The typeface was developed by the seoulbased designer sang mun for his final project at the rhode island school of design. Heres how the font designer, sang mun, explains his project. Jul 04, 20 zxx type specimen video from sang mun on vimeo. The name zxx comes from the library of congress alpha3 iso 6392 codes for the representation of names of languages. Sang mun has developed a typeface called zxx with four font styles that are designed to confuse ocr scanners, but are still readable to the human eye. After a year spent researching and creating, mun released the type as a free download in 2012. False hides its true message in tiny letters scattered inside big letters. A typeface designed to thwart spying computers gizmodo. Oct 04, 20 graphic designer sang mun introduced a privacy font to thwart the nsa this week, called zxx. Free zxx bold fonts free fonts search and download. Jul 21, 2017 the value zxx means the content has no linguistic content but it will still pass the validator as having included the lang attribute. Former nsa contractor develops font to combat government. This font called zxx is a creation of a rhode island school of design student named sang mun, and we must say it is quite brilliant. Designers imagine the future in philadelphia museum of art.
Former nsa contractor designs surveillanceproof font cnn. At first glance, zxx is just a decorative typeface designed in a style of wellknown captcha. Stream tracks and playlists from xxzxx on your desktop or mobile device. The lang attribute is a hint for web browsers and software readers html scrapers to choose the content language. Designer sang mun creates font to fool the nsa by betsy isaacson in light of the recent revelations about the national security agencys secret surveillance programs, designer sang mun has created a font that cant be read by machines and has made it free for anyone to download. So the south korean designer sang mun is a rarity, as his font is designed to be obscure.
Over the course of a year, i researched and created zxx, a disruptive typeface which takes its name from the library of congress listing of threeletter codes denoting which language a book is written in. The melange of different fonts is designed to thwart optical character recognition scanners. Degree project at the rhode island school of design. I have become dedicated to researching ways to articulate our unfreedom and to continue the evolution of my own thinking about censorship, surveillance, and a free society, he explained to reason magazine, after releasing the font online in june.
It is a font that has somewhat of a smoke screen to trick robots into thinking it says something else or says nothing at all. Zxx is an advocacy platform in a font, as well as a turnkey tool to. Designer sang mun creates font to fool the nsa huffpost. The goal is to make the contents of a document unreadable by text scanning software while still being intelligible to a human reader. Mun spoke in detail with the walker art center about the zxx typeface in a 20 piece published in the gradient. Rebirth of the enzo how the zr auto ferrari zxx came to be. Zxx type specimen photograph we feel free because we lack the language to articulate our unfreedom. On the wall nearby is painted an example of the zxx typeface, created by korean designer sang mun. Jun 23, 20 named zxx after the library of congresss threeletter code for books found to contain no linguistic content, the weird typeface was designed by sang mun to be unreadable to very specific type. More info introducing the nsaproof font motherboard sang, a recent graduate from the rhode island schoold of design risd, has unveiled zxxa a disruptive. The project is more of a provocation than a legit security. Dec 09, 2012 840hp ferrari enzo xx evolution zxx full throttle and revving at spa 2015 duration. Named zxx after the library of congresss threeletter code for books found to contain no linguistic content, the weird typeface was designed by sang mun to be unreadable to very specific type.
Sang mun himself expresses his goal the following way. Listen to xxzxx soundcloud is an audio platform that lets you listen to what you love and share the sounds you create reading. Consultez nos ressources pour vous adapter au mieux pendant cette periode. Can the zxx typeface thwart and call attention to the nsas.
Zxx is a free font, and anyone can download it on the projects website. Download scientific diagram zxx type family by sang mun, 2012. Mun notes that the project is more of a provocation than a true security measure. Zxx, a typeface by designer sang mun, includes 4 different font styles designed to thwart optical character recognition.
Sang mun served two years of mandatory service for the korean military. New font is designed to foil ocr apps would also make a. Frankly, we thought so when we saw it for the first time. Download premium quality music by zxx on beatport, the worlds largest music store for djs. I drew six different cuts sans, bold, camo, false, noise and xed to generate endless permutations, each font designed to thwart machine intelligences in a different way. Mun created the font as a response to increasing government incursions on privacy. Sang muns zxx fonts most typographers prize legibility and clarity of message above all other design consideration. The font is named after the library of congress code, zxx, which labels a document as containing no linguistic content. Feb 22, 2015 rebirth of the enzo how the zr auto ferrari zxx came to be. Former nsa contractor develops font to combat government snooping. This new experiment in obfuscation fonts is the work of sang mun, a recent graduate of the rhode island school of design. Jun 24, 20 sang mun, a former contractor with the us national security agency nsa, hopes that his zxx font will strike a blow for internet freedom making it harder for the authorities and hackers to spy upon our communications.
Sang, a recent graduate from the rhode island schoold of design risd, has unleashed zxxa a disruptive typeface that. Graphic designer sang mun introduced a privacy font to thwart the nsa this week, called zxx. How can we conceal our fundamental thoughts from artificial intelligences and those who deploy them. The value zxx means the content has no linguistic content but it will still pass the validator as having included the lang attribute. I decided to create a typeface that would be unreadable by text scanning software. Sang mun s zxx fonts most typographers prize legibility and clarity of message above all other design consideration.
Shes a journalism reader, writer, photographer, videographer, data visualizer and general doer. Can the zxx typeface thwart and call attention to the nsa. New font is designed to foil ocr apps would also make a good. Over the course of a year, i researched and created zxx, a disruptive typeface. This is sang muns degree project at the rhode island school of. Young and relentless zxx, born in macedonia, raised on the outskirts of chicago. We use cookies for various purposes including analytics and personalized marketing. Zxx is a free font and anyone can download it on the projects website. I offered the typeface as a free download in hopes that as many people. Alpha3 iso 6392 codes for the representation of names of languages. Download zxx a collection of special font designs that will make it hard for tracking companies to decipher written documents or social. Learn more about band of colors, a mens underwear brand started by mun and two other interdisciplinary designers. Sang, a recent graduate from the rhode island schoold of design risd, has unleashed zxxa a disruptive typeface that he says is much more difficult to the nsa and. Taking up djing and electronic music at a very young age, signed to dirty fabric at the age of 17, and highly trained in sound.
Fluc bookpublished by falter verlag340 pages170 x 230 mmsoftcover, threaded bindingprint. The font has several styles, the most promising of which is called false. Ferrari enzo zxx edo competition epic donuts, revs and start ups. Zxxeverywhere nsa proof font tool chrome web store. By continuing to use the service, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the cookie policy. Sang mun, a former contractor with the us national security agency nsa, hopes that his zxx font will strike a blow for internet freedom making it harder for the authorities and hackers to spy upon our communications. Former nsa contractor designs surveillanceproof font.
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