This week we were joined by Niteesh Yadav, a pioneer in AR/VR typography who gave us an insight into typography and technology coming together to build on research and shape the future.

Niteesh’s journey

After deciding that the initial University course Niteesh was studying at the time was not for him, he left to follow his design dream. He began working on projects independently, teaching himself from YouTube and expanding his knowledge through real-life experiences. He later returned to his studies, completing a Bachelor of Design at a Design Institute in Delhi, while working with studios and startups on design projects alongside his academic work. This journey that led Niteesh to complete his postgraduate studies at Reading, after which his dissertation on AR typography was picked up by Meta.

Choosing a focus 

During his time at Reading, Niteesh decided that he wanted to explore how typography and technology intertwine, specifically in relation to augmented reality (AR) headsets. This proved difficult due to a lack of resources available at the time, and due to the topic of AR/VR typography being one that had not been explored in much depth. This was part of what of the appeal, as his personality is one that enjoys discovering new things, and seeing the influence that fresh research has on the world around us. This exploratory zeal resonated with many students, as we received several feedback responses that this topic was something they had “never even considered before” and that they found “incredibly eye-opening”.

Necessary considerations 

AR and VR often get confused with one another, and Niteesh made it clear that each come with their own challenges. Niteesh compared designing for VR to designing a book, as in both cases the designer has agency over exactly what is shown to the user – the content, the layout, but most importantly the material/surface that the design appears on. This makes it somewhat easy for a graphic designer to transition into VR design, however Niteesh makes it clear that designing for AR is very different and introduces new challenges. Instead of immersing the user in a virtual world like VR does, AR designers aim to augment elements within the surrounding environment that the user is already situated in. Niteesh emphasised the importance of considering how the technology effects the user in this environment, highlighting that “it is not just about being a typeface designer, but also an experience designer”.

A typographic shift

Niteesh highlighted several aggravating factors that force AR/VR designers to consider the design of the typefaces used. The background in an AR scenario is ever-changing and very rarely empty. Not only is this important for objects and movement that occur within the user’s field of view, but also the lighting conditions that can be affected by factors such as seasonal changes and geographic location. The consideration of lighting led Niteesh to discuss something that was a key takeaway for students, which was the reasoning behind most AR displays using white for type. Niteesh explained that this was because the highest intensity of contrast you can achieve is through whites. He helpfully compared it to something we are familiar with – if you want to achieve black on an LED screen, the LEDs are all switched off, however, if you were to directly apply this to AR displays it would leave a transparent area rather than black.

Technical challenges

Niteesh brought some examples of technical challenges that come with AR/VR design to our attention. One of these challenges is ‘vibrating type’ – as our heads are constantly moving, the video that the headset is capturing is constantly being re-rendered. This requires a careful consideration of the choice in type-weight and type-size. Another challenge comes with ‘halation’ – when viewing typefaces on these retina displays, the letterforms can appear to glow around the edges. This can affect perception of letterspacing and require designers to consider both the design of typefaces used in this context and the kerning of the type. Niteesh suggests that to overcome these challenges as designers, we must use “a combination of industrial research, type history, and type research”.

Exploring the past

Niteesh is an advocate for designers researching the past, making a point to say that “we must explore the past, in order to shape the future”. An excellent example of how the past has influenced Niteesh’s research and current work, is the design of typefaces in phone books. Due to the weight of the paper, the ink of the type often bled on the page, distorting the letterform – the letters were subsequently given extra space in their counters (by removing part of the letterform) to allow for this. Inspired by the experiences of past designers, Niteesh used a similar technique to alleviate the issue of halation in AR displays, noting that in this context “we are tracking light, rather than ink”. It is an excellent analogy to emphasise the importance of the academic and historical research that the Typography department at Reading focus on throughout all levels of study.

We are hugely grateful to Niteesh for giving an insightful talk and closing this semester of Baseline Shift sessions with such a fascinating topic! We look forward to what the next year of Baseline Shift will bring!

Our key takeaways!

• Choose something you are passionate about and try to consider a topic that is not widely discussed for your dissertation!
• Consider the original purpose of the typeface that you are using and the context that it was designed to be used in.
• Consider the impact that typeface choice has on the reading experience.
• When using typography within AR, human movement can lead to rendering issues, so you must consider the type-weight and type-size chosen.
• Don’t see problems as problems, see them as an opportunity for solution.
• We must explore the past, in order to shape the future!

