Mike’s Maze 2023: What makes us human?
In what is probably the largest use of my fonts ever (and without a doubt the corniest 🌽), Mike’s Maze at Warner Farm in Sunderland, Massachusetts has debuted its Fall 2023 corn maze featuring Fit and Lab DJR.
Employing font sizes of up to 151,165pt (that’s a 44-yard / 40-meter cap height), designer Jess Marsh of Hired Hands Signs chose artificial intelligence as the theme of this year’s maze.
In a dense border around the edge of the maze, she asks the question, “In the age of artificial intelligence, what makes us human?”
As visitors wander Fit’s narrow corridors (reminiscent of the circuitry in a computer chip), they ponder this question and encounter tech trivia and decoding challenges along the way.
In the center of the maze, the space opens up and visitors experience the raster grid of the word “ThiNkiNG” set in Lab DJR.
In a field just to the northwest, a companion maze used for beer tastings features the word “DRINKING” set in a chunkier cut of Fit, with bubbles floating around it.
While designing the maze, Marsh used Fit’s variable width axis to subtly adjust the text to align with the rows of corn and fill the length of the field. She worked with Precision Mazes to execute the design with a combination of drones, GPS-guided tractors, and manual labor. Marsh and farmer David Wissemann had to clear out the thin strips of Fit’s counterforms using shovels and hoes, since those interior spaces could not be accessed by tractor. (I helped out a little in the field too, photo evidence below.)
Mike’s Maze was started by farmer Mike Wissemann (David’s father) and artist Will Sillin over twenty years ago, and each year’s maze centers on a different theme. The maze is a popular autumn destination for families in Western Massachusetts, and this year’s maze was front page news in the local paper. In addition to exploring the maze, visitors can eat cider donuts, play on giant slides and ropes, hang out inside a giant computer, and more.
Video by Dan Taibbi
A fisheye panorama showing the maze’s position in Massachusetts’s Pioneer Valley, with the Connecticut River and Sugarloaf Mountain behind it
A close-up drone shot, showing the rows of corn.
The “Drinking” maze set in Fit, used for beer tastings.
The maze as viewed from a biplane.
Designer Jess Marsh and farmer David Wissemann walk through the interior of the maze.
Me, helping out (a little) to define the edge of Fit’s A crossbar
A drone’s view of Jess Marsh, David Wissemann, and me standing inside of a recently-cleared counterform of Fit’s A.
Our view of the drone, hovering over the cornfield. Sugarloaf Mountain is visible in the distance.
The counterform of Fit’s A, shortly after clearing.
Maze founder Mike Wissemann and designer Jess Marsh with their thinking caps on. (Jess’s new one uses Lab DJR)
A giant computer complete with keyboard and mouse stands next to the eastern edge of the maze.
3 Comments on “Mike’s Maze 2023: What makes us human?”
A panorama of the maze from the viewing stand
A small update—I visited Mike’s Maze again this week and have some more examples of how it looks later in the autumn season.
Using a tape measure, I was able to calculate that the largest cap height is exactly 40 meters, exactly the same size as the massive Brexit protest previously featured on Fonts in Use. This is one meter off from my previous calculation, which was based on rough measurements made in Google Earth.
This was also my first time visiting the maze since Jess installed the signage. I didn’t realize that she used Lab DJR so extensively throughout the maze, accompanied by Input Mono!
And finally, here are some miscellaneous photos just to give you a sense of what it’s like inside the maze. I’ve added a key in the corner so you can see roughly where the picture was taken.
This is amazing. Literally. Also, this is exhausting work. Impressive tenacity by the makers on this one. Beautiful.