With the rising popularity of Variable Fonts - what should an ideal Variable Font specimen look like? Since the movable type revolution, the font catalog barely changed its appearance, not even with the transition to the virtual sphere. As Variable Fonts span complex design spaces, intuitive navigation tools to accompany them are in need.
Such tools should allow exploration and usage of the full range of new options presented by Variable Fonts. We aim to present endless options while maintaining intuitive interaction and a smooth design experience.
Combining practices from Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Human-Computer Interaction and Design, we wish to make Variable Fonts more accessible to designers. We developed an interactive specimen, replacing abstract design decisions with a given set of visual options to select from and react to.
A video presenting the design aspect of Inbetween
Inbetween is my research thesis (M.Sc.) in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Parametric Design; A data-driven design tool to facilitate a designer’s work, following HCI theories and practices,
utilizing computer science tools and practical design knowledge.
The design aspect was presented as my B.Des. graduate project at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.
Inbetween typographic selection. (A) Typographic parametric space (Latin and Hebrew). (B) Screenshot of Inbetween visual catalog. (C) Typeface instances selected by a designer for different tasks. (D) Traces of the selection process within the parametric space. (E) Interest areas in the parametric space are highlighted by light green and dark purple volumes, start and end typeface instances are marked by larger black dots.
The research thesis that is the larger scope of this project studies personal style.
The act of selection plays a leading role in the design process and in the definition of personal style. This research work introduces visual selection catalogs into parametric design environments. We presented a two-fold contribution: (i) guidelines for construction of a minimal-bias visual selection catalog from a parametric space, and (ii) Inbetween, a catalog for a parametric typeface that adheres to the guidelines, allows for font selection from a continuous design space, and enables the investigation of personal style.
A user study conducted among graphic designers, revealed self-coherent characteristics in selection patterns, and a high correlation in selection patterns within tasks. These findings suggest that such patterns reflect personal user styles, formalizing the style selection process as traversals of decision trees. Together, our guidelines and catalog aid in making visual selection a key building block in the digital creation process and validate selection processes as a measure of personal style.
The full research paper "Inbetween: Visual Selection in Parametric Design" available at: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.01978
Research thesis under the supervision of Prof. Amit Zoran, Design Hybrids Lab, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Inbetween was presented at:
Valedictorian Presentation (M.Sc. ceremony, HUJI, 2021, in Hebrew)
ALEFALEFALEF magazine
Recipient of the ALEFALEFALEF Award of excellence and innovation in Hebrew Typography awarded for BA Graduate Projects, 2019
Shortlisted for the Communication Arts Interactive Project Award of Excellence, 2022, for BA Graduate Project
Shortlisted for the Communication Arts Interactive Project Award of Excellence, 2022, for BA Graduate Project
Variable Typeface created in collaboration with Daniel Grumer of Fontef foundry
Inspired by the Noordzij Cube
This project is open source:
Repository of the 'Inbetween' tool: https://github.com/ronyginosar/parametricSpecimen
GlyphsApp scripts created for the font: https://github.com/ronyginosar/HebrewNibber
