VCR A/B
Kevin Lee
Since the development of cuneiform over 3000 years ago, we have developed tools and methods of writing in every era to better describe our ideas and intentions. To this day development continues in writing systems for virtual environments.
Virtual spaces enable many things that cannot happen in the real world. While coded and interactive fonts are beginning to emerge for use on screen and in print, they have limitations in digesting the immense directional and interactive possibility of the virtual in three dimensions.
Virtual typefaces can incorporate the same features as two dimensional typefaces (color, stroke width, plane width) but can also take advantage of a dynamic view interaction where angle of viewing is a variable, rather than simply orthogonal to the reading surface.
Virtual Character Recognition A and B (VCR–A/B)—a nod to Adrian Frutiger’s OCR-A/OCR-B typefaces—are two experimental typefaces designed for a future when there will be a need for writing that can be recognized not only in the real world, but also in the virtual. To perform in virtual environments this typeface should be legible in different angles, from the top and bottom, and from left to right. This typeface VCR–A/B uses a polysymmetric cube, instead of line, to form recognizable characters. The font is monospaced with added features in the depth of the letter. VCR–A/B is a font for people to feel and experience more than just to read.