A team of computer science experts working out of Columbia University have managed to develop a high-tech font system that is designed to make it possible for messages to be hidden inside text in a way that makes them impossible to detect with the naked eye.
The FontCode system works by making extremely minuscule and subtle changes to characters within a block of texts, such as manipulating the angles of their curves or the lengths of their stems, with each group of changes corresponding to a specific alphabet in the hidden message. Because the alphabet changes are so subtle, they can't be detected by the naked eye, but can only be spotted by computers enabled with FontCode themselves.
While this font system sounds like something out of a spy movie, it also offers a range of applications in copyright protection as well as retail, by allowing for the embedding of metadata such as QR codes.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Hidden Message Fonts
- Developing fonts that can hide messages within text opens up opportunities for covert communication and secure data transmission.
- Subtle Typography Manipulation
- Exploring techniques to subtly manipulate typographic elements presents opportunities for innovative storytelling and interactive reading experiences.
- Metadata-embedded Fonts
- Creating fonts with embedded metadata, such as QR codes, enables enhanced information sharing and tracking in various industries.
Sectors Adopting This
- Data Security
- The development of hidden message fonts offers disruptive innovation opportunities in the field of data security, enabling covert communication and secure transmission methods.
- Publishing & Graphic Design
- Subtle typography manipulation techniques open up innovative possibilities in publishing and graphic design, allowing for interactive storytelling and engaging reading experiences.
- Retail & Marketing
- The use of metadata-embedded fonts, such as QR codes, can revolutionize the retail and marketing industries by enabling enhanced information sharing and tracking capabilities.
