Typography [Task 3: Type Design and Communication]
11.21.2023 - 12.26.2023 / week 9 - week 14
Sheryne Axellia Putri / 0367267 / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative MediaTypography Task 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LECTURES
Week 9 11.21.2023 - Typo Task 3A Typeface Construction (Shapes)
Figure 1.1 Week 9 (11/21/2023) Shapes.
To create a new typeface, it's important to deconstruct every letter in an
existing typeface.
Deconstructing
the letters of a typeface is important for creating a new typeface
because it allows us to understand the design elements and structure of
the letterforms, which then can be applied to create new and unique
letterforms, it's easier to understand the design principles and
elements that make up the existing typeface, which can limit our ability
to create a new typeface that is cohesive.
Figure 1.2 Week 9 (11/21/2023) Deconstructing the letter of a
typeface.
By carefully studying the individual letters, we can better understand the
design principles and patterns that were used to create the existing
typeface and use that knowledge to bring new elements.
Understanding the anatomy of a typeface is important to help make the correct design decisions and to create
balanced letterforms. Understanding the anatomy of a typeface can
include the following elements such as X-height, Ascender, Descender,
Baseline, and Cap height.
INSTRUCTIONS
Figure 2.1 Week 9 (11/21/2023) Module Information.
Task 3: Type Design and Communication
Choose an existing font design that adheres to the direction that you
would like to head in. Study the font carefully by analyzing its
anatomical parts. Start with rough sketches, explore various options, and
upon approval begin digitization of the drawings—software for digitization
is Adobe Illustrator and later FontLab. Artworks shall be printed out for
critique sessions followed by refinements.
Figure 2.2 Week 9 (11/21/2023) The provided 10 fonts.
Select a preferred font from the 10 fonts provided. Using the
following letters H, o, g, b,
do a detailed dissection of the letters and sketch the following
letters O, D, H, N, G /
o,d, h, n, g using the 3 pens (choose:
uppercase/lowercase).
Explore 3 different writing styles for each of the 3
pens. You will endeavor to create a typeface with the hallmarks of a good
typeface; subtlety or character, presence, legibility, and
readability. Below are the letters you will design: o l e d s n c h
t i g, . ! #
1.1 Progress
1a.) Research
Figure 2.3 Week 9 (11/21/2023)
Research.
- I dig some inspiration and research to know the aspects that can make a typeface unique. Design elements of a typeface which include the shape, proportions, and visual characteristics can make a typeface unique, For example, a typeface with rounded letterforms might have an approachable feel, while a typeface with sharp letterforms may appear modern and edgy.
- A unique typeface may have a particular visual appeal due to its personality or mood, which can make it stand out from other typefaces.
- The purpose for which the typeface was designed can also make it unique. Different typefaces are designed for different purposes, such as body text, display, or headline uses. Design elements may be specific to the purpose, making the typeface more suited for a particular task. Ex:
Figure 2.4 Week 9 (11/21/2023) Futura used for movie posters.
Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner in
1927. The purpose of Futura was to create a typeface that was modern,
futuristic, and functional. He aimed to create a typeface that would be
both modern and timeless, and he succeeded in creating a typeface that
is still widely used today. Futura is mostly used in a variety of
applications including advertising, branding, and publication design.
The picture above is an example of how Futura is used, in this case as a
movie poster. Design studio Change The Thought,
founded by Christopher Cox, is the author of a minimalist posters series that he made in tribute to
Stanley Kubrick’s movies.
Kubrick in Futura takes the movie posters of The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, Spartacus, and Full Metal Jacket to transform into posters showing only the color code of the
story and title typography in Futura which adapts to the themes of
each work.
Futura's geometric design is well-suited to Kubrick's films, it's a
brilliant and effective design element that helps to create aesthetics
and style (modern, clean, and minimalist) in Kubrick's films.
1b.) Concept Sketches
The instruction was to start with rough sketches and explore a
variety of options before digitization.
Here are the sketches that I've come up with:
Figure 2.5 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #1 Sketch.
- Based on the typeface of Serifa Std, it is characterized by narrow strokes and finely detailed serifs. Using the rounded nib pen I realized that the brush changed the weight and value of the typeface which I found interesting and probably is the reason that the lecturer instructed us to use 3 different types of pens.
Figure 2.6 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #2 Sketch.
