Tinkerer | Pioneering AR/VR Typography | Director of Design & Research
@PocketFM_App
| Designer AR One Sans | Crafting the Future of Spatial Design | Prev
@meta
What a day! Presenting in front of the pioneers who defined the industry and whom I looked up to all these years. It was an absolute honour to be there talking about the next big shift.
I am so grateful to Tom Mullany and the Silicon Project at Stanford for having me.
Dear Indian media, stop over glorification of opportunities abroad.
The 1 crore package in the US roughly equates to getting 25 lakh in India. Or you can start promoting homegrown startups/businesses when they offer salaries over 25 lakh in India. That will do more good!
This week I joined
@facebook
as a Product Designer and moved to London. A big step towards working on things I'm passionate about. 🥰
It wouldn't have been possible without amazing people who have been a constant support & source of motivation 🙏
Excited for this new quest...🧭
I'm glad to share the release of AR One Sans! It is the result of extensive research that I embarked upon back in 2017 during my time at the University of Reading. My aim was to explore reading experience and future interfaces in AR headsets.
Hi-res video
New font! AR One Sans designed by
@Niteesh22
for Augmented Reality (AR) environments and UIs with high-readability in busy backgrounds. Includes axes for Weight and also a special 'AR Retinal Resolution' axis. ARRR! 📱
Cyberpunk Edgerunners on
@netflix
! What a delight to watch. Anime style and colour palette are just ✨
So I ended up creating this lettering piece in Devanagari.
Today is my last day
@headout
What an amazing 2 years journey it has been
👍 best/humble people
👍 culture that respects everyone & promotes growth 👍 where discussions are based on valid arguments, not authority
👍 a place you can find work-life balance
👍 no dirty politics
We’re looking for two passionate Product Design Interns to join our team. If you're eager to kickstart your career with hands-on experience and the potential to grow into a full-time role, we’d love to hear from you!
Share your portfolio or work samples by replying to this post.
This is what we need, more creative playful designs instead of bland 3D replicas.
@Rivian
is adding life to its products!
Here is the are Drive Mode screens, running on
@UnrealEngine
Bitter truth: people in tech think the the world revolves or will revole around the tech they are working on. Try to step out in the real world beyond your tech bubbles 😂
AR One Sans featuring concept UI for
@isro
celebrating the success of the Chandrayaan moon mission. You might remember this ISRO logo concept from sometime back. It was designed for AR One Sans type specimen. AR One Sans type family is designed for use in augmented reality
New Year updates: I have joined
@PocketFM_App
as Director of Design.
PocketFM is spearheading the "emerging" Audio Series entertainment category.
My obsession with "emerging" spaces continues but that doesn't mean I'm bidding goodbye to spatial computing (updates on that later)
Looking for Product Design Interns!
Hey everyone! We're on the lookout for two talented Product Design Interns to join our team at
@PocketFM_App
. If you're interested in an exciting internship opportunity, drop a reply with your portfolio or work samples.
AR One Sans has two distinct styles for zero to differentiate it from O. These can be accessed in the OpenType features of the font.
AR One Sans type family designed by me for use in augmented reality (spatial) environments and user interfaces.
Are we even ready for digital classrooms? A small thread from personal experience. Yesterday a small girl who stays nearby came home worried saying "Bhaiya I have an exam but it is not working." The problem there was that the link to the exam on
#Google
Forms came on
#Whatsapp
Lately I have been occupied with biggest responsibility, building a dream home for my parents. In making since last 1 year, designed by me from scratch, now in final stage. COVID/WFH allowed me to be there & take care details, coz I'm damn finicky abt it. This happens at times...
Almost done with the designing and looking over the construction of my family home! Here is a little corner I have for my books and the repository of all my work over the last 10 years. And
#Current
workspace till I hit the road.
(this space is still a work in progress)
A little bit of fun exercise, imagining what the modern identity of
@isro
could be like? PS. this is not an official design just an exploration of something I'm working on.
Some of my work is beyond Product Design and AR/VR research.
Design for
#FofX
Festival including the identity system. A unique festival for Creators close to nature.
Full project here:
Appreciation tweet: Game Designers are among the most creative folks! Who can turn mundane looking patterns into highly engaging and enjoyable experiences! 🙏✨
I'm hiring folks to work on the expansion of
@PocketFM_App
beyond US.
Looking for souls who care about user experience, design craft equally and are independent thinkers, to drive initiatives across Europe and Latin America.
Apply here:
📢01: Happy to announce my new website
In last few months, I did a lot of thinking in terms of my personal brand & laying down my path. How I want to dedicate my time apart from my FT job. Now I'll focus more on sharing what I have learnt over the years.
To be honest,
@figmadesign
is taking over a lot of design tools I use every day. Now, smart animate has become my go-to feature for quick animations. Created this on Figma for my article on
#typography
for
#AR
which is coming out this week.
