10/11/23 - 21/12/23 (Week 8 - Week 13)
Andrea Choo Qin Hui (0366959)
Andrea Choo Qin Hui (0366959)
Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 3 : Type Design and Communication (Font Design)
Task 3 : Type Design and Communication (Font Design)
LECTURES
All lectures are completed in Task 1.
INSTRUCTIONS
TASK 3
Dissection of Letters
Before starting on our third task, Mr. Vinod had instructed us to select a preferred font
from the 10 fonts provided and using the following letters: H, o, g, b to do a detailed
dissection of the letters and to write observations. Font used below is Adobe Caslon Pro.
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| Figure 1.1 Dissection of Letters (17/11/2023) |
Observation: H - The stems are parallel to each other whilst the crossbar is significantly
thinner
o - It has a vertical stress
g - The 'o' in the 'g' is in a smaller size compared to the previous letter, the
loop is long and looks like a flatter version of the letter 'o'
b - The stress and stem are identical to the one in the previous letters
Sketches
For this task, we were assigned to design our own font. But before doing anything, we
had to sketch the letters ODHNG / odhng using 3 different pens (have to be thicker
than 3.0) The pens I chose for sketching are: Artline Supreme, Copic 100 and Copic
R22.
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| Figure 2.2 Sketch #1 with Artline Supreme (17/11/2023) |
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After receiving feedback from Mr. Vinod, we decided to pick sketch number 4 as my
final font to digitalise.
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| Figure 2.5 Sketch Number 4 (24/11/2023) |
Once the font is chosen, we can begin to write the rest of the letters (o l e d s n c h t i g ,
. ! #)
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| Figure 2.6 Further Sketches of Letters (26/11/2023) |
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| Figure 2.7 Further Sketches of Punctuations (26/11/2023) |
Digitalisation
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| Figure 3.1 First Try of Digitalisation (01/12/2023) |
After receiving feedback from Mr. Vinod, he had made me realised that there wasn't
any consistency in the fonts.
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| Figure 3.2 Second Try of Digitalisation (08/11/2023) |
My second try definitely looks better and is also more consistent with the length and
size. But I still felt like something was missing from my fonts and it looks slightly
incomplete to me.
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| Figure 3.4 Paintbrush Brush (08/12/2023) |
My third and last try was in my opinion the best. After I'm finally satisfied with my
font, I added the strokes that will make my font look like a pen I had used when
sketching the font out. I had found a paintbrush brush on Illustrator that looks exactly
like what I had in mind for the final touches of my font.
Process of Using the Paintbrush Tool
To recreate the rough strokes I had in my chosen sketch, I have to use the paintbrush
tool with the chosen brush to outline the parts I wanted to have the strokes at. Once
the strokes are at a placement I am satisfied of, I use the Direct Adjustment tool to
adjust it to fit the letters exactly.
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| Figure 4.1 Example of Creating Strokes (08/12/2023) |
Close-Up & Outline of the Fonts:
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| Figure 4.2 Close-Up #1 (08/12/2023) |
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| Figure 4.3 Close-Up #2 (08/12/2023) |
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Exporting to Fontlab 7
Once the fonts have been finalised, I started exporting all my fonts to Fontlab 7.
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| Figure 5.1 Exported Fonts in Fontlab 7 (08/12/2023) |
I then adjusted the side bearings of all the fonts and kern the punctuations so that it
will be readable for everyone.
I did some more extra testing so that the spacing between the texts are equal. I also
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| Figure 5.2 Adjustment of Side Bearings (08/12/2023) |
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| Figure 5.3 Further Adjustment of Side Bearings (08/12/2023) |
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| Figure 5.4 Kerning of Period (10/12/2023) |
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| Figure 5.6 More Testing (11/12/2023) |
realised that the letter C has slightly less space then the others. So I did more adjusting
so that it's all equal.
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| Figure 5.7 More Kerning (11/12/2023) |
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| Figure 5.8 Name of Font (11/12/2023) |
After thinking about what to name my font, I finally came out with the name 'Chunky
Boi'. There's no particular explanation to the name of the font except for the fact that
it's quite chunky.