- Even though it is a different typeface from the first sketch, but the sketch I did make the two typefaces look similar, this time I used the reference from ITC New Baskerville. One of the main differences between Serifa Std and ITC New Baskerville is their weight, Serifa Std is a slightly bold and condensed serif typeface, whereas ITC New Baskerville is a more refined typeface.
Figure 2.7 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #3 Sketch.
- Thus my last sketch for the week is based on the Serifa Std typeface but with a more complex weight. Ms. Hsin that this sketch could have potential and developed. So I did just as that following the proper guide anatomy of a typeface.
Figure 2.8 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #3 Sketch development (1).
I was instructed to develop every letter and how they'll work with
minor/major development. I also made the uppercase version of the
letterforms.
Figure 2.9 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #3 Sketch development (2).
Now that I know that the alphabet we were instructed to create is for
"The Design School", I tried to put the alphabet together as the whole
word:
Figure 2.10 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #3 Sketch development (3).
Figure 2.11 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #3 Sketch development (4).
You can see there are a few failed attempts because I was having
difficulty writing the alphabet based on the guide. I collected the
sketch of the letterforms that I found were okay as a clear reference
to help my digitization process:
Figure 2.12 Week 9 (11/21/2023) #3 Sketch Finalized.
1c.) Digitization
Before doing the digitization on Ai, Ms. Hsin suggested that my typeface
could be based on either Futura Std or Gill Sans, I did a little
constructing of both typefaces.
Figure 2.13 Week 10 (11/28/2023) Constructing Futura Std.
- Futura Std is slightly bolder with narrow strokes than Gill Sans which is characterized by a more rounded and wide appearance. The style of my typeface is readable if it is based on a bold and long typeface.
Figure 2.14 Week 10 (11/28/2023) Constructing Gill Sans.
- I concluded that it is best to use Futura Std as my reference, because for Gill Sans if I cut the part of the letterform like in my sketches, each alphabet looks far away from the other, and for that reason, I chose Futura Std. I began to deconstruct the letters using Futura Std (Extra Bold) font.
Figure 2.15 Week 10 (11/28/2023) Deconstruction of the letter
'H'.
Figure 2.16 Week 10 (11/28/2023) Deconstruction of the letter 'o'.
Figure 2.17 Week 10 (11/28/2023) Deconstruction of the letter 'g'.
Figure 2.18 Week 10 (11/28/2023) Deconstruction of the letter 'b'.
- I began digitizing my sketch in Adobe Illustrator:
Figure 2.19 Week 10 (11/28/2023) #1 attempt.
I made two attempts at digitization, #1 using the base from Futura Std,
and #2 using my own strokes using the Pen tool. Ms. Hsin chose the #1
one for me to continue to develop since she said it's okay for me to use
a base from an existing typeface.
Figure 2.20 Week 10 (11/28/2023) #2 attempt.
I continued to further develop my typeface and asked for guidance and
feedback.
Figure 2.21 Week 11 (12/05/2023) All of the attempts and
changes.
Figure 2.22 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Development and changes of the
letter 'o'.
Figure 2.23 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Development and changes of the
letters 'd' & 'g'.
Figure 2.24 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Development and changes of the
letters 's', 'e', & 'c'.
Figure 2.25 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Final outcome of
digitization.
After my digitization is accepted, I continue to export my letterforms
from Ai to Fontlab 7. The lecturer advised us to name our typeface
according to our name, so I named my typeface based on my middle name,
Axel.
Figure 2.26 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Exporting each letter to Fontlab
7.
Figure 2.27 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Minor adjustments.
Figure 2.28 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Sidebearing adjustment.
Sidebearing is the space provided at each side of a typeset letter
to prevent its touching adjoining letters.
Figure 2.29 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Sidebearing.
Figure 2.31 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Kerning adjustment (1).
Figure 2.32 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Kerning adjustment (2).
Figure 2.33 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Exporting the Fontlab 7 file to
Ai.
Figure 2.34 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Axel-regular typeface in
Ai.
1d.) Poster
Figure 2.35 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Poster #1
attempt.
Figure 2.36 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Poster #2
attempt.
Figure 2.37 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Poster #3
attempt.
Figure 2.38 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Poster #4
attempt.
Figure 2.39 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Poster #5
attempt (Final).
