Ana Kuster • Typeface Toybox

Software Practice

I had never used TouchDesigner before this project, so the most important thing to do first was to start learning the ins and outs of this strange new tool. I didn't even have a concept to start with. I wanted to make sure I could familiarize myself with the software first, then be able to recognize what I could and couldn't do with it.

As my intro to both TouchDesigner and MediaPipe, I followed Torin Blankensmith's Hand Tracking Master Class series. These videos gave me a solid understanding of how operators work in general within TouchDesigner, as well as the data and capabilities that MediaPipe adds to it. After making my own duplicate of Torin's project, I could now start to think about what my original project would be like.

Concept

Originally, I had far more complex and grandiose ideas for this project, such as a 3D sock puppet that tracked the user's hands, or a face-tracking VTuber-inspired system that would map a 3D character's head to the user's. However, this project's initial deadline was pushed forward by about a month, so I had way too little time to explore these other concepts. This prompted me to stick to something extremely basic that I knew I could easily and quickly execute with the knowledge I gained from Torin's videos.

In the end, I went with a "Typeface Selector" idea that would let a user type out their own message and see it in different typefaces. I practically ended up not sketching anything at all... I thought it better to immediately jump into TouchDesigner and feel out the design from there, instead of sketching a bunch of ideas I wasn't sure I'd be able to achieve.

Technical Walkthrough & Customization Control

Throughout my project file, I made sure to section off each bundle of operators according to their function, in order to keep the whole file as organized as possible. This also streamlined my process by making it easy to find any particular operator. Additionally, I made use of the software's coloring feature for these operators, which further added to my visual organization.

One aspect that I'm very happy I got to include is the custom message field on the upper left. Since this was a type-heavy concept, I strongly wanted the user to be able to input their own message and play with it on the screen, as opposed to having static boilerplate text. It was extremely simple and easy to implement, but I feel as if it was one of those cases where a fairly easy thing to include ended up elevating the experience by an exponential amount.