TYPOGRAPHY / TASK 3: TYPE DESIGN & COMMUNICATION

For Task 3, we were assigned to design the letters H, O, G, and B in at least 9 different font styles, beginning with idea sketches and moving on to digitization.

We were allowed to sketch our font designs in both uppercase and lowercase, using three different types of marker pens with sizes over 3.0mm on A4 graph paper. Additionally, we were required to reference one of the typefaces from the ten options provided.

1. Letter Dissection

For the first exercise, we were instructed to dissect the letters "H," "o," "g," and "b" in detail. I chose UniversLTstd for the typeface and used the Ellipse Tool and Line Segment Tool in Adobe Illustrator to complete the dissection.

Fig 3.1 Letter Dissection, Week 8 (11/11/2024)

Letter "H" is constructed with straight lines that are all balanced and symmetrical.

Letter "o" is an ellipse that is visually symmetrical on both the vertical and horizontal axes. The stroke thickness is uniform, with well-balanced curves.

Letter "g" has an asymmetrical structure with a top descending tail that curves to the right. However, the stroke thickness is consistent, making it appear balanced.

Letter "b" contains straight vertical stem and a circular shape attached to the right side. The structure is not symmetrical but the stroke thickness is even, giving it a balanced appearance.

2. Ideas & Sketches

First, I explored Pinterest to gather references and inspiration for my designs. I searched through various examples to generate ideas and gain a better understanding of different styles that I could incorporate into my work.

Fig 3.2 Inspirations, Week 8 (11/11/2024)

We needed to create at least 3 different font styles for each marker pen. For my marker pens, I used an Artline Calligraphy Pen (4.0mm), an Artline517 Whiteboard Marker (3.0mm), and an Artline90 Marker (2.0-5.0mm).

To start, I created a rough sketch to practice the lettering and developed some ideas. From there, I came up with 12 font styles in total, 4 styles for each marker pen.

Fig 3.3 Sketches, Week 8 (11/11/2024)

Artline Calligraphy Pen (4.0mm) for design 1, 4, 7, 10
Artline90 Marker (2.0-5.0mm) for design 2,5,8,11
Artline517 Whiteboard Marker (3.0mm) for design 3,6,9,12

Fig 3.4 Final Sketches for (H,O,G,B), Week 8 (15/11/2024)

As I was sketching, I discovered that I could create my best sketches with the Artline90 marker. Therefore, I proceeded to sketch the following letters and punctuation marks: "o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! #".

Fig 3.5 Final Sketches for (o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! #), Week 8 (16/11/2024)

3. Digitalization

After watching the tutorials, I began adjusting the ascender, cap line, x-height, baseline, and descender before starting to digitize my sketch.

Fig 3.6 Guidelines, Week 9 (21/11/2024)

Next, I inserted my sketch into Adobe Illustrator and traced my font using the Pen Tool to create the basic outlines. After that, I adjusted the brush size and thickness to make it similar to my sketch.

Fig 3.7 Inserting Image and Digitizing Trial, Week 9 (21/11/2024)

Fig 3.8 Adjusting the Brush, Week 9 (21/11/2024)

Once I finished creating the outlines, I converted the letters into outline strokes by selecting each stroke and navigating to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. Mr. Vinod suggested that I make the letter "h" wider, similar to my letter "d," to achieve better balance.

I made my letters slightly slanted and categorized them as Sans Serif. I ensured that all of my letters had a uniform slope and maintained consistent thickness for both horizontal and vertical lines.

Fig 3.9 First and Second Attempt, Week 9 (21/11/2024)

Furthermore, I refined the details of my letters and punctuation marks, then reduced the anchor points to make them appear smoother. I made significant changes to the letters "e, d, c, h, and t" by applying the unique design of my font, which features unconnected elements. I extended and rounded the bottom part of the letter "e" and also rounded the letter "c." However, I accidentally made the letter "t" more curved than the others, so I straightened its vertical line to ensure a more uniform and neat appearance.

