Beauty from imperfection...
Using the "nudge" tool, I tried to make a dot matrix font where it looks like the print-head was damaged and the pins were consistently mis-aligned. Using a spreadsheet to help randomize the dot positions from center ( U/D/L/R ), the resulting effect looks merely "OK" on the screen; it's just not as subtle as I had hoped...
But you know what? I printed a couple of pages of text using this TTF font at 12-pt, and it seems to have a more 'natural' and 'authentic' look than dots that are perfectly aligned! So, I consider this one a success, and I hope you do, too. ;^)
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Using the "nudge" tool, I tried to make a dot matrix font where it looks like the print-head was damaged and the pins were consistently mis-aligned. Using a spreadsheet to help randomize the dot positions from center ( U/D/L/R ), the resulting effect looks merely "OK" on the screen; it's just not as subtle as I had hoped...
But you know what? I printed a couple of pages of text using this TTF font at 12-pt, and it seems to have a more 'natural' and 'authentic' look than dots that are perfectly aligned! So, I consider this one a success, and I hope you do, too. ;^)
I know, this theory is way beyond the scope of a font project. I can't help but write about fractals when I see one. 10/10
I know, this theory is way beyond the scope of a font project. I can't help but write about fractals when I see one. 10/10
I recently read the problem these music subscription services face regarding randomizing. They say that when something is truly random, it is completely conceivable that five songs from a singly artist play in the same order as in the album, each randomly selected. Of course, when this happens it seems to the listeners as non-random. To counter, they have to create complicated algorithms to randomize in a manner that also appears random, which essentially means not actually random.
Since dot matrix, by creating a matrix of dots and then nudging them out and then extracting the letters out of the matrix, you did an amazing work of creating consistent inconsistency. Excellent.
I was trying to capture the effect of old print-outs I made (and still have) from the mid-to-late '80s; the force of the pins, the quality & viscosity of the ink on the printer ribbon, and the quality & texture of the paper all affected how the dots "looked" on the page...
Instead of "random," perhaps the result here is more of a "controlled chaos" ! :^)
And I have had the same problems making my own music playlists -- I try to "randomize" them several times over using a spreadsheet, but every so often while playing them on "Random/Shuffle," I still detect patterns that songs from certain albums seem to be 'favored' over others... ;^)
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