Figure 2.40 Week 13 (12/19/2023) Final Construction type on Ai
(Jpeg).
Figure 2.41 Week 13 (12/19/2023)Final Construction type on Ai (Pdf).
Figure 2.42 Week 13 (12/19/2023) Final A4 black & white poster (Jpeg).
Figure 2.43 Week 13 (12/19/2023) Final A4 black & white poster (Pdf).
Figure 2.44 Week 13 (12/19/2023) Font tester/preview.
FEEDBACK
Week 9 11.21.2023
- Specific feedback, when designing a sketch of a typeface make sure to set clear rules that your typeface will follow. This should include the elements of the anatomy of the typeface such as x-heights, baseline, ascender, and descender.
Figure 3.1 Week 9 (11/21/2023) Before vs after.
- General feedback, the sketch should reflect what certain typefaces you use (by labeling) also using different types of pens can help to explore the variety of the letter shapes, and remember to add notes on what pen you are using. Personal characteristics like stencils are great (unjoined features).
Week 10 11.28.2023
- Specific feedback, the #1 attempt at the digitization sketch is good and much easier to read because it is more properly balanced, while the #2 one looks uneven. So I will have to go and continue making the other letters using the #1 version. I thought the #1 attempt would not be acceptable because it is based on an existing typeface 'Futura Std'. However, Ms. Hsin said it is still acceptable because I'm not copying the original typeface.
- General feedback, make sure the size of the canvas on Ai is 1000 mm x 1000 mm, and make sure the pt size of the x-height letterforms is the same.
Week 11 12.05.2023
- Specific feedback, Ms. Hsin said my typeface reminded her of a certain typeface, called fudoni. I searched Fudoni to find more information. Fudoni features a wide range of weights, including extremely thin and delicate versions, as well as much bolder versions she also added that the weight and value of a typeface are important design elements that affect its visual impact, value refers to the contrast between the thick and thin strokes within a typeface.
Figure 3.2 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Fudoni type family.
- General feedback, when exporting the letterforms to Fontlab 7, make sure to adjust your letters (if there are any errors) again using the tools that are available in Fontlab 7.
Week 12 12.12.2023
- Specific feedback, for my letters 'd', 'g', 's', 'c', and 'e' need to follow each value and weight of the letter 'o', with that the letterforms can contrast each other.
Figure 3.3 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Value & weight (1).
Figure 3.4 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Value & weight (2).
- General feedback, to improve the visual appearance of a typeface, without proper kerning, the space between letters can be inconsistent, making the text difficult to read and visually distracting.
Week 13 12.19.2023
- Specific feedback, It's better to not add a lot of elements to the poster, because the purpose of the poster is to introduce your typeface.
- General feedback, Too much distortion can ruin the purpose of the poster, for my typeface especially it is best to leave it as simple as it is, and when fitting the whole into the canvas, it is only acceptable to have two different typesizes.
REFLECTION
Experience
As I began the process of creating my typeface, I first had to determine
the aesthetics and visual style I wanted to achieve. This involved
developing and trying to make a new version of my typeface. This task is a
mix of understanding of typography, design, and application from previous
tasks that required more attention to detail and was time-consuming. My
progress is mostly in refining the letters and glyphs as well as minor
errors.
Observation
My typeface is based on the Futura Stds typeface, which is a sans-serif
typeface, sans-serif typefaces are characterized by having no serifs. The
absence of serifs makes sans-serif typefaces more modern, and minimalist.
After doing research about Futura Std now I know that my typeface doesn't
require any serifs. As you can see from my sketch, I thought about adding
serifs to some letters.
Figure 3.5 Week 12 (12/12/2023) Sketch vs Final.
Findings
When trying Fontlab 7 for the first time, it offers a variety of
features, it allows users to modify and create custom font, I also learned
that I can modify individual letterforms, and adjust sidebearings, and
kerning, which can improve the visual appearance of typefaces.
FURTHER READING
Figure 4.1 Week 11 (12/05/2023) The Vignelli Canon.
Figure 4.2 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Summary of The Vignelli Canon #1.
Figure 4.3 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Summary of The Vignelli Canon #3.
Figure 4.4 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Summary of The Vignelli Canon #4.
Figure 4.5 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Summary of The Vignelli Canon #5.
Figure 4.6 Week 11 (12/05/2023) Summary of The Vignelli Canon #6.
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