Startups promoting coding at a very young age, shame on you! It took yrs for most of us to break the moulds of engineering/medical as "The Career Choices." Now that parents are getting aware abt it, you hav started reverse loop by feeding crap & denying kids to choose their path.
Wondered what goes behind selecting a type family for a global product!
It is not abt picking what's hot in the market bt an intense process of research, analysis & testing.
Here is my Phase 3 evaluation sheet while designing
#Type
system for
@headout
#typography
#DesignSystem
One of the most enjoyable projects that I worked on. Design for
@raghavakk
's book "Kill your talk not your audience." A fully lettered and illustrated journey of telling your story to the world. Published by Limitless Institute
This is very good example of bad typography and lack of typographic knowledge among designers!
It is not a huge design problem, using tabular figures instead of regular numerals solves this since all numbers occupy the same width.
Interface designers and developers basically need to re-invent the wheel every day. Simple problems do not come pre-solved. I noticed today that this song's progress meter jumps left and right as the time-stamp changes, because the digits aren't a fixed width.
If you haven't watched Scavengers Reign, then you are seriously missing out! It is among the most nicely done masterpieces that blend in mind-blowing visuals with soothing music and a great storyline.
In case you missed it,
#GoogleFonts
Knowledge has a new featured module: Using Type for AR & VR 👓written by me 😀
If you are interested in type for AR/VR then have a look! In case you have any follow-up questions, suggestions, or feedback please feel free to DM me.
Learnings and advice from a conversation with one of the leaders I admire:
😇 Be present at the moment and don't lose opportunities in hand to make an impact thinking just of future ones.
🏋️♂️Continue to push for things but don't overdo them.
🌅 Be willing to make new decisions.
Most of the people who say I hate Comic Sans don't even know why they
#hate
it. They are blindly following what others say. That is why it is important to know the history of things before you join the herd.
Here is a small thread on
#ComicSans
Hey folks, I'm working on designing an online course on
#typography
. Which includes sessions from me, designers, type designers across the globe and people who taught at design institutions like RISD. Would you be interested in it? DM me your expectations for a course like this.
I don't usually talk about funding, but this is big considering what we are building. Our goal? Nailing an experience that's totally dialed in for this fresh long-form audio entertainment genre.
Stay tuned for the magic we're stirring up.
@TechCrunch
Thinking it's hard to start a job as a jr. designer in WFH env. Then keep in mind a lot of us (slightly sr. folks) strtd working remotely for overseas clients back in UI/UX sprouting era. Wn most didn't evn give flying F abt design. Be happy abt the platform you are starting with
🚀 Hiring Alert!
We're scaling across multiple domains & seeking a Senior Product Designer to join our team at
@PocketFM_App
.
If you're ready for your next big challenge, this could be your Space Odyssey moment!
Drop your portfolio link here or
Stop comparing yourself to others!
If you admire someone and their work and feel like you want to like them. Then the first thing you should do is understand where and how they started.
"Nothing happens overnight!"
The least reliable thing in
#design
is color!
It will look different for different people, devices, platforms, environments. It will mean different for people, cultures etc. So treat it as a secondary tool of choice, not a primary one!
Meet the new
@Headout
!!
Two years ago I joined Headout with a promise to deliver something we'll be proud about. And the day is here!
🧵a thread:
it is not a facelift but a labour of love! That started with one key idea we want to rethink who we are, what we stand for, what...
Archive: 8 yrs ago I packed my bags to explore to find out more about Indian art and design across the country. And it all started with one question "Tell us about Indian Design" on the first day of my internship at 2x4 Beijing.
Story:
Hey Twitter fam, I'm looking for a design wiz who is passionate about setting benchmarks instead of following them. This role is an opportunity to work on the new design system of Pocket apps, not just PocketFM.
If you know of someone that fits the bill please share.
I strongly support Helen on this. A good chunk of designers are no good when it comes to designing from scratch. Most of them are building skills of using tools and just rely on UI kits and DS. Zero understanding of core fundamentals.
all designers must learn fundamental visual design
space, typography, colour theory, basic art direction, rhythm and balance, grids (not dev grids, design grids), etc.
this is a hill i'm willing to die on
This made me really happy! Last year after completing my Master's I decided to continue my
#research
in
#typography
for
#AR
headsets independently. The core thinking behind the research is to make the reading experience better in AR headsets right from the nascent stage.
Had a nice time delivering a talk about "Typeface for Augmented Reality" at Typotage Conference. An interesting one so far: recorded in the UK, played in Germany while I attended Q&A from 🗻 in India.
Thanks to current Schengen visa situation and the power of Indian Passport ☹️
@hemeon
Hi Marc, Have you ever tried designing a typeface? Or have any idea about how much time goes into designing one? Most of the Type designers don't get fixed paycheck like full-time employees every month and they rely on font sales. So, please don't share such advice!
