Type-Face

Every year, Canadian printer Flash Reproductions likes to push the limits on production to create a unique holiday gift for its clients (predominantly graphic designers and creative directors). We were enlisted to come up with a creative gift idea, and to produce the finished product.

Type-Face bears some similarity to Hedbanz, as players put on a headband and place a card with a secret identity facing out for their opponent to see. But the similarities stop there.

The identity is a typeface name, camouflaged in a pattern of letters that can only be revealed by taking a flash photo with a smartphone (the name is printed using a special, light-activated ink). Once the typeface name is revealed (to the player’s opponents), the player must ask a series of questions to correctly guess their typeface.

To help guide the process, we researched the background on each typeface, providing aspects such as its designer, foundry, attributes, history, etc.

The game includes a custom box, rules booklet, hints for identifying 20 typefaces, 20 pins that highlight the personality of the typefaces, headbands and the specially printed identity cards.