A basic graphic shape is typically drawn between anchor points. Four perfectly straight lines form a square, which can be endlessly replicated. This research project attaches a behaviour or uniqueness to this static graphic form. Random factors and interactivity result in shapes that look alike but are not the same, just like leaves on a tree.

A single letter is usually the smallest element,

but there can be a whole microcosm hidden beneath...

which can be designed.

Similarly to typefaces, trees are part of a family and species. While each individual plant is different, it’s ‘designed’ according to the same principle or blueprint as its siblings; they’re more or less identical. Even a gentle breeze influences a tree branch. These small movements and environmental interactions seem to calm the mind. We don’t experience this phenomenon in the digital sphere – a place in which a red square is perfectly uniform and every corner is precisely 90 degrees. Things don’t move unless we scroll.

It’s more like creating a new material – digital oil, perhaps.

It invites interaction, adaption, time and serendipity into the realization of type

Shapes can occur that are less ‘designed’

The Garden of Living Type adds randomness, interaction and touch – elements often overlooked in our daily surroundings – to the online environment, and seeks to forge a middle ground between the physical and digital.