Title: Visomat
Type: CD-ROM and Installation
Year: 1999

The Visomat is a graphic design teller machine and a CD-ROM documentation about the Transport project. Transport was a collaboration between 4 students from the School of Design & Arts lucerne: Peter Körner, Markus Wohlhüter, Rafael Koch and my brother Urs Lehni.

Transport was also an unused salesroom at the Zürichstrasse 44 in Lucerne which was turned into a meeting point, exhibition room, students» kiosk, collecting point and event room. In 1999, from February until May exhibitions, lectures and arties were organized, people were invited and bills, flyers, posters, fonts, T-shirts and a lot of other things were created.

This process was documented on the CD-ROM which was put inside the Visomat installation: A machine that looked like a cash dispenser, but instead of just receiving money from it, one can explore Transport, try out fonts, play games, look at photographs and pictures,... The idea was that such Visomats could theoretically be put up all around the world and people could do the same with them that was done at the Transport during these 4 months. One Visomat was built in real and was presented at the final event, showing the Visomat CD-ROM on the screen.

Lego Fontboy and Casino Fontwatch were both designed by Urs Lehni and can be seen as early versions of the later Lego Font Creator.

Visomat was an important starting point for the collaborations between Rafael Koch, Urs Lehni and Jürg Lehni. It initiated a lot of what came later with Lego Font Creator, Rubik Maker, the Museum Features and Vectorama.org.