In 2013, graphic designer Sang Mun released ZXX, a typeface that
he claimed to thwart Optical Character Recognition (OCR) reading
technology. The name ZXX comes from a system the Library of
Congress uses to denote a book’s written language. Within this
system, ZXX is used to denote “No linguistic content; not
applicable.”
ZXX isn’t a foolproof security measure intended to thwart machine
learning. Sang Mun’s intention was to draw to light society’s
rapidly disappearing privacy; as technology becomes more adept at
recording, documenting, and sharing. The project was released in
2013, but is as relevant as ever in today’s society.
This type-specimen features ZXX’s unique characteristics, and
documents the history of its creation.
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