Industry Craft > Typography

THE POLITE TYPE

TBWA\HELSINKI, Helsinki / TIETOEVRY / 2021

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Overview

Credits

OVERVIEW

Cultural / Context information for the jury

For Nordic countries, equality, inclusion and safety are key values. For many Nordic companies they are ways to set themselves apart to their customers and employees. Egalitarianism and improving the quality of life for everyone have long been the guiding principles of Scandinavian design. Creating welcoming and safe environments for people from all walks of life is at the core of innovation and design solutions hailing from the Nordics.

TietoEVRY is a globally operating Finnish-Norwegian company that wants to establish itself as a value-driven operator in the ICT sector. They wanted to extend the Nordic design philosophy to the world of digital solutions to create a CSR project that took a stand against rampant online hate speech and the lack of responsibility Big Tech has shown in dealing with it. Could a friendly, egalitarian design solution promote safe digital spaces that take everyone into consideration?

Tell the jury about the typography.

The Polite Type is an OpenType font that automatically recognises and rewrites hate speech. With a few tweaks to OpenType’s code, we were able to incorporate a word library and replacement function into a regular font file. TietoEVRY coded its Nordic values of inclusion and equality into a product that communicated them effectively to a global audience.

Since the main function of the typeface is to correct discriminative wording and nudge users towards better behaviour, the design language and craft needs to support it. Its visually progressive and positive look draws from the tradition of Scandinavian design. Its strong and firm lines, and the weight of the design communicate determination to stand against hate speech. The typeface itself stands strong even without it’s cutting edge functionality, but together they create an unforgettable impact for anyone using The Polite Type.

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