11 comments

  • Will BakerWill Baker, over 9 years ago

    Exploitative. Sickening.

    Reminds me of those kids who "designed" elaborate signs for homeless people to hold a couple years back.

    8 points
    • Dustin KemperDustin Kemper, over 9 years ago

      I agree. I doubt that the sales of these fonts will actually help the homeless creators in any way. Seems more like a "look at me, I'm doing social good" marketing ploy. Disgusting.

      3 points
      • Arma GetronArma Getron, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

        Whoa whoa slow down, you guys are adopting very extreme positions very quickly.

        All the proceeds are going to the organization that's running this project, the Arrels Foundation, who appear to be dedicated to helping the homeless. I doubt they promised these people they were going to make lots of money from this. The point was to help a good cause.

        6 points
        • Mitch Malone, over 9 years ago

          The point was to help a good cause.

          I think that's the problem that people are seeing. If the point is to help a good cause, then the beneficiaries are the people providing the help. They feel like they're helping out and it makes them feel good. But people don't want to be a cause. Homeless people are people; they want sustained well-being and dignity just like everyone else. That said, providing charity doesn't necessarily mean that we're taking their dignity away. But as designers and engineers we should build structures and systems that actually lifts people out of poverty.

          2 points
          • Will FroelichWill Froelich, over 9 years ago

            Maybe this is a way we can feed and shelter them until said structures and systems exist.

            Don't you think it's a little presumptuous to say that they are only doing this for some self congratulations? If even one more homeless person gets a meal or a good night sleep, isn't it worthwhile?

            4 points
    • Jeff SmithJeff Smith, over 9 years ago

      Couldn't agree more.

      1 point
    • Luke SeeleyLuke Seeley, over 9 years ago

      How is this exploitive?

      1 point
  • Dan HoughDan Hough, over 9 years ago

    Great idea. In case you're looking for a quick summary, this is some designers getting homeless people to write out their handwriting and converting it into typefaces for sale. Watch the videos too for more about each person's views about the project.

    The only thing I'm confused about is how the money goes from the sale of a font to the person who wrote it out originally. The about page says this:

    The money raised goes to the author of the font through the Arrels foundation.

    The Arrels Foundation website is all in Spanish and there's lots of images so it's hard to use Google to translate it. Can anybody give a better idea of what happens to the money?

    7 points
    • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 9 years ago

      i was confused here as well. it seems as if the proceeds go to the Foundation and only make their way back to the authors in theory. i'm not sure to be honest.

      i'm sure this is well-intentioned, but cases like this really need to be spelled out better to gain trust and not seem exploitative.

      4 points
    • Ramon PocaRamon Poca, over 9 years ago

      You can google-translate the FAQ page. It's in catalan (not in spanish) but it's mostly text.

      1 point
  • Ben TinsleyBen Tinsley, over 9 years ago

    Really awesome idea. Beautiful handwriting too. Why don't they include numbers or punctuation to the glyphs though?

    0 points