DYSTOPIA INTRODUCTION
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A HOVER TYPEFACE
09
A HOVER ANATOMY
11
DYSTOPIA
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PRECOCIOUS
17
INSURGENT
21
INTRIGUE
25
TYPE SPECIMEN
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INTRODUCTION DYSTOPIA CAN SIMPLY BE TRANSLATED AS A NOT GOOD PLACE, AND MOST DYSTOPIA STORIES ARE SET IN THE FUTURE. THE DESCRIPTION OF DYSTOPIA IS A SOCIETY CHARACTERIZED BY HUMAN MISERY, AS SQUALOR, OPPRE SION, DISEASE, AND OVERCROWDING. IT IS THE ANTONYM OF THE WORD “UTOPIA” WHICH MEANS A PERFECT PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN LIVE HAPPILY WITHOUT WORRY. THE IDEA OF THIS TYPEFACE WAS STARTED WITH A FUTURISTIC BASED CONCEPT TYPEFACE AND COMBINING WITH DYSTOPIA AS THE KEY WORD. DYSTOPIA CHOSEN AS THE THEME TO PORTRAY THE DARK SIDE OF OUR FUTURE LIFE, WHICH OFTEN IMAGINED BY LOT OF PEOPLE AND BROUGHT TO LIFE IN ARTWORKS OR WRITINGS. IN THE FUTURE, TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE A DOMINANT PART OF OUR LIFE AND EVERYTHING COULD BE EASIER AND MORE PRACTICAL BECAUSE OF IT. BUT BEHIND ALL OF IT, IN THE FUTURE, ALONG WITH THE IMPROVEMENT OF SCI ENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, IT DOESN’T MEAN PEOPLE ARE ALL LIVE IN A GOOD AND RIGHT WAY. GREED IS PART OF HUMAN CHARACTER, SO CORRUPTION AND TERRORISM MIGHT ALSO DEVELOP TO CHEAT THEIR WAY THROUGH THE ADVANCED LAW AND SECURITY SYSTEM. SO LIFE MIGHT NOT BE AS PERFECT AS WHAT UTOPIA SUPPOSED TO BE. THAT’S WHY DYSTOPIA ISN’T IMPOSSIBLE TO HAPPENED. THIS DYSTOPIAN TYPEFACE WANTS TO REFLECT A KIND OF VISUAL BEAUTY THAT HAS HIDDEN DARK SIDE WITHIN IT. AND THE DESIGNER ALSO WANTS TO TELL HIS OWN STRUGGLE AND INSECURITY ON HIS WAY AS A DESIGNER BY CRAFTING THIS TYPEFACE.
A HOVER WAS THE INITIAL IDEA OF THIS DYSTOPIAN TYPEFACE, WHERE IT TOOK A CONCEPT FROM THE FUTURE TRANSPORT ATION MEDIA IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE “BACK TO THE FUTURE” NAMED HOVERBOARD. HOVERBOARD IS SOME SORT OF SKATE BOARD THAT CAN FLOAT LOW ABOVE THE EARTH, WHICH ACTUALLY HAS BEEN MADE BY AN AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY, LEXUS, AND IT CALLED “SLIDES”. THE “SLIDES” IS REALIZATION OF A HOVER BOARD THAT USED SUPERCONDUCTOR MAGNETIC FIELD THAT ATTACHED IN A BOARD AND THE MAGNETIC FIELD IS ALSO INSTALED UNDER THE SURFACE OF A SKATEPARK, SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THIS LEXUS “SLIDES”. THE MAGNETIC FIELD MAKES THE “SLIDES” CAN FLOAT LOW AND STABLE IF THE “SLIDES” IS USED ABOVE THAT SPECIAL SKATEPARK.
http://www.lexus-int.com/amazinginmotion/slide/
MINIMALIST LINE AND CURVE, ALSO THE COMBINATION BETWEEN SMOOTH BAMBOO AND LIGHTWEIGHT CARBON FIBER MATERIAL FROM "SLIDES" BECAME THE INSPIRATION OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE TYPEFACE AND WHAT INSPIRED ITS STRUCTURE
SUPERCONDUCTOR SUPERCONDUCTOR SURFACE
"SLIDES"
SPECIAL VISIBLE BASELINE
BASELINE
SWALLOW CURVE DETAILS
THICKER STEM
STRUCTURED FROM GEOMETRICAL SHAPES
BRACKET INSPIRED FROM SKATE RAM
THINNER BAR HOVERING STEM
BRINGING THE FUTURISTIC CONCEPT TYPEFACE AND LINK IT WITH THE IDEA OF HOW THE TYPEFACE CAN HOVER LIKE A HOVER BOARD IS A LOT OF STRUGGLE FOR ME. UNTIL THERE WAS ONE MOMENT, WHICH REMINDS ME OF AN ARTWORK THAT BRINGS A SPECIFIC GENRE, CALLED DYSTOPIA. DYSTOPIA ITSELF CAN BE TRANSLATED AS AN IMAGINARY STORY, MOSTLY SET ON THE FUTURE, WHERE THE WORLD TURNED INTO BAD PLACE FULL OF UNDESIRABLE THINGS. IN MY OPINION, DYSTOPIAN GENRE SUITS WELL WITH THIS TYPEFACE RATHER THAN A HOVER WITH THE HOVER BOARD CONCEPT. THE DIFFICULTY WAS NOT THE DESIGN ASPECT FOR ME BUT MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS ITSELF. DYSTOPIA IS A TYPEFACE WHERE IN THE PROCESS THE DESIGNER STRUGGLING WITH SO MANY IDEAS AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS; BUT AT THE SAME TIME REALLY DETERMINED TO BRING IT INTO ONE BIG DESIGN. THE DESIGNER WANTS TO EXPRESS HOW DYSTOPIA BLENDS INTO A DISPLAY OBJECT, VISUAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, HOW THE TYPEFACE ITSELF CAN BE AN ART OF TYPOGRAPHY, HOW IT BECAME A PUBLICATION FORM, AND ALSO HOW IT BECAME ONE STORY BOOK ABOUT A PROCESS WITH LOTS OF UNCERTAINTIES.
CREDITS EDITOR’S IN CHIEF ANDREAS KRISANTO
DESIGN ANDREAS KRISANTO
FEATURING SOURCES LEXUS "SLIDES"
COUNCELOR WINNIE TAN LI CHING
SPECIAL THANKS DM3B CLASS, NADIA KRISANTI, ADELIA GIOVANI, FARA SHAMARA, BRYAN HALIM, CHRISTIE GABRIELLA,
PRINTING IN SINGAPORE BY IDEALOGI DESIGN