If you are in the early stages of a product then focus on the content and information architecture (IA). Because changing and updating the design might take a couple of sprints. But the change in content and IA will take ages when you have unstructured content.
Looking for a Design Engineer and a Lead PD to drive the innovation lab initiative here
@PocketFM_App
with me
Do you:
- Think beyond the pixels?
- Crave projects that push boundaries?
- Have innovative side hustles? (Big or small)
DM me!
PS. not a run of the mill role!
#Advice
: when designing crucial interfaces stay away from slapping Sci-fi looking typefaces. They perform worst in terms of legibility. When it comes to faster response time legibility should be your first priority.
Look at the nightmare from yesterday.
#VirginGalactic
To all learners: The tools to design AR/VR experiences at this point in time might feel overwhelming at times. But the fact is most of them are not designed for it. So the friction feels high but as time progresses it will be as smooth as designing on tools like
@figma
. I would
Here is a concept UI for AR headsets featuring the AR One Sans (Regular Retina) Typeface. These are some of the songs on my favourites list.
AR One Sans is available on Google Fonts now:
Young me would be proud. From taking the leap into design to being a part of mainstream design media.
Recently I was interviewed by Harry Bennett for
@itsnicethat
, though it was about type the overall approach applies to Product Design as well.
People getting fascinated & sharing such posts! Esp. designers, you gotta learn more abt
#brand
aesthetics & how that should be translated to brand visuals. This is a typical stereotype design with visuals that don't even match
#Apple
's clean & sleek design language. Img src: 🤷♂️
For years, I wrote about the evolution of typography & user experience in XR, but I've recently realized that impact cannot be measured solely by likes. I met several people (most for the first time) who already knew about my work not just in design but engineering and research.
Excited for the challenge ahead with our team
@PocketFM_App
as we craft a category-defining audio experience! Designing not just for the screen, but also for the offscreen experience.
Read more about it
@TheHardCopyCo
Hiring for few more roles Senior Product Designer and Senior User Researcher with around 5 years of work experience. More details here: …
If you know any awesome folks for this role then share this with them.
Been using
@Microsoft
Windows 11 for a week or so and I have to say this. It's a fresh breeze of design, with changes that don't seem to require a huge learning curve. 👏
This May I'll be speaking at the Typotage Conference () in Leipzig. Sharing my experience and learnings from the research of designing the first Type family designed specifically for Augmented Reality headsets.
#Typotage
#SpatialTypography
Respect people for their work not based on where they work.
Working at FAANG doesn't make anyone better than others. There are a lot of talented people in the industry who choose to work in other companies based on their personal preferences & working style.
#NoBlingistan
🚫💎
Yesterday was the most disheartening day! Seeing most of my colleagues getting impacted. These are some most dedicated people I had the pleasure to work with and enjoyed working with.
And the whole situation has forced me to think about the cost we pay working as immigrants...
😐 Has to be raised now!
Looking at a good chunk of Indian apps
#accessibility
of text or I should say accessibility overall is nowhere to be seen. All the interfaces seem to be designed for iPhones and 20/20 vision.
And the obsession with pale colours is just next level.
War is not an answer to anything! Human Lives Matter the most.
Please feel free to use this artwork for any positive messaging.
#ukraine
🇺🇦
#PeaceNotWar
How many of you remember your mom saying this to you? Next time you feel like walking out in this situation, just remember your childhood days😂 For non-native friends this translates to "shut up and stay home!"
#FightCorona
#StayHome
#lettering
#Devanagari
Folks looking for AR/VR design related articles, videos and other resources. v 2.0 is live!
Go check it out and help us grow by sharing resources that will be helpful for the community.
@IdealRealityOrg
Help me spread the word. RTs appreciated!
What a thrilling ride 2023 has been! Packed with life-changing moments and pivotal decisions about my path ahead. Including Bidding farewell to Meta and returning to India.
Last 13 years have been relentless hustle and passion, Though the plan was to take a short sabbatical BUT
Glad to see a huge jump in the number of readers 🌎of my articles on
#Medium
and other platforms. So here is a thread which will be updated regularly, featuring the articles I have published on
#AR
/
#VR
#typography
:
RTs much appreciated 😀
We all have taken different paths based on the circumstances we grew up in. Our perception & actions will continue in countless different directions.
So, breathe & stop comparing each other. We all trying to do our best based on what we have learnt so far 😊
Looking out of the window on a clear sunny day in London is an experience itself. The currency of sunshine feels more precious Compared to grim weather every day!
recommend spending more time learning about spatial design fundamentals and exploring new ideas. Using prototyping tools like
@ShapesXR
,
@MadeInMaquette
,
@GravitySketch
to flesh out your ideas.