RobotFonts

In some cases the programmer of a particular filter will have more influence on the end result than the designer who pulls down a menu and selects it. Creative power comes from writing the code of the a filter — deciding the way it works — not from using it.

RobotFonts are based on a bitmap font called Python-Sans. We developed code that takes the bitmap shapes from Python-Sans, interprets them and then draws new shapes in a different font. The new shapes do not necessarily look like the bitmap that inspired them. The program that translates the bitmap to an outline is the filter. One approach followed the edge of the bitmapped shape; another responded to the pixels and their position relative to each other. After making one font the filter was discarded: it had done its job.

This method of producing shapes has an interesting side effect: the designer who writes the code of the filter has some idea of what will happen, but there is always a chance for unexpected results. It's design by remote control.