Venus Issue explores how generative AI can redefine the future of typography by reimagining the visual memory of historical letterforms. The project begins with a central question: What will type look like in the age of AI? Through this inquiry, Venus Issue examines how emerging technologies can act as meaningful creative partners capable of expanding aesthetic and cultural possibilities within specialized design fields.

For my new workflow, I focused specifically on Carolingian manuscript initials, one of the most decorative letterforms originally crafted by monks, who were the designers of their time. The project uses archived variations of these initials as anchors for generating new interpretations. Through tools such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, Krea, Flora AI, and ImageFX, Venus Issue demonstrates how generative systems can reinterpret historical gestures and structures. Rather than replicating medieval forms, the process extends them into new expressions that bridge past and future. By training AI models with curated datasets and iterative prompts, the project highlights how designers can influence the creative behavior of these systems.

A major component is an AI installation built as a sixty inch manuscript projection, developed as a prototype for a future AI powered font design tool. Using projection mapping with MadMapper, the installation brings historical letterforms to life and allows users to explore different eras of typography, from Phoenician symbols to post digital fonts. Starting with Carolingian initials, the system generates evolving forms that reveal typographic logic and expressive variation. Visitors can randomize letters, shift stylistic influences, adjust weights, and create unexpected outputs. They can also print physical artifacts as takeaways, translating digital experimentation into tangible form.

Additional explorations include 3D printed letterform studies and experimental typesetting at Archetype Press, examining how AI influenced designs translate into material contexts. The project extends online at venusissue.com, where users can engage with interactive generative typography in real time. Overall, Venus Issue proposes a model of co evolution between human creativity and generative AI, imagining new futures for typographic design.