New web tool Munken Creator lets you create downloadable, animated font experiments

In 2020, Swedish paper manufacturer Arctic Paper launched Munken Sans, a free-to-use font inspired by the Swedish typeface Tratex – which was actually designed by Kåge Gustafson to be used on national road signs in the 1960s. Munken Creator is the next step in the creative project from the paper manufacturer. Working with design agency Juno and creative technologist Patrik Hübner, Arctic Paper has launched a new web-based app which allows users to create visual experiments using Munken Sans as its open-source typographic base. According to the Munken site, the web app hopes these “typographic artworks” will then “inspire people to think beyond the boundaries of how we communicate”.

Users heading over to Munken Creator are given the options to play with various drop down menus like Rotation Variation, Colour and Spacing, plus four animation pre-settings and the option to upload background images. There is also an option to randomise artworks for those in a rush. The Munken site adds: “Images and backgrounds can be combined with type editing in a nearly unlimited number of ways.” The final outputs can then be saved as images or videos in WebM and MP4 formats, and harnessed for classic print or web projects.

According to Arctic Paper, Raising Questions (the wider "invitation" that accompanies the launch of Munken Creator) is asking audiences to create visual messages with the app and share them under the hashtag #munkencreator.

So far, Raising Questions has allowed participants to see some of the possibilities the tool offers by sharing a range of final artworks. In fact, a large-format magazine showcasing the variety of these Munken artworks is soon to be released. Printed artworks within the magazine will be able to be explored through the augmented reality app Artivive, adding another level of interaction to the project.