Graphic Novel’s Hidden Text Printed with UV Ink Revealed in Video
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS—July 13, 2011—Layar, a mobile augmented reality platform developer, has posted a video that showcases a different twist on augmented reality in print. Playing off its theme, the one-off “SVK” (Special Viewing Kit) graphic novel features hidden text printed with UV ink. A UV light is bundled with the comic so buyers can read the secret text that reveals the thoughts of the characters.
The story “is about cities, technology and surveillance, mixed with human themes of the power, corruption and lies that lurk in the data-smog of our near-future,” according to its publishers. SVK is a technology that the characters are searching for that enables users to read the thoughts of others.
Examples of the hidden text are shown around the 50-second mark of the video. (Note: some language also makes the piece graphic.)
Berg, a design consultancy based in London, and the creative team behind the graphic novel, writer Warren Ellis and artist Matt “D’Israeli” Brooker, produced the piece that quickly sold out its first printing. Layar ran a one-page ad in the comic that also features the technology.