worlds, and Lucas Descroix's journey through alphabetic shadows alongside Marc Pessin. Rounding out the issue are pieces on the world-shaping forces of humble letterforms by Luther R. Marsh, Mankun Guo’s shifting typography, Ariel Martín Pérez’s reflections on absent letters in the Canary Islands, and an anthology of letter-centric fictions written by Plain Form.

Contributors: Benjamin Dumond, Eugénie Bidaut, Luther R. Marsh, Laurent Mbaah, Mălin Neamțu, Mathis Borel, Alex Balgiu, Thomas Huot-Marchand, Johanna Drucker, Gabriele Čepulytė, Hélène Marian, Lucas Descroix, Mankun Guo, and Ariel Martín Pérez.

Published by Plain Form, 2026
Bilingual, in English and French

Softcover, 80 pages, b&w, 8.3 × 11.6 inches

ISBN: 978-2-95-972541-8