The biggest difference between Japanese typography and western typography is its versatility. Normally alphabet is written in one way, left to right. But Japanese letters can be written in both horizontal and vertical ways because all letters are design to fit the mono square grid. The designer followed this rule and designed new flexible alphabet system by using only primitive geometric shapes such as square, circle and triangle. This expands the possibility of alphabet usage. People can not only write vertically, horizontally, diagonally, backwards but also creating another font families, graphics, and even playable interactive animations by fully control of parts in letters. For him, choosing and using typography is more than expressing thoughts, it's expressing users' identities. Therefore, he believes that the flexibility of typeface can contribute to freedom for expressing diverse identities in multiple ways with inclusiveness.
Every single Japanese letter fits within square grids perfectly thanks to its mono grid system, so the designer started with trying to fit alphabet letters into a square grid by getting his hand dirty. He didn't take this step with his laptop, but with a scissor, strips of paper and foam boards. Then based on these outcome, he designed mono grid alphabet system with primitive geometric shapes. His "3D to 2D" approach gave the typography natural shapes because it's followed physical world principle like tension of paper.
This versatile designed typography allows people to design the typography in their own way as well as use it. People can create their own font family, graphics and even animation by adding color, changing positions and sizes of each primitive geometrical part, and playing with letters composition.
The designer created the device for controlling this typography more freely in order to demonstrate its flexibility and possibilities. The device has multiple sensors, such as membrane pressure sensors, distance sensors. By holding a hand over the sensor, rotating the knob and squeezing sensors with a hand, a user can control thickness, position, size and structure of alphabet on the screen.
(Coded via p5.js, distant sensor, pressure sensor, arduino, plywood, rubber)
