Artist Statement

Peter Baston/ Studies in Interactive Typography

As a graphic designer who has become addicted to typography recently, I am particularly interested in how type design can operate interactively. My work mixes visual language and interaction with a playful and entertaining attitude that looks to engage the viewer. The typography is inspired by nostalgic games and objects, which have unique forms that influence the design of the type. The specific game that I choose for inspiration is crucial to my design process and guidelines. It allows me to think critically about how I can approach the type design and create engaging objects that imitate the form of the inspiration.
The inspiration for the Maze Typeface came from the plastic ball-and-maze games. The Maze Typeface explores the use of individual interactive maze games as inspiration to design the forms of the letters, while the actual game is redesigned, letting the individual letter be the maze. This creates a connection between the maze game as an individual interactive object and the games together as a collective way to create type.
The Wooly Willy magnetic drawing game was the inspiration that fueled the form and interaction of the Wooly Type, where the user can draw mustaches, hair, etc with a magnet and lead shavings on Wooly Willy’s head. The letters of Wooly Type are made up of simple symmetric and geometric shapes. This allows the viewers the ability to treat the type with their own individual approach. For the Wooly Typeface I am creating a large-scale replica of the game surface and including magnetic shapes of the letters so that the user can stamp individual letters to create words. Once the individual has created the word then can then use the Wooly Willy magnetic pen to create their personal type treatments.
My infatuation with typography and new found interest in product design has created a hybrid influence of two-dimensional print and three-dimensional spatial design that is defined by a set of rules, which affect my design decisions. In Type Addicted, a book by Victionary the preface describes the effect that “ Typographic designs are like pillars of a stage where story tellers give their best stories.” I look to let the viewer engage with the work, allowing them to express their typographic story.