While most smartwatches like the Galaxy Gear and Android Wear push the boundaries on the sorts of displays you can have on your wrist, the vast majority of digital watches today still get by with a clever little invention called the seven-segment LED display. As seen on a host of Casios and smartwatches, the seven-segment display uses elongated hexagons arranged in a figure-eight pattern that can be lit in different configurations to read every number from 0 to 9.
The seven-segment display is clever, power-efficient technology that owes its design pedigree back to patents dating from 1908, but one thing it doesn't make for is great typography. A new digital typeface called Script might change all of that. Created by Adrian and Jeremy Wright of Design Wright for Lexon, it's a segmented LED display for type snobs.
Script isn't fundamentally different from a tech perspective than a normal digital light face: It's still various segments that can turn into different configurations of numbers when lit up correctly. But while this setup usually makes most digital watches look cold and artificial, Script has been designed to mimic the fluid stroke of a calligraphy pen in light-emitting diodes. Instead of seven segments, though, each number of the Script digital typeface looks to be made of 12, giving it a more organic appearance.
Script will be debuting in three Lexon clocks this month: a wall clock, an alarm clock, and the ubiquitous digital watch. For those who love the simplicity of a digital watch but hate the early-'80s vibe of their typefaces, Script might be just the thing that stops you from shuddering every time you glance at your wrist.
You can find more information about Script here.