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The brief

Sometimes, the abundance of fonts feels overwhelming, and we can get lost in the sheer quantity of choices. As a result, individual typefaces (undeservingly) can lose a little bit of their twinkle. A single star trying to stand out in the night sky, you could say. We hear this all the time from the creatives using the Monotype Fonts Library. This conundrum really resonated with us. So this year at Adobe MAX we set out to demystify the expanse of our library, help attendees discover typographic gems, and feel an emotional connection to type.

Concept

From the moment attendees stepped into the booth, we wanted them to feel wonderfully lost in the galaxy of type while simultaneously called to specific typefaces. We also wanted to make sure the booth experience was helpful. Our goal was to craft a booth experience that attendees wanted to spend time at, full of activities where they could learn something new, discover a new typeface, or gain a better understanding of how to navigate a font library. That being said, it was important to us that the experience was also personal. We recognize the diversity of the creative community and their ideas. So, we decided to create moments of individual connection through engaging activations.

Execution

The Type Universe booth was 20 x 30 feet (the largest size available), meant to emulate a deep space cave, captivating and inviting attendees. We partnered with events company Catalyst to build a big and bold statement amongst the sea of Adobe Max displays. Our hope was that the stars, in this case, the glyphs, would guide visitors on an unforgettable journey from the moment they walked in. Most wondrous was our Cosmic Ascender — a machine we built where attendees received a unique constellation made of fonts based on their birth chart. It began with the microsite’s initial screen, “Let’s take a journey together.” After an attendee input their sun, moon, and rising signs, it would read “matching your sign with the perfect type,” alongside a beautiful gradient of colors. Finally, the attendee would receive a printed receipt with a personalized typographic constellation describing their persona matched with three curated typefaces. Each combination revealed a niche persona, such as “the sentimental charmer with unbound curiosity,” along with three fonts that reflected this aura. .Once attendees played the game, they could explore the Monotype Fonts library on our demo stations, play with our AI font pairing tool, chat with our podcast hosts, craft friendship bracelets, or make their mark on our "Inspiration Wall” that quickly filled up with hand lettering, graffiti, and illustrations throughout the event. The Type Universe was also home to a design bar with a variety of creative workshops and demonstrations including calligraphy and origami alphabet making.