Intuitive Design for Variable Font Specimens

With the rising popularity of Variable Fonts - what should an ideal Variable Font specimen look like? Since the movable type revolution, the Font catalog barely changed its appearance, not even with the transition to the virtual sphere. As Variable Fonts span complex design spaces, intuitive navigation tools to accompany them are in need. Such tools should allow exploration and usage of the full range of new options presented by Variable Fonts. We aim to present endless options while maintaining intuitive interaction and a smooth design experience. How can this be achieved? Combining practices from Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Human-Computer Interaction and Design, we wish to make Variable Fonts more accessible to designers. We developed an interactive specimen, replacing abstract design decisions with a given set of visual options to select from and react to. In my talk I will discuss the various paradigms harnessed towards building such a tool and what we can learn from the design process and user study conducted, towards building better Variable Font specimens and interfaces in the future.