Blur the boundary: Bringing the digital typeface to real life

Hey there! This is Jill. 👋 I am a graphic designer in New York City, passionate about combining spatial design with my visual design practice. But today, I want to share one of my personal frustrations ever since I’ve been accessed to the Internet.

Have you ever faced this situation?

Managing to create a strong password when trying to sign up for a website and having no idea the password the next time you log in. 😰

Luckily, our mobile devices have Google password manager and iCloud Keychain features so that we can remember the password without too much effort.

However, have you ever considered that your virtual safe cloud is no longer secure? What if it was hacked? What if it was lost?

Can we solve the cybersecurity issues in real life?

This question led me to explore how we can enhance our user experience when we need to input our passwords. I came up with the idea of designing a product that you can bring with you, like the combination lock. You set up your own password, lock your stuff in it, and carry it yourself.

Now you might wonder how advanced this approach could be if it were invented even before computers. After all, we are talking about living in virtual reality now! Even Facebook has changed its name to “Meta” to sell the idea of living in the “Metaverse.” Apple unveiled its long-awaited virtual reality headset, “Apple Vision Pro,” which seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world while allowing users to stay present and connected to others. I am interested in both the physical world outside of computers, and in this new world of mixed or augmented reality. What does it mean for the things we build to be a part of one type of reality or another?

It seems that building virtual experiences is always the goal of technology. Or is it a terrifying glimpse at the future like what we’ve seen in the Black Mirror episode: Playtest?

Bring the digital world to real life.

The pandemic fueled an increase in the acceptance of virtual interactions, and the Metaverse is geared to connect physical and virtual worlds via commerce. As a designer, I am always passionate about the latest innovative technology and always going after new trends.

Nevertheless, the other thing we learned from the past three years is we need social life in REAL life! Some irreplaceable interactions in our daily life can not be achieved in virtual reality.

So, I started to sketch my password lock.

My first sketch of password lock set.

When I sketched this, LEGO set was the first thing that came to mind. Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed building my own world using Mahjong. It would be so cool if I could make it like an adult block set. Also, there was a long history in China about moveable type.

Image credit: General Office of Hubei Provincial People’s Government

Later in the sketch, the graphic designer instinct hits me. It just turns more and more like a typeface design session.

Later version of password lock set sketch

Break or blur the boundary?

After trying different style fonts, I finally landed my design for three bullet points:
1. simple — not too sophisticated to interpret
2. playful — organize it on your own
3. symbolic — use it to decorate your life

“A” in uppercase and lowercase

Following this, I am able to put everything together and design the typeface builds for having fun with it — CODE TYPE.

Typeface design — Code type (Let me know if you want to download it)

Since then, I’ve been playing with applying this typeface.

For example, it could be a 3D character:

Poster design — Code type

Or it could be a sticker:

Code Tape

Maybe it could be an actual block set?

Code Block Set

Or it could be an accessory?

I even used a 3D printer to make a physical version. :)

See the full design here :)

What else? What if I brought it back to the digital realm? What if it is a kinetic typeface that I can interact with?

Here you go!

After I tested this typeface with AR, it came to mind that what if we store the password like this?

The lock set idea circled back. In order to simulate the lock combination, I tried to hide the password combination based on the distance.

Unfortunately, the module would disappear at certain angles or cannot be found on the screen. Because of this, I have to alternate the distance and focus in Spark AR — which I used to make these AR interactions. (Try it out on Instagram and Facebook!)

There’s still one significant problem that needs to be solved! The text on the screen was set up on my computer, which means users cannot change it only if I applied add-ons for them to interact instead of storing the information, not to mention encrypting the important password combination.

Please feel free to comment or contact me if you have a better solution to solve this problem. I’d love to learn other techniques and knowledge. :)

Discussion — what’s the future steps

I didn’t deliver just a product or typeface but an experience for the users who shared the same problem and shared it across social media. Code Type and Code Set is designed to be played with. It is up to the users to apply it in real life or the digital world.

However, it is still far from my starting point, which is I forget my password constantly!

Will we ever reach the point of blending reality and the virtual world to create a solution to the problems we face right now?

Just when I think about this, Apple recently unveiled its long-awaited virtual reality headset, “Apple Vision Pro” — the device aimed at introducing us to spatial computing. It seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world while allowing users to stay present and connected to others. That’s the power of augmented reality.

I wonder how this new product could fit our future needs and maybe one day everyone could create their own password designs. Leave your thoughts and I’d love to see your ideas. :)