“There is simplicity in using typography as the core method of visual communication. As Paul Rand said, ‘Design is so simple; that’s why it is so complicated.’” —juror Megan Meeker

“A celebration of typographic form—candy for a graphic design audience.” —juror Gabe Kean

Overview: How can type become responsive, emotional and adaptive to different platforms in the digital age—while remaining a powerful medium for the communication of information, style and identity? This is the question that FIELD and Monotype explored using three physical digital art installations: Sensual Power, Glyph.Index and Responsive Energy. Visitors stood in front of giant screens, waving their arms and gesturing with their hands to interact with Monotype’s most treasured typefaces. When paired with motion-controlled visuals and sounds, these fonts became their best selves: dynamic, stimulating and limitless.

•The project took a year to produce.
•Type Reinvented, which began as Monotype’s brand advertising campaign, expanded into these three large-format digital experiences.
•More than five million Twitter users interacted with the campaign.

Comments by FIELD and Monotype:
What do you think are the project’s core features? “Type Reinvented is made up of three digital art installations: Sensual Power, presented at Le Book in Paris, focused on the role that type plays in fashion. Glyph.Index, shown at the Resonate festival in Belgrade, was a colorful journey through a vast array of more than 35,000 Unicode glyphs. Responsive Energy, shown at the Cannes Lions Innovation festival, explored typefaces in context with space, material and light.”

What was the most challenging aspect of the project? “Glyph.Index was the most challenging of the three. It showcased the vast spectrum of Unicode glyphs in Noto Sans. With so many symbols, there were a few technical details that needed more attention.”

What software, back-end technology and programming languages were used? “For the overall structure, we used openFrameworks. All the cloth simulations were created with OpenCL. For better prototyping, we integrated JavaScript engine V8 and wrote the logic in JavaScript. Rendering was completed with OpenGL. The Glyph.Index and Sensual Power installations are custom-built C++ applications wrapped within an openFrameworks structure. The choreography and Kinect-based interaction logic are implemented using JavaScript running on top of the core engine. Responsive Energy was created as a series of prerendered clips using Houdini and Cinema 4D. We used fashion and luxury fonts in the project, including ITC Modern No. 216, Monotype Grotesque, Linotype Didot, Futura and Caslon Graphique LT.”