The brand name Bic is almost synonymous with its most famous invention: the humble ballpoint pen. Everyone has at least one Bic, everyone uses Bics, and while there are several variations on a theme, the standard Bic ballpoint is pretty much universal.

So if there’s a universal pen, is there is a universal handwriting? That’s a question Bic is trying to answer with its innovative ‘Bic Universal’ project.

At www.theuniversaltypeface.com, Bic fans can contribute a sample of their own handwriting to an experiment that has so far involved people from over 160 different countries. Using a smartphone or tablet device, users can enter their own handwritten alphabet with their finger or stylus, as well as answer a few demographic questions.

Then, using a computer algorithm, the handwriting of thousands of users is amalgamated and averaged into what Bic calls “the first universal, crowdsourced typeface”.

A neat thing is that it’s not just one typeface – Bic Universal can be explored and changed by selecting particpants’ gender, left- or right-handedness, occupation, country, age and other parameters.

It’s a nice idea, and well executed, but I’m not sure what the point of it is. Wired Magazine suggests it could be an interesting website for keen graphologists – handwriting analysts who believe you can infer personality traits from written scrawl – but that’s a rather pseudoscientific hobby and not one that many people are into, I suppose.

It’s interesting to play around with the typeface, exploring the different categories of participant, but at the end of the day I couldn’t really think what I would do with the font. What do you think?

About the Author:

Although her primary niche is in scientific writing and editing, freelance writer Lisa Martin is also a creative type with an eye for design. She regularly works alongside graphic designers and as such has a keen interest in the development of logos and branding.