Web-based Tool for the Generation of Letterforms
Authors
Abstract
The history of graphic design reveals a continuous reinvention of the discipline with the emergence of new technologies, providing means to new ways of designing and paving the way for new and unexpected design experimentation. For instance, computational generative processes are being employed in the development of various types of design projects, including dynamic visual identities, generative poster and cover design, and generative type design.We present a generative web-based tool capable of automatically generating letterforms or glyphs. Each glyph is created by filling a pre-extracted typographical skeleton using an algorithmic drawing technique. Each drawing technique provides a unique visual style to the generated glyphs. The user can configure different parameters specific to each drawing technique and this way achieve a wide variety of glyphs consistent with her/his visual preferences. The presented tool, which is online at cdv.dei.uc.pt/2019/letterspecies, can generate the glyphs in real-time, allowing the fast visual feedback of any adjustment in the parameters. At any moment, the user can export a font file, which can be used in most software design tools or share a link to the editable configuration of the font.