Axis for Access
Axis for Access
D&AD Monotype x Penguin
Monotype and Penguin Random House present Axis for Access, an open-source type system that reconnects language to land, generating a custom typeface for every linguistic coordinate. The campaign empowers people to reclaim access for indigenous languages in the digital space.
The Brief
Create a type-led idea that reinvents the act of reading for a modern world, exploring how typography can help us experience stories, ideas, and information in new, meaningful ways. How can more people feel included in reading; across languages, abilities, and cultures?
Monotype and Penguin Random House present Axis for Access, an open-source type system that reconnects language to land, generating a custom typeface for every linguistic coordinate. The campaign empowers people to reclaim access for indigenous languages in the digital space.
The Brief
Create a type-led idea that reinvents the act of reading for a modern world, exploring how typography can help us experience stories, ideas, and information in new, meaningful ways. How can more people feel included in reading; across languages, abilities, and cultures?
Billboards
A series of billboards are situated on the lands where indigenous languages originate from. Scanning the orange axis directs people to the Axis for Access website to reveal the message
The Website
Users can explore Penguin’s archive of Indigenous stories alongside community-submitted posts, sharing cultural knowledge and stories.
The System
Mapping geographic coordinates to variable font axes, translating longitude, latitude, and altitude into typographic weight, width, and slant, creating a geographic responsive typeface. Users can then create a custom typeface rooted in their homeland.
Global Outreach
The typeface extends globally, creating a custom font and axis for every linguistic coordinate
Social Media
Activating the typeface allows people to share and translate content across social platforms into its native language, giving indigenous languages access to the digital conversation