INSTRUCTIONS
Task 3: Type Design & Communication
Week 8 / Research & Sketch
The third task of this module was to design our own typeface which consists of a limited number of western alphabets and punctuations (o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! #). Once finalized, the typeface will be used to create a poster to showcase its design.
Research
To start this task, as instructed by Mr. Vinod, I first dissected the letters 'H o g b' to get a better understanding of the construction of font design. For this dissection, I chose the font Bodoni and made the following observations:
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| Fig 1.1 'H o g b' Dissection / Week 8 (17/11/24) |
We were then instructed to write both uppercase and lowercase forms for 'h o g b' using three different pens, with each pen showcasing 3 different writing styles. It is important that the design should be written and not drawn. I used a pointed, rounded, and flat nib pens to write my ideas.
- Pointed Nib Pen
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| Fig 1.2 Pointed Nib Sketch / Week 8 (17/11/24) |
- Rounded Nib Pen
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Fig 1.3 Rounded Nib Sketch / Week 8 (17/11/24)
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- Flat Nib Pen
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| Fig 1.4 Flat Nib Sketch / Week 8 (17/11/24) |
Week 9 / Digitization
For the digitization process, I took a design that I liked to proceed developing it into a font. I chose the third sketch using the flat nib pen with the disconnected lines since it had a futuristic look which I found to look interesting. To give me a rough idea of what it would look like, I wrote it in the graph paper first.
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| Fig 1.5 Writing / Week 9 (24/11/24) |
I then started working on Illustrator, mainly using the shape tool to help me create my desired design. I started by making rectangles of differing widths to portray the variation in weights when writing using flat nib pens. I also added in the gaps between the strokes like the one in the sketch.
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| Fig 1.6 Font Development Process / Week 9 (24/11/24) |
To finish it, as the base shape I used was rectangles, I
rounded the edges to follow the curved strokes I did from my
sketch. Additionally, I rounded some edges of stems, such as ones in 'l' and 'd',
which originally should be angular, to create a more unique
design.
Week 10 / Revision
Based on the feedback given during class, I changed the weights to be more uniform – horizontal strokes share the same weights with each other, and same goes for vertical strokes. I also reduced the curve on the edges since the curves on the previous version looks too exaggerated.
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| Fig 1.7 Revision / Week 10 (01/12/24) |
Week 11 / Redesign
After further feedbacks, Mr. Vinod recommended me to change the design into one of the previous sketches I did. I changed the font design into an extended-like font I did using the rounded nib pen and wrote it again to give me a better idea on the design direction I'm taking.
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| Fig 1.8 Font Changes / Week 11 (08/12/24) |
Week 12 / Digitization
For the new font, I decided to approach the design process differently. I will be using components of the letters I designed to make everything look cohesive.
To begin, I made 'o' using the shape tool, making a circle with a stroke width of 170pts, and converted the path into a shape. I did the same with a straight line to make 'l'. With these two shapes as my foundation, I made 'd', while slightly adjusting the bowl to make the crotch more pronounced. From 'l', I made 'i' by lowering the stem and adding a tittle using a circle of the same width.
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| Fig 1.9 Font Development Process #1 / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
For 'c', I used the path of 'o', splitting its right vertex, and converting it into a shape. As for 's', I split 'c' in half, reflected the bottom half, and connected both halves with a compressed 'l'. And for 'e', I reflected 's' and filled the gap with 'c'. Because these letters are quite circular, I used the outline of 'o' as a guideline, and adjusted the shape to follow the outline so that everything is uniform.
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| Fig 1.10 Font Development Process #2 / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
For 'n', 'h', 't', and 'g', the construction was quite simple as it is mainly composed of 'l' and 'c'. The shoulder for 'n' and 'h' is also adjusted like 'o' to also make the crotch more pronounced. For the descender of 'g', the width has to be smaller so that the descender doesn't overlap the bowl while staying within the descender height.
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| Fig 1.11 Font Development Process #3 / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
As for the punctuations, the construction was also quite straightforward. Some things to take note of that was shared by Mr. Vinod can be seen here. Following that, the size of the period is made 10 pts larger, and the height of the comma is equal to 2 periods.
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| Fig 1.12 Font Development Process #4 / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
I ended up with these two designs – a rounded and straight edge. After a quick discussion with Mr. Vinod, the rounded edge was chosen as it fits the initial sketch better.
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| Fig 1.13 Font Design / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
FontLab
After the design in Illustrator was finalized, all the letters are imported into FontLab to be made into a usable font. Beforehand, some dimensions had to be set, following the parameters I used in Illustrator. I also decided to name the font "Floop", because it has a loopy/circular feel to it and I wanted to incorporate my middle name in as well.
