The Future of Type
An AR Junior Exhibition
About:
The Future of Type was a 2024 exhibition done by the junior graphic design class at ECU. The theme was to explore what we thought the future of type was in a playful manner, with a focus on taking our posters into an interactive 3-D space. Multiple posters and designs were made leading up to the event, but only one was allowed to be posted at the exhibition.
My posters focused on variable types and the freedom of expression that technology allows. I wanted the type to be active and playful, the kind of designs that would pop off the wall even before you used augmented reality to interact with it directly.
Adobe Illustrator / Adobe Aero / Adobe Dimension
Work Process
Multiple different designs were explored. The design that was the runner-up to the final red design was a more chill blue poster design. I wanted it to be playful, but a bit calmer and even a little retro. Something that married the future of variable type with some of the compositional elements of the old.
In the end, though, that was its downfall. I felt it did not focus enough on either the future or the type. The exploration into 3D and AR only confirmed this suspicion, as the elements that were the most intriguing to play with and put in motion were not the type, but rather the decorative elements.
So while I am still proud of the blue poster, in the end it was shelved for the more exciting and type-centric red poster above.
Below were a few other 3D explorations that were prepared for the exhibition; the first three (left to right) were good but ended up failing for similar reasons to the blue poster. The decorative elements ended up taking up too much attention away from the type.
Eventually, the decision was made to remove the decorative elements entirely and create a composition that focused on type alone.
The earliest explorations that push the limits of type and letterforms with a focus on creating an energy of excitement.