Exporting to Adobe Illustrator
Although there are weird lines on my font in Fontlab 7, but once I've exported it out of
Fontlab 7 those lines completely disappeared. So, I begin to design my poster. As I had
to use all the letters in my poster, I went to ChatGPT to search for some ideas and it
came up with the phrase: 'Golden Lights Shine on Silent Nights'.
First Design:
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| Figure 6.1 Design #1 (13/12/2023) |
As per feedback from Mr. Vinod, I had realised that I did not follow the instructions
given which was: the phrase must be the font size and the byline must be
Univers LT Std and 8pt.
Second Design:
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| Figure 6.2 Design #2 (15/12/2023) |
After following Mr. Vinod's instructions, I came up with this final design.
Final Task 3 : Type Design & Communication (Font Design)
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| Figure 7.1 Final Type Construction in JPEG (18/12/2023) |
Figure 7.2 Final Type Construction in PDF (18/12/2023)
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| Figure 7.3 Final Poster in JPEG (18/12/2023) |
Figure 7.3 Final Poster in PDF (18/12/2023)
FEEDBACK
Week 9
General Feedback: -
Specific Feedback: Texts should be the same lengths and size, can draw guidelines
for help
Week 10
General Feedback: Need to have consistency in all the letterforms
Specific Feedback: Parallel strokes should all be the same thickness and length
Week 11
General Feedback: The period in the exclamation mark should be the same as the
full stop in the font and between them should have some space
Specific Feedback: Fonts are finally consistent, can upload to FontLab 7
Week 12
General Feedback: All font size should be the same in the poster and the byline
should be Universe Lt Std at 8pt
Specific Feedback: When adding the byline, it should not be placed so close to the
edge of the poster
REFLECTIONS
Experience: Overall this was the most fun task I have done in Typography as we get to explore what our artistic limits are with designing the font. With guidance from Mr. Vinod, I managed to create a font that was very similar to my sketch which made me very impressed with myself as I didn't think that I could create something as nice as that.
Observation: Just like all the previous tasks, I found that everyone has really creative ideas for their fonts and posters. I have also discovered that making fonts isn't an easy process and there are many steps to it just to make a font.
Findings: Overall this was the most fun task I have done in Typography as we get to explore what our artistic limits are with designing the font. I believe that creating a custom font is a fascinating and multifaceted task that blends creative expression with precision in design which was why I found this task so interesting.
FURTHER READINGS
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| Figure 1.1 Typographic Design: Form and Communication |
Typographic Design: Form and Communication was written by Rob Carter, Philip B.
Meggs, Ben Day, Sandra Maxa and Mark Sanders. For graphic designers, there is no
better resource than Typographic Design: Form and Communication, which offers a
thorough introduction to visual word art. Typography, when executed effectively,
conveys far more than mere words alone. The impact of a message, the connections you
draw and its overall effectiveness are all impacted by its typographic design. An
essential part of nearly any graphic design job is typographic design, which
encompasses both print and digital media. Aspiring designers would benefit greatly
from this book's comprehensive coverage of type, which includes letterforms, negative
space, messaging, procedures, and history, among other important topics. (taken from
Amazon)
Introduction
Change is constant in typography. This book covers the knowledge, vocabulary, tools,
and processes needed for successful typographic design in a concise manner. Typeface
history, anatomy, visual structure and readability are covered in the following chapters.
They also examine how form, meaning and medium interact and feature projects and
case studies on classic and nontraditional typographic design techniques. Typographic
basics are essential for speaking in static, moving, and kinetic environments. The first
few chapters cover form, syntax, type communication, and idea expression.
Evolution of Typography
Writing evolved into typography, which has a thousand-year history of visual
communication. This growth is presented in a timeline that shows how practice went
from hand to machine to computer, including historical and art historical events.
The timeline begins before typefaces were invented. Writing was invented around 5,000
years ago and movable type was invented in Europe in the 1400s. Second part discusses
long history of hand press and hand-set metal types. This 350-year span covered
Gutenberg's invention of moveable type until the 18th century. The final chapter shows
how the Industrial Revolution and 1800s saw considerable technological advances and
rush of new typefaces. Fourth portion covers 1900–20th century. Modernism's concerns
about beauty, clarity, technology and the digital typography revolution all affected type.
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| Figure 1.2 Evolution of Typography 3150 BCE - 1400 CE |
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