TYPOGRAPHY | TASK 3: TYPE DESIGN AND COMMUNICATION

The chisel tip was surprisingly hard to control for me. From my strokes, I can see I was struggling to keep the line clean and had to go back several times to make sure it looks consistent.

However as it continues, it got cleaner. The round tip was easy to use and had more flexibility in making simpler fonts.

Fig 3.2.1 Ideation, First sketches, 3 designs for each pen, total 9.

My curves and bowls were not very consistent and should work on that. But Mr. Max has said that design 1.2 uppercase looks the best and can proceed on that one. Work on (o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! #).

I preferred design 1.1 more so I decided to sketch other letters for it as well if I have time.

Fig 3.2.2 Sketch of o l e d s n c h t i g

After comparing, I think my type design looks the most similar to Bodoni Std. So I will be choosing a letter to research before digitizing.

Fig 3.2.3 The 10 provided fonts

Mr. Max advised us to use m as it has a lot for us to study from so I chose to study the lowercase "m".

Fig 3.2.4 Letter Research

Final draft done after feebacks:

Fig 3.2.5. Final Draft

Preparation for digitization:

Fig 3.2.6. My guides

Digitization:

First digitization:

Mr. Max said G looked too much like C. Revise on L, G, and I. Make all the curves touch the x height if possible, to make it consistent.

Second digitization:

FONTLAB

I followed Mr. Vinod's tutorial videos and moved to importing my font into Font lab.

Fig 3.2.6. Progress 1

After importing all of the letters into fontlab I started working with the kerning and glyphs.

Fig 3.2.7. Progress 2

While kerning I found the word Liche looks nice and showcases all the calligraphic curve on my design so I decided to name my font "The Liche" Which can mean an undead immortal witch or wizard. In a way my font looks like a chanted spell.

Fig 3.2.8. Kerning and Glyphs

After typing out some words I realized that some of the type design were not accurate when I imported into fontlab...So I had to go adjust the points individually in fontlab.

Fig 3.2.8. Errors encountered

Mr. Max has suggested to move on to poster design, and will help me with this problem on week 13.

Fig 3.2.9. Poster Layouts 1

I decided on a quote and tried out a few layouts for the poster.

Fig 3.2.10. Poster Layouts 2

I chose the centered one and moved the bylines. I also tested out the reversed colours.

After consulting with Mr.Max, it turns out I had too many nodes on my font. So I went back to font lab and reduced as many nodes as I can.

This definitely fixed all the bumps. So I reinstalled the font and exported the poster!

3.3 FINAL OUTCOME

Download Font Here:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Y9CeNqsyRDPf1XX2J-5fiSN6hGK1D4yn?usp=sharing

Fig 3.3.1. Font Lab Screen Grab (16.12.24)

Fig 3.3.2. Final Outcome Image "The Liche"

Fig 3.3.3. Final Outcome PDF "The Liche"

Fig 3.3.4. Final Outcome IMAGE POSTER

Fig 3.3.5. Final Outcome PDF POSTER

4. FEEDBACK

Week 9:

General Feedback:

Make at least 3 drafts for each pen (h, o, g, b) only. Please make all letters x-height consistent and curves all the same for consistency.

Specific Feedback:

My curves and bowls were not very consistent and should work on that. But Mr. Max has said that design 1.2 uppercase looks the best and can proceed on that one.

Week 10:

General Feedback:

Please show all your drafts today to start digitizing. Finalize designs by 09.12.2024.

Specific Feedback:

Revise letters "C" and "E" and add the break between strokes (like "o") for other letters so that it looks more consistent. Can start digitizing.

Week 11:

General Feedback:

Make one letter and copy paste the strokes you can reuse to keep consistency

Specific Feedback:

Curves can be different but keep the straight strokes as my constant.

Week 12:

General Feedback:

When converting to font lab, remember to make all your type design into one shape to make it easier to copy paste.

Specific Feedback:

Revise on L, G, and I. Make all the curves touch the x height if possible, to make it consistent.

Week 13:

General Feedback:

When submitting in blog, remember both jpeg and png version for final outcomes. Use the specified font and size for the bylines of the poster.

Specific Feedback:

Reduce the nodes on my fonts as there are too many, which affected the exported font.

Week 14:

General Feedback:

Complete Final compilation and reflection blog.

Specific Feedback:

Good to go, can finalize and start on final compilation.

5. REFLECTION

Experience:

Making my own font was something I always tried for fun as a child. And actually making one professionally, even if i was only 11 characters, was an eye-opening experience. The nuances and things to look out for were a lot, and good practice if I ever want to make my own font in the future.

Observations:

I realized that making fonts is not as easy as I thought. As someone who is not used to vector graphics, I would use too many nodes, which greatly affected the outcome. This assignment essentially taught me, less is more.

Findings:

As I mentioned, making a font is not easy. But it is fun and inspirational as you are creating something that only you can do. I would realize that the fonts me and my friends made were all different and had our own styles. Through the fonts, it also showed what our preferences and personality is which was interesting!

6. FURTHER READING

Fig 6.1 Typography Referenced by A. Hayley, R. Poulin, J. Tselentis... T. Alterman.

PG 212-213 (TYPOGRAPHY SELECTION)

Text type:

Caslon, Bembo, and Garamound works well for large areas of book text.
Times New Roman, overused, but made for newspaper.
Clearface, Centaur, and Sabon also have clear readability.

Display type: needs to catch readers eyes quickly.

Slab serifs such as Rockwell, Memphis, and Clarendon all have enough weight and character for use as display type in headlines or subheads.
When enlarged, many of the raw visual forms become present for Old Style and Garalde serif faces.
sans serifs and scripts can also do the job well.

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LOH KAI XUAN (0365780)