The art of writing anything by hand—even your grocery shopping list—is a dying one, but despite this, Bic's Cristal ballpoint pen has seen over 100 billion sales. In celebration of the Cristal thriving in the digital age, Bic created a unique experience that called upon people from across the world to donate a sample of their handwriting to generate a universal font.
The Universal Typeface project is multi-screen experience that asks people to write out all 26 letters of the alphabet. Over 11,000 characters were submitted from 40 countries and in the end, Bic used an algorithm to generate a sleek font that represent what a universal typeface might look like. The experiment was initiated on June 6th and the final typeface will be released for the public download in August.
Globally Crowdsourced Fonts
Bic's Universal Font Was Created by Thousands of User-Written Letters
Trend Themes
1. Crowdsourced Typography - Brands can leverage crowdsourced typography through digital experiences to create unique, community-driven fonts.
2. Universal Typeface - Creating a universal font can improve accessibility and inclusivity in design, opening up opportunities for innovative cross-cultural communication.
3. Algorithmic Font Generation - Using algorithms to analyze and generate fonts from large sets of data can lead to faster, more efficient font creation and customization.
Industry Implications
1. Graphic Design - Crowdsourced typography and universal typeface initiatives can benefit graphic designers looking for unique or inclusive design solutions.
2. Marketing and Advertising - Incorporating community-driven fonts into branding can create a sense of authenticity and inclusivity, appealing to diverse audiences.
3. Artificial Intelligence - Using AI and algorithms for font generation can lead to faster, more efficient font design and customization, benefiting the larger field of AI and tech development.