I also noticed that my number sign was not aligned with the height of the other characters, so I adjusted it accordingly. Following Mr. Vinod's suggestion, I ensured the horizontal lines were the same and balanced. Additionally, I used the Shape Builder Tool to narrow the bottom of the exclamation mark. Later, I realized I had made mistakes with the comma and period. To correct them, I designed the period to match the dot in the letter "i," added a bottom curve to the comma, and trimmed it with the Shape Builder Tool.

Fig 3.10 Final Digitized Fonts, Week 11 (2/12/2024)

Finally, I completed the process by cleaning up the outline strokes using the Pathfinder Tool and Shape Builder Tool. I ensured that each letter and punctuation mark had a minimal number of anchor points for a polished result.

4. FontLab

We were instructed to insert our letters and punctuation marks into FontLab, so I began filling in the measurements. Below are the measurements:

Ascender: 733pt

Cap Line: 697pt

X-Height: 500pt

Baseline: 0pt

Descender: -225pt

After filling in the measurements, I entered the family name, style name, font name, etc. Once I was done, I started inserting my letters and punctuation marks into FontLab and began working on the kerning afterwards.

Fig 3.11 Name and Measurements, Week 11 (5/12/2024)

Fig 3.12 Inserting the Letters into FontLab, Week 11 (5/12/2024)

I made a mistake the first time I tried to kern the letters. I applied kerning to every letter, which was unnecessary, and set both bearings to 50. However, it didn't look as appealing, so I reduced the bearings to 25 and redo the kerning, starting from the letter "o", then "h", and followed by the others.

Fig 3.13 First Kerning Attempt, Week 11 (7/12/2024)

After analyzing my letters, I found that the problematic ones were "l," "d," "s," "t," and "g." I only adjusted the kerning for those letters, finalized my font, and moved on to creating the poster.

Fig 3.14 Screen Grab Final Kerning with Phrases, Week 12 (9/12/2024)

5. Poster

I created three different designs for the poster, each with a different quote. I liked the first concept the most, as the other designs felt too simple and basic. However, the quote in the first poster didn’t include all of the letters, so I changed it to "cold endless night" and refined the composition, as it looked a bit off. While working on the poster, I decided to change my font name from "Aveline Regular" to "Cloud Sans Serif Italic," which I did.

Fig 3.15 First, Second, and Third Poster Designs, Week 12 (12/12/2024)

I reduced the font size to make all the words fit on the poster and only displayed the letter strokes. However, I filled in some of the words to make them stand out as focal points. After receiving some feedback, Mr. Vinod suggested I set the stroke thickness to 0.5pt and make certain words thicker at 1pt to add more detail to the poster.

Fig 3.16 Final Poster Design, Week 13 (16/12/2024)

6. Final Outcome

Font Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XNag5fwMgYKY9-4BzCY3-KFRb7L1gf_w/view?usp=drive_link

Fig 3.17 Screengrab Bearings, Week 13 (16/12/2024)

Fig 3.18 Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication "Cloud Sans Serif Italic" .JPEG, Week 12 (14/12/2024)

Fig 3.19 Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication "Cloud Sans Serif Italic" .PDF, Week 12 (14/12/2024)

Fig 3.20 Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication Poster .JPEG, Week 13 (16/12/2024)

Fig 3.21 Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication Poster .PDF, Week 13 (16/12/2024)

Font Tester:

4. FEEDBACK

Week 8

(Independent Learning Week)

Week 9

General Feedback: Mr. Vinod clarified that the letter "t" should sit lower than the ascender, and that the letter "s" should have a smaller curve at the top and a larger one at the bottom to create a balanced appearance. He also mentioned that we need to document our process of digitizing the font.

Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod suggested that I shouldn't replicate the font exactly as the sketch since I’ve only been practicing calligraphy for a week. He also advised me to keep the horizontal and vertical strokes consistent. Additionally, I need to decide whether I want all the letters to be straight or slanted, avoiding a mix of both.

Week 10

General Feedback: Mr. Vinod helped improvise our fonts personally and made sure we were on the right track.

Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod said that all letters should be the same size, so he made sure that my "h" was as big as my "d" and "e".

Week 11

General Feedback: Mr. Vinod helped us finalize our fonts and instructed us to watch the tutorials first before inserting our fonts into FontLab.

Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod suggested making the exclamation mark narrower at the bottom and ensuring the horizontal lines for the number sign are the same. Besides that, everything else is already good, and I can move on to inserting my fonts into FontLab.

Week 12

General Feedback: We were assigned to create a poster using our custom font. Mr. Vinod emphasized the importance of achieving a good composition and ensuring that the text is impactful.

Specific Feedback: Mr Vinod explained that kerning is only necessary for problematic letters, such as my "d," "t," and "l." For other letters, kerning adjustments are not required. Additionally, he advised making the letter "t" straighter, same to the design of my "l," "d," and "h." He also suggested narrowing the bottom of the exclamation mark for better proportion.

Week 13

General Feedback: Mr. Vinod ensured that we included all the letters we had created before moving on to finalize our poster. After that, he ensured we completed our e-portfolio.

Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod mentioned that my poster needed better composition and assisted me in adjusting the stroke thickness of the letters to make the poster look more detailed.

5. REFLECTION

Experience

It was a new experience for me because I had never done calligraphy before. Even though the process is quite challenging, I still enjoy it because this is my first time creating my own font, which I can actually use to make a poster.

Observations

It is important to pay close attention to the details of the letters because they are crucial. I also noticed that there are specific rules I have to follow in order to create punctuations correctly. Moreover, I have learned that we can choose whether we want to make Serif or Sans Serif, straight or slanted fonts, but we can't combine them.

Findings

I feel that creating fonts is very time-consuming since we have to focus on the details to ensure all the letters remain consistent and neat. It requires patience and precision, as even small inconsistencies can affect the overall appearance.

6. FURTHER READING

Fig 6.1 "A Type Primer"

This page below highlights the evolution of typography, focusing on two key periods. In 1900, sans serif typefaces became popular, removing decorative serifs for a cleaner look. These typefaces, like Helvetica and Futura, were either humanist or geometric in style. By 1990, hybrid typefaces combining serif and sans serif elements, such as Rotis and Scala, emerged, offering more versatility by blending features of both styles.

Fig 6.2 "Text typeface classification" page 50

The image below explains how typographers like Otl Aicher developed expanded typeface families, such as the Rotis family created in 1989. These typefaces include variations like serif, semi-serif, semi-sans, and sans serif, offering versatility in style and weight (light to bold).

Fig 6.3 "An expanded type 'family'" page 47

Fig 6.4 "Typographic Design: Form and Communication"

This text below explains how typefaces use unit values to determine the width of each letter and spacing between them. The unit value divides the type size into equal parts and affects interletter spacing. Adjusting the spacing, called tracking, changes the tone of the typography, while kerning adjusts space between specific letter pairs for better alignment. Both tracking and kerning improve the aesthetics and legibility of text.

Fig 6.5 "Tracking and Kerning" page 44

The image below explains the optical adjustments required to maintain visual harmony within a font. Letters are designed with slight variations, such as thinner horizontal strokes, adjusted heights, and tapered curves, to prevent them from appearing uneven or disproportionate. These subtle changes ensure that the font appears balanced and aesthetically pleasing to the reader.

Fig 6.6 "Optical Relationships within a font" page 36

Fig 6.7 "Typography Referenced"

This image below showcases a variety of typefaces, each with unique characteristics and historical significance. Among them, the middle typeface stands out, capturing my attention due to its timeless appeal and practical use during a fascinating period of design evolution. This particular typeface was widely utilized for daily applications between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s.

Fig 6.8 "Type Classification and Identification" page 67

Eben Sorkin's Arrotino features subtle variations in stroke endings, creating a consistent yet slightly irregular typeface, especially evident in the short arm of the "r." Writing with two tied pencils demonstrates how traditional weight distribution and stress in Latin scripts emerge, guiding stroke placement in type design. David Březina's Skolar combines organic and constructed elements, with its low contrast preserving texture even at smaller sizes.

Fig 6.9 "Typographic Referenced" page 38

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Aveline Kristie (0372310)

TYPOGRAPHY / TASK 3: TYPE DESIGN & COMMUNICATION

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