Fontown
Fontown is an educational game complex about fonts.
The written word in the Metaverse
Looking back at what is happening in the world of modern typography, let's turn to the opinion of the classic. The well-known publisher, theorist, and creator of typefaces, Konrad Friedrich Bauer, in his article "On the writing of the future", speaks on these topics as follows:
"...Will human conservatism be able to withstand the onslaught of improving technology in such a field as writing? Asking this question, we can, perhaps, recall that, according to the conclusions of Carl Gustav Jung, the soul of modern man is shaped not only by his momentary environment but also by the experience of millennia.
Phoenician-Greek Roman letters and Indian-Arabic numerals became, by the will of fate, an element of our everyday life, the life of Europeans. And I believe that we will do the right thing if we keep these signs in the future – with love and care ... "
"...Will human conservatism be able to withstand the onslaught of improving technology in such a field as writing? Asking this question, we can, perhaps, recall that, according to the conclusions of Carl Gustav Jung, the soul of modern man is shaped not only by his momentary environment but also by the experience of millennia.
Phoenician-Greek Roman letters and Indian-Arabic numerals became, by the will of fate, an element of our everyday life, the life of Europeans. And I believe that we will do the right thing if we keep these signs in the future – with love and care ... "
The font is social
Font, like architecture, performs an important social function.
They surround us from birth, serve as a measure of beauty, determine our views on the world around us.
The font has a gigantic impact on a person, being a material carrier of information. The city dweller faces fonts every day. And the visual environment we are in depends on how well the typeface is made.
They surround us from birth, serve as a measure of beauty, determine our views on the world around us.
The font has a gigantic impact on a person, being a material carrier of information. The city dweller faces fonts every day. And the visual environment we are in depends on how well the typeface is made.
The appearance of the script to the people
Not many people in our country think about the visual ecology and the level of the type culture. The most appropriate solution to this problem is the introduction of programmes capable of generating interest in the subject of typeface and of instilling respect for the letter from childhood onwards. There is no subject in modern educational programs that introduces the schoolchild to such an interesting and multifaceted concept as typeface.
But the good news is, I decided to fix that, and I developed an information delivery system that would allow the uninformed person to better understand the basics of the phonetic information encoding system and, as a consequence, typography, and to learn how to navigate in font terms.
All scientific information about the font is presented playfully as a virtual city where letters live. The project is called Fontown (font town).
But the good news is, I decided to fix that, and I developed an information delivery system that would allow the uninformed person to better understand the basics of the phonetic information encoding system and, as a consequence, typography, and to learn how to navigate in font terms.
All scientific information about the font is presented playfully as a virtual city where letters live. The project is called Fontown (font town).
Font town
Like the real world, each letter has its character, its history and its destiny.
For example, all capital letters are adults, all lowercase letters – children, ligatures – lovers, thin letters – hungry, bold letters – ate too much, an oblique letter is drunk, letters like people have professions: capital "G" is a mounted policeman, because it has an element called "spur", lowercase "e" with "eye" usually works as a photographer or observer, and lowercase "g" with "ear" is a spy... :•)
For example, all capital letters are adults, all lowercase letters – children, ligatures – lovers, thin letters – hungry, bold letters – ate too much, an oblique letter is drunk, letters like people have professions: capital "G" is a mounted policeman, because it has an element called "spur", lowercase "e" with "eye" usually works as a photographer or observer, and lowercase "g" with "ear" is a spy... :•)
Posters
Basic information about the font town is structurally displayed on the posters.
Lemon colors highlight game interpretations, and black – font terms.
Lemon colors highlight game interpretations, and black – font terms.
Playfuliteracy
The best way to learn any skill is through play.
Therefore, the Fontown educational project is a collection of game media that helps to increase font literacy:
1) book-transformer
2) multimedia
3) playground
Therefore, the Fontown educational project is a collection of game media that helps to increase font literacy:
1) book-transformer
2) multimedia
3) playground
Book
A feature of the book about Fontown is that it transforms into a board game. The book pages are square modules with folding elements, magnets, and various textures.
