Variable Lab

The main feature of Variable Time, a timeline editor, is designed to facilitate playful exploration of variable typography in motion and transitional states. This feature stems from a central question of our research: What new layers of meaning can emerge when a time-based aspect is introduced into written communication?

Variable Time is finally online! 🤖🎉 ➡️Visit it at variabletime.pointer.click or through the link in bio 🤍 This tool was made in collaboration between @pointer_studio and @celinehurka The tool includes typefaces by @celinehurka and @jacob.j.wise free to use for non commercial projects! Many thanks to @stimuleringsfonds for supporting us!

Summer's Gate — July 9th — @quartair We (@pointer_studio and @celinehurka ) would love to invite you to an evening and exhibition curated around variable shapes at Quartair, Den Haag. The event will premiere a new artwork and offer a sneak peek into the possibilities of variable time. On this occasion, we will also be celebrating the launch of Céline’s type foundry with a dinner and party! Summer's Gate A Celebration of Variable Shapes Curated by Céline Hurka and Studio Pointer* as part of the collaborative project @variablelab July 9th, 7pm – 1am Quartair, Den Haag Free entrance, no registration! Dinner installation: @terrafic.soup , @gut_flora and @gravyriver Performances: @eurowitch , @fatima_ferrari___ , and @sei________________na Soundscape: @torvs Scentscape: @linguaplanta Contributions: @ryanbugden , @ici2t , Rudi van Delden, @onedaylola_ , @janegbers , @yamunaforzani , @jungeun__lee , @margot.leveque , @mass.driver , @benmcmillan , @charlotte__rohde , @paddle_boy.ltp.paresse , @leeeezaaaaa , @samrynearson , @alexwebberrr , @jacob.j.wise , @huwdwill Generously supported by @stroom_den_haag and @stimuleringsfonds

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Variable kaleidoscope with layer mirroring and rotation ✨ In what new ways can the variable font formats be utilised beyond text and verbal communication?

Time capture ⏺️

Slowing down time with background opacity/motion blur effect

Designing deviant reading experiences with individual letter delays in Variable Time A simple way to control the delays independently from each other could open doors for a great amount of new experimental ways to approach variable text on and off screen. This feature is something we are especially excited about ✨

Exploring Signed Distance Field rendering Behind the scenes of Variable Time and other upcoming projects, we extensively research various technical aspects of variable font formats. An especially relevant one is performance: at the moment, most commonly used way of rendering and animating variable text is using HTML and CSS, but it has drawbacks in terms of memory and speed. One of the alternatives which we are exploring in our projects is Signed Distance Field rendering - a technique borrowed from the field of game development, in which each character variation is split into schematic regions to be then rendered back into any scale in real-time. Also, it can be used to create very trippy visuals 👁️👁️

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We are thrilled to announce our major current project - Variable Time, an open-source design tool that allows working with variable type in motion. Together, we (@pointer_studio and @celinehurka ) have been working on this tool for the past year and will finally release it this summer. The inspiration behind Variable Time came from our very own need for a simple design tool that could create detailed animations using variable fonts. Thanks to the support of @stimuleringsfonds , we could turn the idea into an easy-to-use and free web application. The core element of Variable Time is the timeline which is accompanied by a range of more and less conventional tools for working with variable fonts. This toolkit will be growing along with our expanding research for Variable Lab. We want this tool to be a place for sharing our findings and experiments. By making the tool open-source we are inviting practitioners of different fields to join our hands-on research, thinking together about how variable fonts could enrich the ways in which we communicate. In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more information about Variable Time’s functionality on our Instagram account @variablelab .

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