– Written by Tommy Molnar

– Photography by Oscar Dudley

To kick off this year’s Baseline Shift sessions, we welcomed highly acclaimed book cover designer Micaela Alcaino.

A little on Micaela

Micaela started her journey at Penguin Random House and HarperCollins UK, before making the big shift in 2019 to freelance work. Alongside balancing up to thirty design projects at once, Micaela still makes time for archery, the gym, and spending time with her family and dog. It is no surprise that we received the comment “I want to be her” from one of our part two students.

Research

One of the key stages of her design process that Micaela focussed on, was the research stage. Our speaker goes above and beyond to ensure that she has immersed herself in the culture, traditions and artistic style that relates to the content of the book that she is designing for. When Micaela cannot visit a place or get access to tactile objects that relate to the book, she finds much of her inspiration through scouring Pinterest. It is important to note here that, instead of looking at other book covers for ideas, Micaela advocates for “seeking inspiration outside of your design sphere”.

Blank canvas

Starting with a blank canvas containing only the key information that will be included on the cover before tackling any of the actual ‘design’ elements, is something that many will have taken away from this talk. It was great to see Micaela posing the same questions here that are often asked on our course – “What is my hierarchy? What fonts work well for the genre? What are the important visual elements in the book?”.

Sketches

A lesson that Micaela has learnt herself and has now passed onto us is not to take first round sketches to the point of completion as it will become impossible to stay on track with your time management. The helpful restriction Micaela places on herself is to “treat the first-round sketches like a colouring book”. This way, the placement of colour can still be considered but does not need to be achieved at the early stages of design.

Revisions

Something that many of us resonated with in the talk is the emphasis on the first draft not being the final piece. We were shown a case study of Micaela’s cover design for ‘Ariadne’ which went through several stages of revision. Each iteration had the smallest of changes, and out of the seven revisions we were shown in the presentation, we were told that this was just a fraction! It’s great to see that iteration in the design process is not something only contained within education but is something that follows us into the real world of design.

The book as a 3D object

Something to remember when working with any project that involves a three-dimensional product, is to consider each visible face. Micaela highlighted the importance of spine design, describing it as “essential” to a successful cover. Some helpful advice was to consider how the user will interact with the product, for example most novels will end up at one point with their spine facing out on a bookshelf – hence why spine design is so crucial.

Real world advice

One of the highlights of the talk was the section on business, contracts, and networking. Micaela made it clear that whichever path of design you choose to follow, you must “READ YOUR CONTRACTS”. We were shown examples of ways in which employers can take advantage of designers if we do not take responsibility and look after our rights both as designers and individuals. Students wrote that “this is the kind of thing that you normally only find out when it’s too late” and “I never even considered that before this talk”. This is the reason that Baseline Shift exists – to allow students a look into what design is like in the real world and to cover topics and subjects that are beyond the scope of the syllabus. We are truly grateful to Micaela for giving this insightful talk and look forward to the next Baseline Shift session!

Our key takeaways! 

• To track your favourite typefaces, you can create a spreadsheet categorising what each of your favourites is appropriate for. This also stops you overusing particular fonts.
• If you work in print design, in Photoshop colour picker you can use cmd + shift+ y to grey out the colours that don’t print in CMYK.
• Be online and be consistent across all platforms, maximising the use of the platform that is most relevant to your career.
• Read your contracts and know your rights!
• Especially important if you are freelance – Track your projects, and your expenses.
• Apps like Speechify can help to streamline the process by reading out manuscripts / text files in the background while you work.

Useful links

Business

Wise – Digital bank that allows for accounts in multiple currencies – helpful for business across different countries.

FreeAgent – Tracks all your invoices and expenses (connects with Wise) – helpful for having multiple projects on at one time.

Cultural awareness

Creative review – Great place to learn what’s happening in the creative industry

Its Nice that – Great place to learn what’s happening in the creative industry

The Bookseller – All the latest news in Publishing UK

Creative Market – Great place to find cool new fonts, templates, graphics and more

Society of Young Publishers – Great place to learn from industry professionals and connect

Design Publishing Inclusivity – mentorship programme for under-represented creatives

– Written by Tommy Molnar

– Photography by Oscar Dudley