Text modulators
The first set of iterations were based around creating a basic interface that allowed for direct user interaction. This involved some technical challenges - namely moving from working with Processing to p5.js, which enables sketches to run in a browser window, and shifting to Javascript, implementing community libraries, etc etc. Suffice to say, I had to continue expanding my skillset.
The first iteration culminated in a very simple web page, displaying the text ‘hello there’ in the centre of the browser and shifting to italics if the mouse is moved past the centre mark on the horizontal axis. To say it’s rudimentary is an understatement.
The first interface iteration.
Following this humble success, the subsequent iterations built on one another, culminating in the first text modulator, which can be accessed here. This is a more refined interface which allows for much more user input through the user of a GUI on the left hand side. The intention was to provide a simple platform to allow the user to engage with type in a playful setting, allowing them to modify and abstract it in whatever way they choose. In this way the user is the vehicle for randomness, manipulating the platform as they see fit within the constraints that I have designed. The modulator also allows the user to save a JPEG of their canvas by pressing ENTER.
The modulator interface
What I found to be most interesting in the modulator is how it enables different levels of abstraction, which are often the most striking visuals. The next iteration resulted in the Text Modulator 2, which can be accessed here. This enabled further possibility for abstraction by leveraging the textToPoints function. Combining the level of fidelity, varying radius lengths, and dynamic rotation, leads to very interesting visual forms that are completely removed from the typographic skeleton that they are based on.
Text modulator 2 interface
After this first set of iterations, a few principles have come to the forefront - the agent/aspect of randomness can be system-defined (algorithmic), user-defined (as in this case), or both; the power of abstraction and that moving away from established forms can produce some of the most interesting results; and the emergence of play as a driving force in interaction.
Moving into the next set of iterations, I intend to keep interrogating these principles, as well as trying to establish meaningful or practical results from interacting with these interfaces within the context of graphic design.
If desired, the code repositories for these text modulators can be found here and here.
