Virtual Typography
Prof. Boris Müller, Tim Ebert, Sebastian Wloch
Winter term 2021/22, Interface Design programme at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.
The aim in the course was to design and prototype a text-based information system in Virtual Reality.
We were guided by questions like: How can 2D text be displayed in a 3D environment? What is optimal reading typography in VR? What are the visual limits of a long text? How can spatial structures be used to structure a text? How can you interact with text in VR? How do you deal with perspective and vanishing points? Which »traditional« typographic rules still apply to VR - and which do not? How can links and hierarchies be represented? What can a text network look like in virtual space?
Life of Escher VR
Lewin Brumm, Milan Wulf, Benjamin Kaczynski
Our Virtual Reality Experience deals with the life of the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher. With our concept we tried to find out if conventional Wikipedia entries can be presented more experientially and thematically in VR. To do this, we created a spatial structure in which you move along several axes of motion and rotation with the help of a platform.
The Fabric of Interface
Helene Biebinger, Melvin-Eli Urulu, Leonie Schatter
The virtual installation »Fabrics of Interfaces« is inspired by the second chapter of Stephen Monteiro’s book of the same name from 2017. In this chapter, Monteiro primarily examines the connections between technical terms that were taken from the textile industry and are now also used to describe digital interfaces. For the installation, some terms were selected and their meaning typographically visualised in the VR world. The colourfulness and structure of the room is based on the structure of pixel images and places the textile terms in a digital environment.
Die Traumnovelle VR
Aaron Schwerdtfeger, Paul Morat, Jannis Hektor
The VR application processes the theoretical background of Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle. The users explore Albertine’s dream description, behind which »The Interpretation of Dreams« and »The Unconscious« by Sigmund Freund are hidden.
The Sopranos
Kerstin Humm, Elsa Woelk, Yasemin Yigit
In this project we looked at typographic elements and how they can be experienced in the virtual world. As a thematic focus, we chose the subtitles from the series »The Sopranos« and transferred the entire subtitle text of the first episode into virtual reality. This created a VR experience that is a staged data visualisation that can be experienced with the whole body.
Spaziergang durch Macbeth
Hyeonji Kim, Diem Ngoc Vu, Anastasia Voloshina
The VR project »Spaziergang durch Macbeth (Walking through Macbeth)« is based on Macbeth, a well-known tragedy text by William Shakespeare. At the beginning of the planning process, we analyzed the entire Macbeth scene in detail and selected important parts for visualization. After the research, we merge the characters and atmosphere of the stage from the text in Unity. Short quotes and animated objects in the VR scene relate to the plot. We focused on creating this VR world composed of typographic elements.
While walking, the walker can follow the story and encounter important quotes, characters and even small details from the scenes. For example, the huge chandelier shaped like a royal crown in the banquet scene, the ghost of Banquo murdered by Macbeth, the chair figure made of letters on which the ghost appears, and finally the trees made up of texts. In addition, various sounds, storms and fog effects accompany the wanderers as they pass through Macbeth.
Kosmos
Pascal Struck, Felix Tesche
»Kosmos« is an interactive WebXR application that visualises patterns of language in a vast word network. The project demonstrates the complexity of our language and illustrates the connection of individual words. The distance between individual words describes their relationship to each other. The closer two words are, the more often they are used in the same context.
