A point of focus, provoking response.
An annual exhibit curated by Firebelly Design and Public Media Institute, Typeforce features work from emerging lettering and type-based designers and artists. Though mediums, methods, craft and style vary widely across each piece, one constant is the presence of letterforms that communicate through exceptional execution.
The studio’s 7th Typeforce title wall was an exercise in experimentation of concept, powered by programming, collaboration and structure. Designed to reflect the individual attendee’s experience as their attention shifted focus from one piece to the next, the installation centered on a set of hand-built, Arduino-sequenced LED light bars. Each bar was programmed to cycle through seven unique states, rotating in unison with all others. The effect: a collection of distinctive points of light in constant flux, representing both the emerging talent on display and the viewer’s gaze. After each cycle, the installation returned to its default state, the familiar “TF7,” reconciling artist and audience with the show that brought them all together.
Minor Production Notes:
A PVC frame was measured, cut and built to support Arduino-powered and programmed servo motors. Each servo was attached to a wired LED light bar and mounted to the PVC frame, with wiring strung through it and back to the Arduino and corresponding power sources. Much is owed to Google Express for many deliveries, and multiple Skype sessions with friendlies from the UK in developing over 1100 lovely lines of code.
- Will Miller
- Ross Burwell
- Arjun Harrison-Mann
