About
Glyphgauge
Every time you read a word, the collective rectangular typeface edges toward the letter widths that read most easily. It is a real-time, crowdsourced experiment to find the preferred optical width for a classical-proportion typeface.
Unlike modern, evened-out proportions, the classical model uses expressive widths for its primary glyphs. Many argue this aids legibility by giving the reader an extra distinguishing quality between letters. By reading along, you help the typeface step closer to an ideal width alphabet.
You can find other projects like this at QuiteType.
How it works
The mechanism
A word is drawn as bare rectangles; you click in and type what it says, and your letters replace the shapes. A correct, quick read rewards those widths — the cut nudges toward what people read most easily — then a fresh word begins. A second, split-second flash mode finds the widths recognised at a glance.
The typeface is built entirely in your browser: every glyph is a rectangle, so the whole font is just a list of widths, synthesised live with no server rebuild. Everyone’s reads pool into a shared, collective cut — two of them, in fact: one shaped by reading ease, one by glance legibility.
Interested in the source or contributing? There’s a git for that: github.com/Liiift-Studio/Glyphgauge.