The book is split into three sections which correspond to the three stages of the project.
The first part documents the initial research process which concerned analysing 16 existing typefaces and finding links between their perceived personalities and their visual forms.
This analysis took the form of quantitative data presented visually using spectrums and charts, enabling patterns in this data to be more easily spotted.
The second stage involved primary research through typographic experiments. Characteristics of four typefaces were combined together in different ways, generating a variety of hybrid letterforms which were again analysed to see how their personalities differed with their visual form.
From these initial experiments, three letterforms were chosen and a small sample of other glyphs were developed from them - creating the word 'Handgloves' instead of just the letter 'a'.
These were then altered further, generating four variations of each, which were used to test a range of hypotheses on the effects of particular typographical features.
The results of this analysis were then collated and summarised, giving a framework for the particular traits needed to represent particular personalities or tones of voice. These then determined the form of each weight of the typeface itself.
The third section of the book briefly explains the typeface's design process and outlines the design and intended use of each weight.
The name Mendel comes from the 19th Century scientist Gregor Mendel, who was the first to theorise the existence of genes - this reflects how the typeface was designed by combining diferent typographic features together to create a specific result.
More detailed information about the typeface itself can be found here.
