SCROLLLINES
Overview
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Stats
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- Project started: December 2017
- Project status: Done
- Medium/tools: JavaScript, HTML
Quick links
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About
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As far as I can tell, a typeface has never been made with web browser
scroll bars before this one here. Maybe there's a reason for
that. Honest, it's not all that useful to have a word made out of
scroll bars, beyond the sheer thrill of it (and it is thrilling, if
you ask me). Well, I remember happening upon the idea while browsing
(by hand, mind you) through an AppliedArts magazine. Someone (I wish I
could remember who!) had made a typeface out of bright orange
extension cords. That was a pretty neat trick, I thought (and it
demonstrated a lot of skill with respect to the photography and post
editing that would be required to build such an alphabet.) So when I
saw that, I guess I got thinking. Because next thing I know, I'm
making my own novelty typeface... out of web browser scrollbars!
This project was basically a proof-of-concept and never saw the light
of day beyond my own computer screen. But using it is entirely
automated and involves nothing more than typing letters into a text
editor. The actual construction of the typeface happens
programmatically. That's pretty neat, I think.
Now, if you've been around the web for a while, you'll know that the
design of scroll bars has changed. Today (circa 2021), they are all
but disappearing from most web browsers. When I made this typeface
back in 2017, I do recall it being a bit tricky to find a browser that
had a nice looking scroll bar. Some of the older Mac computers have
those beautiful blue gems that you can grip onto to move down the
page. As you can tell from the images below, I was working with
something a little more sombre: mute gray. Anyways, it worked. Maybe
someday I'll take it for a spin on another browser... Netscape,
perhaps?
Images
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IMG Lowercase alphabet (Browser: Google Chrome, 2017)
IMG Uppercase alphabet (Browser: Google Chrome, 2017)