Phono is a sound-reactive variable font inspired by the human voice. Assuming that the typeface is to the written word what the voice is to the spoken word, it investigates a way in which the face of the type can correspond to the sound of speech. With its three axes HIFQ, MDFQ and LOFQ, representing high, mid and low frequencies, it is capable of reproducing the articulations of the voice or any other sound input in detail. The fourth axis TONE, representing the tone of voice, allows the typeface to appear sharp, clear, soft or anything in between. Phono is the result of the theoretical discourse in Paul Eslage’s master’s thesisType Follows Identity, which was developed at the Department Design of HAW Hamburg and mentored by Prof. Pierre Pane-Farre and Prof. Heike Grebin.

Type design and concept by Paul Eslage
Web development by Johannes Eslage