![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_1.jpg)
Virtureal by Jelte van Abbema
Dutch Design Week: here's a second project by Jelte van Abbema, winner of the Rado Prize at the Dutch Design Awards in Eindhoven last week, which explores how to express emotion through the digital word.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_2jpg dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_2jpg](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_2jpg.jpg)
Called Virtureal, the research project involved creating fonts that deteriorate over time like a shrivelling leaf (above) or dissolving sugar.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_3 dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_3](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_leaf_3.jpg)
Below: Alfablad font.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_alfablad dzn_jelte_van_abbema_alfablad](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_alfablad.gif)
Below: Oplossen font
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_oplossen dzn_jelte_van_abbema_oplossen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_oplossen.gif)
Van Abbema also attached sensors to an old-fashioned mechanical typewriter (below) so that words appearing on a computer screen varied in intensity according to how hard the keys had been struck.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_TYP_zij dzn_jelte_van_abbema_TYP_zij](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_TYP_zij.jpg)
See our earlier story on Symbiosis by Jelte van Abbema - a project that involved printing with bacteria.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_screen dzn_jelte_van_abbema_screen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_screen.gif)
Here's some text from the designer:
--
Virtureal
Computers lack senses and a method for expression to transfer emotions from the writer to the reader.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_1 dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_1](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_1.jpg)
The digital word is not capable of recognizing these emotions, much less the nuances or intonation of real life.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_2 dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_2](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_2.jpg)
Virtureal, a combination of the virtual world and reality, explores the boundaries between man and machine by listening to the pressure of touch.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_3 dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_3](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_sugar_3.jpg)
By incorporating modern sensors in an old Remington typewriter, emotional communication through a computer is recorded with each keystroke.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_TYP_iso dzn_jelte_van_abbema_TYP_iso](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_TYP_iso.jpg)
A light touch now becomes a whisper of small characters, and a shout can be seen to fill the screen.
![dzn_jelte_van_abbema_virtureal dzn_jelte_van_abbema_virtureal](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_jelte_van_abbema_virtureal.jpg)
Moreover, van Abbema's fonts change with the passage of time as leaves shrivel with age or sugar cubes dissolve in water. The typography now reflects the thoughts and emotions of its creator.