Responsive Type is a font building application for the creation of dynamic screen based type.
Typography
How is typography interpreted in digital environments? Font design and render techniques are still, for the most part, print based. Responsive Type sets out to develop a type system that is better suited and more native to screen based display technologies.
Development overview
Responsive Type relies on two similar applications, one being web-based and the other being desktop-based. The website presents an interactive application allowing users to type and create messages. Those are then sent to a database where the text itself as well as the key strokes are saved. As a complement of this typewriter, another application was created to read the messages typed in real time for screen-displaying. The keystrokes are restored, giving the impression that someone is eventually typing them live.
Processing was used as the primary tool of development. It was perfectly suitable as applications can be exported either as web application (java applet) or desktop application. With a miminum of code structuration it was possible to program both applications at the same time with less efforts.
Extensions
Responsive Type was though so that third party developpers can add their own adaptative font rendering. For the exhibition in Sapporo (Japan), a special extension was programmed so that messages could be also sent from a mobile phone to the application.