17.5.2022 - 31.5.2022 (Week 8 - Week 10)
Loh Qiao Yin/ 0348923
Typography / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's
University
Task 3A/ Type Design & Communication
LECTURES
Lectures 1 to 6 are completed in Task 1- Exercise 1 and 2
Week 8
Typography: Task 3A Typeface Construction (Shapes)
Mr. Vinod ran us through the steps and process of getting started
with Task 3A, mainly setting up the artboards with the grids and
guides and a few basic ways to design our own typeface.
Fig 1.1 Typography Task 3A , 14 May 2022
INSTRUCTIONS
< />
Task 3A: Type Design & Communication
i. RESEARCH
Just gathering information on the typographic illusions that I should notice and also the possibilities of type design.
B,P and R are sister shapes, but the bowl of R is slightly thinner so when the leg is added, it does not look too thick. The upper bowl of B is also smaller than the bottom one to create a more stable appearance.
The letters from Futura are based on geometry. Letters like 'G' are
not fully circular despite appearing so.
Taking note of the play with contrast, thick and thin
strokes.
Getting some artistic inspo from Chinese hanzi typeface
design.
The flow between letter to letter.
ii. SKETCHES
Most of the time I am drawn in by the clean and sleek design of sans-serif fonts. The smooth and geometrical design gives out a sense of harmony that I find pleasurable when reading them. However, I decided to give a twist of playfulness in them.
Apparently, I made 3 mistakes, one being not attentive enough to
remember that I should do FIVE different sets of sketches, also
each idea has to have an OBVIOUS variation to it, and it did not
look sketchy enough that Mr Vinod misunderstood them as a
digitalized idea. Thus, I reorganised and added new sketches.
iii. DECONSTRUCTION
Chose Sketch #1 to be further developed. I got the inspiration for this sans-serif font I sketched from Univers LT Std, 55 Roman so I went on to deconstruct the lowercase letters from the typeface.
Just gathering information on the typographic illusions that I should notice and also the possibilities of type design.
B,P and R are sister shapes, but the bowl of R is slightly thinner so when the leg is added, it does not look too thick. The upper bowl of B is also smaller than the bottom one to create a more stable appearance.
Fig 2.1 Comparison between P,B and R by 99designs.com, 18 May
2022
Fig 2.2 Letter 'G' overlaid with a perfect circle, image from
Blythwood, 18 May 2022
Fig 2.3 Madagascar by Four on fontstruct.com, 18 May 2022
Fig 2.4 Design by SodM on zcool.com, 18 May 2022
Fig 2.5 Kobe typeface by vj-type.com, 18 May 2022
Most of the time I am drawn in by the clean and sleek design of sans-serif fonts. The smooth and geometrical design gives out a sense of harmony that I find pleasurable when reading them. However, I decided to give a twist of playfulness in them.
Fig 2.6 Initial first idea, 20 May 2022
Fig 2.7 Initial second idea, 20 May 2022
Fig 2.8 Sketch #1 and #2, 22 May 2022
Fig 2.9 Sketch #3 and #4, 22 May 2022
Fig 2.10 Sketch #5, 22 May 2022
iii. DECONSTRUCTION
Chose Sketch #1 to be further developed. I got the inspiration for this sans-serif font I sketched from Univers LT Std, 55 Roman so I went on to deconstruct the lowercase letters from the typeface.
Fig 3.1 Deconstruct 'm' , 1 June 2022
Fig 3.2 Deconstruct 'k' , 1 June 2022
Fig 3.3 Deconstruct 'a' , 1 June 2022
iv. DIGITALISATION
- Ideation
We were required to digitalise the following alphabets and
punctuations mentioned in the brief. Some alphabets have different
variations. The 3rd 'a' , 1st 'o' , 3rd 't' , 2nd 'k' , 2nd 'r' ,
1st 'y' and 1st 'p' were chosen after some discussion with my
peer.
Fig 4.1 Digitalised idea variations, 1 June 2022
- Finalised font
Fig 4.2 Finalised font after feedback, 1 June 2022
Fig 4.3 Outline of letter designs (before feedback), 1 June
2022
Fig 4.4 Measurement guidelines, 1 June 2022
Measurements:
Ascender: 654 pt
Capital height: 650 pt
Median: 453 pt
Descender: -170 pt
v. DEVELOPMENT OF FONT IN FONTLAB 7
Copying and pasting the letters into FontLab 7 after uniting them using the pathfinder tool.
Fig 5.1 Progress in FontLab 7, 1 June 2022
Doing kerning for the alphabets were not as easy as expected because
the kernings are different for every alphabet pairs.
Fig 5.2 Kerning, 1 June 2022
Doing kerning for my typeface name. I hope to use the 'o' I designed,
thus the inspiration behind the name.
Fig 5.3 Otrae, 1 June 2022
Lastly, the font is exported and installed, ready to be tested
out.
Fig 5.4 Font export, 1 June 2022
vi. DEMO
Had some fun with my font- Otrae, by typing out some sample
words.
Fig 6.1 Sample word #1, 1 June 2022
Tried to find words that rhyme like tic tac toe.
Fig 6.2 Sample words #2, 1 June 2022
Task 3A: Type Design & Communication
Otrae - Font download link
Fig 7.1 'Otrae' demo in JPEG, 1 June 2022
Fig 7.2 A4 poster of 'Otrae' demo in JPEG, 1 June 2022
/>
Fig 7.3 'Otrae' demo in PDF, 1 June 2022
/>
/>
Fig 7.3 'Otrae' demo in PDF, 1 June 2022
/>
Fig 7.4 A4 poster of 'Otrae' demo in PDF, 1 June 2022
FEEDBACK
Week 10
General feedback
- Cool font.
Specific feedback
- The full stop has to be even bigger to the point it is obvious. - Head of 'i' should be bigger for visual balance.
- The diagonal line on the head of 'k' and punctuation mark is unnecessary, flatten them.
Week 9General feedback
- Maintain the thickness of stroke in every alphabet.
Specific feedback
- Proceed with sketch #1.
Week 8
General feedback
- Do 5 sketches, not only digitalisation.
Specific feedback
- 7a lowercase 'n' is interesting, should base other designs around it.
REFLECTION
Experience
I was daunted by the idea of creating my own typeface because I know that
behind every creation of typefaces, there are mountains of technicalities
hiding behind them. It is a very new thing to me and I had to go through
lots of research to improve my understanding of the possibilities of
creating a new typeface, as well as the small details to be aware
of.
Observations
I find it kind of difficult for me to pick up the sense of design in
typography, it probably has a lot to do with my lack of observation and
passion in word design, despite them being all around me at all times. I
have to read even more books, and actively observe the product packaging
designs in my daily life such as the shampoo bottles.
Findings
Findings
Designing the aesthetic aspect of a typeface and the technical part of
it are two different jobs that require so much knowledge, an eye for
detail and patience. The kerning has to be paid tons of attention when
it comes to making sure that the alphabets look good beside each other.
This was a really exhausting and heavy task but I cannot deny I learned
so much about the process of creating a typeface from the start to the
end, and I am glad that I have the ability to do so now.
FURTHER READING
Fig 8.1 'Typographic Design: Form and Communication 6th Edition, 14 May 2022
The book gives excellent insight into the process of creating a typeface
by introducing the basics of forms, syntax, its potential for expression,
measurements, nature of a typeface etc. I was the most interested in the
topic of legibility as I like the way it was explained in the book, which
is easy to understand with clear visual examples.
Fig 8.2 Optical relationships within a font, 18 May 2022
Comments
Post a Comment