Universal Typeface Experiment

[NomadSteve]

I hesitate to post this on FPN, since Bic (blech!) is behind it all. But it is kind of neat.

 

Has anybody else seen this "universal typeface" website? People from different countries contribute handwriting samples, and a sort of "mean" variant of each letter is found.

 

You can scan samples by country, age, gender, and some other stats.

 

I think it's pretty cool actually. I guess one could look at it as compressing individual expression into a single standard, but I see it as a very interesting way of finding similarities.

 

Worth a glance anyway. And maybe some fountain pen users can contribute their gorgeous penmanship to create a more beautiful end result for everybody

 

Apologies if this has already been posted about or if I'm on the wrong board.

[FLZapped]

This depends on input from a touch screen device, so it really isn't a handwriting experiment.

[NomadSteve]

OK, it's a digital computerized interpretation of a stylized version of what may traditionally be referred to as handwriting, in that it consists of recognizable symbols in a common alphabetical framework or shared written construct, which in this case are replicated by the use of one's hand and/or finger(s) to approximate a sampling of an individual expression of handwriting through input into an electronic device, as distinct from a purely mechanical or digital font or typeface created with human input but not composed by hand :-p

 

Which board should that go on?

 

Yes, I kid, I kid. I see your point. I still thought it was interesting, I'd still consider it handwriting personally, and I thought others might also think it was neat. But, seriously, if this should go in a different board, please do move it around!

[FLZapped]

Yeah, to me this is an off shoot of what someone did to determine the "average" face by morphing hundreds of faces together. I guess I'm not easily impressed

 

About the only way to make this approach handwriting would be for every participant to use a stylus pen......which isn't a requirement here.

Edited July 13, 2014 by FLZapped