Form and feeling: how to sink your teeth into 3D type, with experimental typographer Vincent Wagner

The world of 3D design seems to be having its time in the sun. There’s something about familiar objects taking on absolutely unfamiliar forms that’s endlessly fascinating. Leaning on ideas of abstraction, 3D allows designers to bend the rules of reality, and craft an imaginative world where anything goes. 3D type – a microcosm within this realm – has also emerged as an exciting new frontier, where the rigour and technicalities of type design can be softened by experimentations of tactility and texture. Gooey, squidgy characters can now bob and float across surfaces, and translucent, watery type can glint when it catches the light; here, rules are suspended, and experiments are governed only by the ability of form to evoke a feeling. Vienna-based experimental typographer Vincent Wagner is very familiar with the allure of 3D type. He’s turned much-loved 2D typefaces into their voluminous 3D forms, and designed characters for single covers and product launches. We spoke to Wagner to unpack the nuances of the medium, and learn how emerging designers can get a foot in the door.

Wagner’s curiosity of 3D type was stoked when a commission from Manuel Rossner of Hightype Foundry led to a collision of two of his keen interests – 3D design and typography. That project, for which Wagner created a set of images using Rossner’s typeface HT Standard, led to more experimentations, until suddenly he found himself writing an email to Velvetyne Type Foundry, for a pitch to turn their 2D typeface, Pilowlava, into its 3D avatar. With the blessing of – and a bit of guidance from – Pilowlava’s designers Jérémy Landes and Anton Moglia, the typeface did see the light of day. “From then on, I kept experimenting with 3D type, always on the lookout for meaningful uses of the added third dimension,” reveals Wagner. “The fascination hasn’t faded; quite the opposite, in fact. The more time I invest in the topic, the more fascinating it becomes.”

TC Pilowlava – featuring a character set with sharp, yet soft contours, pulled this way and that – now lives on Type Computer, Wagner’s new experimental type foundry, dedicated exclusively to 3D typefaces. “I was wondering whether 3D type as a medium has a sustainable future ahead of it. To find a reliable answer to this question, I think it is important to see widespread experimentation, and start a broad discussion around the topic. To facilitate both experimentation and discourse, I launched Type Computer,” he tells us. In an intention to lower the barrier of entry into the space, Wagner has given easy and free access to almost all of the typefaces in the foundry, “creating an open channel to exchange ideas and designs.”

The sense of novelty that might give 3D type its somewhat daunting allure as a new skill to pick up, also conversely lends it its flexibility. “With 3D typefaces being a rather new and niche topic, there aren’t a lot of things that have been done before, so I feel free to try out pretty much anything.” The sky is very literally the limit, with a sweeping palette of ideas and textures to dip into.

You are free to use and misuse whatever tools you have at hand.

For Wagner, the creative process runs in one of two ways – when there’s a 2D reference, “like in the case of Pilowlava, or my upcoming 3D revival of Calypso,” it is simply a question of finding the most effective way to translate a concept into the third dimension. “So after an initial ideation phase, I go straight into 3D, mostly working in Cinema 4D to model the shapes and tweak the curves,” he shares. For other typefaces, like TC Tube – which can take on the sheen of metal or the grainy stickiness of plastic – Wagner starts with an idea and a couple of crude hand sketches before moving to Adobe Medium, a VR sculpting tool, where he fleshes out the majority of the glyph set, before moving back to Cinema 4D to create proper 3D meshes, which are used for actual production settings. “One great thing about the lack of specific tools for 3D type design is that you are free to use and misuse whatever tools you have at hand,” he notes.

For those looking to dip their toes in the waters of 3D type, all you need are “a couple of hours to get started, and the willingness to try out new processes,” says Wagner. “That should be enough to get you going.” The growing legion of tools is also bringing the medium to new formats and platforms. “There are free tools like Spline or Blender, which allow you to play around in 3D without any significant barriers. New workflows in After Effects and other tools like Adobe Dimension are also available, if you’re an Adobe CC subscriber,” notes Wagner. “If you’re an iPad user, Nomad Sculpt is a great, affordable app both for sculpting 3D models, and for importing and playing around with existing models, like 3D typefaces. And for all of these apps, there are plenty of tutorials online to get you started.”

Once you have the basic skills down, you’re only limited by your imagination.

The tools and techniques within the field, as fresh as they are, are constantly changing and evolving. As experimentalists, designers like Wagner are also uniquely poised to discover creative routes that work better than others, and push the medium into daring new directions. “To start out, as obvious as it sounds, a strong interest in typography combined with a strong interest in spatial design will get you a long way,” he notes. “Once you have the basic skills down, you’re only limited by your imagination.”

Vincent Wagner