For example, the concept of a "smooth text typesetting" is represented on a smooth paper, "rough", respectively, on rough; in symbols with in-letter spaces, it is possible to adjust the aperture with a special lever; and the letters of different weight – to weigh.
For example, the concept of a "smooth text typesetting" is represented on a smooth paper, "rough", respectively, on rough; in symbols with in-letter spaces, it is possible to adjust the aperture with a special lever; and the letters of different weight – to weigh.
Interactive journey
A multimedia panorama allows you to safely move around the city of Fontown: encounters with letter-zombies, invasions of undefined flying objects, and other unforeseen situations, if they happen, then in virtual mode.
A town within a town
A virtual city of letters can become quite real in real urban space. Fontown educational playground both for children and adults with swings, flowerbeds, slides, benches, interactive objects, and fontastic characters awaits its incarnation. If you want to become an investor of the project, welcome, write to me.
Collaboration
Don't worry, your data will remain confidential.
Collaboration
Don't worry, your data will remain confidential.
I'm font of it
The Fontown Apparel capsule collection of 12 T-shirts with the inhabitants and landscapes of the font town is presented in my shop.
Font town travel travels through towns
Fontown has been featured in international exhibitions and design catalogues.
Lahti: biennale
The Fontown project became the laureate of Lahti: biennale 2011.
The Biennale takes place in Finland in the city of Lahti in the Sibelius Hall, a palace of congresses and concerts, by Lake Visujärvi.
In 2011, 35 designers from five countries (Finland, Holland, Turkey, Estonia, and Russia) took part in the exhibition with projects demonstrating the symbiosis of design and innovation. All products presented at the exhibition could be touched by hand and interacted with.
Sibelius-hall is an impressive example of Finnish architecture. The building consists of old red-brick building bodies of a woodworking factory, built on the shore of the lake at the end of the 19th century. And a modern concert hall with unique acoustics is made of wood and covered with glass.
The interior of the hall was harmoniously complemented by exhibition stands made of birch plywood, which were designed specifically for Lahti: biennale and are an example of cool design themselves.
The Biennale takes place in Finland in the city of Lahti in the Sibelius Hall, a palace of congresses and concerts, by Lake Visujärvi.
In 2011, 35 designers from five countries (Finland, Holland, Turkey, Estonia, and Russia) took part in the exhibition with projects demonstrating the symbiosis of design and innovation. All products presented at the exhibition could be touched by hand and interacted with.
Sibelius-hall is an impressive example of Finnish architecture. The building consists of old red-brick building bodies of a woodworking factory, built on the shore of the lake at the end of the 19th century. And a modern concert hall with unique acoustics is made of wood and covered with glass.
The interior of the hall was harmoniously complemented by exhibition stands made of birch plywood, which were designed specifically for Lahti: biennale and are an example of cool design themselves.
Disainiöö – Design Night Festival
Every year, two cities from the European Union receive the status of cultural capital. In 2011, these became Tallinn (Estonia) and Turku (Finland).
Within the framework of the European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011 program, Disainiöö – Design Night Festival 2011 (Design Night) was held in the unusual Rothermanni district of Tallinn, where Fontown was exhibited among other design projects.
Within the framework of the European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011 program, Disainiöö – Design Night Festival 2011 (Design Night) was held in the unusual Rothermanni district of Tallinn, where Fontown was exhibited among other design projects.
Sunhoo Industrial Designers Forum
The Fontown project is featured in the catalogue of the Sunhoo Industrial Design Innovation Park Communications Design Portal for the Industrial Design Forum, which took place in 2012 at the Chinese Academy of Arts in Hangzhou (China Art Academy, Hangzhou).
Pangrams
An information booklet about Fontown with funny pangrams was spread as a small circulation of 200 copies. Pangrams are phrases containing all the letters of the alphabet. They are used by font designers to check the font set during design, as well as to present the typeface.
© Julia Chaicyna