Extract (Display) Typeface

Extract (display) was designed by blurring computational design with the art of visual perception in an effort to give meaning to something that was entirely abstract and artificial.

Unlike conventional type design, Extract was created in multiple stages beginning with Processing – an open-source software library and language. Using code to generate a matrix of random lines set at 90 degree angles, the designer manually isolated each glyph from the final graphic pattern relying solely on visual interpretation and perception of form to do so. The negative spaces between the lines drawn on the canvas naturally reveal the counters of each letterform while the strict grid gives way to a set of robust, staggered characters. Although the initial pattern was executed using a generative design algorithm, every glyph was given meaning by the human eye.

The digital world influences our behaviours and environment more and more every day. And so, it’s important that we remain critical, curious, and conscious of the world that exists around us – or one that is generated before us. Extract demonstrates how the maker's innate design sensibilities and fundamental understanding of the Latin alphabet gave context and understanding to a set of otherwise meaningless computer generated marks.