Redesigning reading experience
summary
A Monotype team builds a variable font with optical size axis that automatically swaps optical masters and uses glyph substitutions triggered by axis coordinates so letterforms adapt to point size. A public website is the testbed; experiments include a face-tracking calibration prototype that enlarges type with viewer distance but finds continuous resizing disruptive so it uses subtle calibration. The project ships working fonts and a demo site (German and English) and proposes PDFs that change optical size automatically.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Introduction to reading experience
- 2:22Why screens feel less pleasant
- 7:54Distractions and paper books
- 14:38Deep reading and mental models
- 18:57Ergonomic typography for reading
- 21:24Digital vs paper reading
- 24:41Evolving screen reading
- 27:19Immersive reading tech
- 29:38Optical size in typography
- 33:35Optical size with variable fonts
- 37:23Automating optical size
- 40:42Future of reading tech
