Bic to unveil ‘universal font’ based on crowdsourced handwriting samples

Pen maker Bic is aiming to create a universal font, and it’s turning to crowdsourcing to make it happen.

The Universal Typeface Experiment comes from a joint effort between DDB Dusseldorf and MediaMonks. A microsite asks users to contribute digital handwriting samples, all with the idea of creating a font made from the collective sample of the world’s handwriting.

You can then sort the examples by gender, age, country, dexterity and industry.

It’s a smart campaign for the company. It’s totally on-brand, with a tangible product in the end. But the company doesn’t plan to monetize it. In fact, the branding on the microsite is fairly minimal.