“A nice innovative way to make a typeface interactive with your hands.” —Martijn van der Does

“Finally, fun tactile fonts generatively designed using hand tracking software.” —Boo Wong

Overview: A revolutionary development in type design by New York–based designer Rozi Zhu and Melbourne, Australia–based designer Haocheng Zhang, Handy Type integrates interactive hand tracking data into a dynamic font-creation process. Departing from traditional, predesigned typography, this interactive typeface enables anyone to craft personalized fonts from anywhere at any time through the use of AI and machine-learning techniques. Zhang and Zhu created a customized system for capturing hand-motion data, creating a new approach to type design and making both the process of design and user experience more playful and innovative.

Using their hands, users can transform the font through four different variables: stroke, weight, radius and slant.

Once the app detects hands, it analyzes gestures by calculating the distance between a user’s fingers and palms and translates these measurements into input variables to dynamically control the font. The combination of distance and angle values offers an intuitive means of interaction.

The production of Handy Type took Zhang and Zhu around two months to complete.

Comments by Rozi Zhu: 
In what ways do you see AI shaping the future of interactive design and creative technology? “AI and machine learning, both seen in our application, are reshaping interactive and creative projects. These technologies offer new, engaging experiences for users and designers alike and help streamline the creative process. I anticipate a future where AI personalizes finished projects for users, automates repetitive tasks and collaborates with human creativity, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in design.”

Were there any specific design principles or inspirations that influenced the visual style of the font design? “Derived from the initial concept, our goal was to craft a typeface that seamlessly adapts to diverse data variables. Throughout numerous rounds of design reviews and studies, we explored various possibilities, including some playful ideas such as transitioning between serif and sans serif—which, unfortunately, didn’t work out. Following extensive prototyping, we settled on a final design that strikes the optimal balance between visual appeal and interactivity.”

Did you learn anything new during your work on Handy Type? “Given that the project was a delightful experiment, everything was new and exciting. We tried out different tools, explored multiple ways of prototyping and incorporated innovative approaches into our design process. We created a fresh methodology specifically for this project, diverging from our usual practices. In our client projects, we design according to the brief’s requirements to ensure that the outcome meets expectations. For Handy Type, we completely broke free from these constraints, spending a lot of time trying out different tools and methods and diving into all sorts of possibilities with the typography. This process gave us more freedom to be creative and led us to some cool, unique design ideas.”