I heart type, type hearts you
Interactive LED installation
116 hand-soldered LEDs light up the letters of an interactive sign. Driven by an Arudino Zero, data from an 8x8 infrared camera is mapped to color values and interpolated to a higher resolution. Petr Van Blokland’s Bitcount is a typeface based on a grid of imaginary pixels (in homage to earlier, cruder days of type) and offers the potential for extreme layering.
The sign was presented at AIGA 2017 in Minneapolis and then went on to be shown at Adobe MAX 2017 in Las Vegas.
Above:The sign is running the Neopixel sample script, which consists of various iterations of mesmerizing fading rainbows and light chases.
Top: An oscilloscope was necessary to troubleshoot an initially finicky data line. Bottom: Detail showing construction consisting of a mirrored acrylic back plate, LEDs and wires, clear acrylic mezzanine layer and frosted acrylic diffusers. Letters are attached to a fabric-covered wooden panel via adhesive hook-and-loop strips.
Special thanks
Further reading
- The code on Github
- Adafruit (2017), DMA-Driven NeoPixels
- Adafruit (2017), AMG8833 8x8 Thermal Camera Sensor
- Type Network and Typetr (2017), Bitcount