The Genius Font

It may soon be possible to write like Albert Einstein. Harald Geisler, typographer, and Liz Waterhouse, BA physics, decided to create a font that looked like someone’s real handwriting. They chose to replicate Einstein’s, commenting on their website that '...the choice to start with Albert Einstein’s handwriting was aesthetic and pragmatic'. Mr Geisler also 'hopes that Einstein’s spark of genius might be reflected in his font'.

Geisler began by studying the physicist’s documents and manuscripts for six months in order to fully replicate Einstein’s beautiful and delicate penmanship. He traced his writing using a digital pen to capture and replicate the flow and movement of the lettering. It was challenging because, while traditional font lettering is always the same, handwriting lettering is always different. To replicate the look of actual handwriting Geisler traced over at least four different versions of each letter, so that when paired, the letters combined to create over sixteen different alternatives. As the writer types a mechanism shifts the previous letter, so that it takes on the appearance of handwriting. Mr Geisler names this method polyalphabetic substitution. He also hopes that he can also add some mathematical formula in the style of the font. In 2013 the pair published their project on Kickstart, hoping to reach a widespread audience. The pair have already surpassed their $15000 goal, and have made $55,577. In 2014 the Einstein Estate accepted the proposal for an Albert Einstein font. The font can be used on a tablet, ipad, ipod and computer. So, perhaps one day when you are looking for a new style, you may find that beside Times New Roman, Arial, and Cambria, is the Albert Einstein Font.

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