With all of the stories we’ve run on how augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are affecting and changing the world of promotional marketing, we have to admit that we’ve never given much thought as to what this will mean for fonts and logo design. If you take a moment to think about it, however, it quickly becomes apparent that a flat or two-dimensional font could look pretty lame in these contexts.
This was not lost on the folks at Pràctica, a design studio that has collaborated with David Galar to create a new brand for the AR/VR company Gravient. According to Pràctica co-founder Guillem Casasús, the philosophy behind the new brand was to focus on interactivity and dimensionality in order to adapt to the rise of AR and VR mediums.
“Before, brands behaved statically. Then with the arrival of the digital age, they adapted into motion,” Casasús told Co.Design. “Now with the arrival of interactivity, [dimensionality] is the natural next step to be taken, and it is going to change the way we think [about] communication design.”
You can see the logo design for yourself using this link, but we’ll do our best to describe it too, because that’s what we do. Anyway, called The Next Point of View, the typographic concept is an interactive, 360 degree font that Gravient has chosen to update its brand identity. By running your mouse over the design, you can manipulate the text in all directions and play with the angle and depth at which the design is viewed.
The site also allows you to change font size, depth and color, as well as the text itself. If you’d like to try out your own brand name, or maybe a concept you’ve been working on, you can. It’s actually pretty fun, so give it a try. We typed in Promo Marketing just to see what it would look like, and the results were pretty cool. Maybe you’ll come up with your own brand’s next wordmark design!
Of course, you may think it’s a bit gimmicky, but if you imagine interacting with this type of font through a VR or AR headset, the applications, and opportunities for brand impressions, become nearly endless. Imagine shopping online through a headset, or interacting with a label in a store with an AR-compatible smartphone application. Are you going to spend more time looking at flat, static text, or a font that changes and moves when you do? Even further, which brand will be more interesting, and thus more likely for you to purchase?
We admit, there are definitely a lot more applications for a 360 degree font than we’re capable of thinking of, but you have to give us credit for trying our best. One thing, however, is abundantly clear: New fonts like this will be crucial for developing brand identity in the future. And you know what else we think? The future is now.