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| Fig 1.14 Dimensions Settings / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
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| Fig 1.15 Imported Letters / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
Based on the feedback given during class, I modified the letter 'e' to have a straight cross bar, and lowered the cross stroke of the letter 't', since it looked taller despite being placed within the x-height.
Once the letters are imported, the sidebearings should be adjusted for proper spacing. There is a general rule to follow when adjusting sidebearings as seen in the figure below. Based on the chart, the ideal sidebearings for my font should be as follows:
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| Fig 1.16 Sidebearing Adjustments / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
When it comes to kerning, because all the letters are uniform, there isn't much for me to alter. However, because it has lots of negative space, I noticed that the letter 't' looked awkward when paired with some letters. After some testing, I kerned it with the following letters:
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| Fig 1.17 't' Kerning / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
I also noticed for letters like 'l' and 'i', it looked slightly off when typed after a space. Because of that, I added some spacing in between. I also added spacing for an ellipsis because having it clumped too tightly looked odd.
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| Fig 1.18 Letter Spacing / Week 12 (15/12/24) |
Week 13 / Poster Design
For the final poster design, we were allowed to type anything, though by default, we were given the phrase, "The Design School" to put in the poster. I thought of using ChatGPT to generate quotes out of the available letters, but it was either too poetic or tacky. After some thinking, I decided to use the phrase, "I do cool things in the design school." To showcase my punctuations, I added them in several spots and included #tds as well.
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| Fig 1.19 Floop Showcase / Week 13 (16/12/24) |
Final Type Design
To download Floop, click here: Floop Download
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| Fig 1.20 Screen Grab of FontLab Process / Week 13 (22/12/24) |
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Fig 1.21 Final Type Construction in Ai - JPEG / Week 13 (22/12/24)
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Fig 1.23 Final Poster - JPEG / Week 13 (22/12/24) |
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Fig 1.24 Final Poster - PDF / Week 13
(22/12/24) |
| Fig 1.25 Floop Font Tester / Week 13 (22/12/24) |
FEEDBACK
Week 8
*Independent Learning Week*
Week 9
*Absent*
Week 10
Specific Feedback: Write the letters multiple times so that the characteristics
of each stroke can be referenced better during the
digitization phase.
Week 11
Specific Feedback: The font should be changed into another one from the sketches
done in previous weeks.
Week 12
Specific Feedback:
- The cross bar of letter 'e' shouldn't be slanted.
- The wider terminal of the comma is preferable over the thin one.
Week 13
Specific Feedback: The results are already good.
REFLECTIONS
Experience
Throughout this task, I faced several challenges, the
biggest one being the moment when I had to restart my
whole progress because the initial font design wasn't
satisfactory. I had to rush weeks of progress in a few
days, but it ended up being worth it. Although I had to
spend double the time on the project, I end up with a
result I'm quite proud of.
Observation
I think it is very interesting how a font that appears
simple can actually be quite complex. The dissection
process helped me understand this aspect of typography a
lot better, and gave me a better insight on small details
I can add to enhance font design. It might not be obvious
but it could help enhance the overall look.
Findings
The process behind making a good font was definitely not
as simple as it seems. I learned this through trial and
error, writing and designing multiple times to get
something that was acceptable.
FURTHER READING
Week 8 / Typographic Design: Form and Communication
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| Fig 2.1 Typographic Design: Form and Communication Book Cover |
This week, I went back to the "Typographic Design" book to read about the proportions of letterform. As changes in the form of letters affect its proportions, the general things to take note of when designing letterforms include:
- Stroke-to-height ratio - Roman letterforms usually have a 1:10 stroke-to-height ratio.
- Contrast in stroke weight - Old Style typography tend to have a diagonal stress (thickening of strokes) due to thickened strokes in curved letters. On the other hand, modern and sans serif typefaces reduce the use of stress, or opt for using monoline strokes (strokes even in weight).
- Expanded and condensed styles - Although sharing the same height, expanded typefaces will always occupy more space than condensed typefaces due to the difference in stroke-to-height ratio.
- X-height and proportion - The relationship of x-height to the capital, ascender, and descender heights affects a letterform's appearance.
Week 9 / Typographic Design: Form and Communication
I continued reading the same book to read a section about the Univers type family to better understand the construction of a popular font. This type family consist of 21 typestyles with varying weights, proportions, and angles which are divided into a numeral designation system. Univers 55 is the parent typeface, serving as a baseline for the other designs in the type family. The x-height in Univers are proportionally larger in comparison to ascenders, descenders, and capitals. Not only that, all the typefaces share the same x-height, capital height, and ascender and descender length which makes it a flexible type family.
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| Fig 2.2 Univers Type Family |
Week 10 / Typographic Design: Form and Communication
This week, I scanned through the book and read an interesting segment about problems found with typography on screens. The main issue is the loss of details that happen because of the low resolution of most screens. This caused 'jaggies' (jagged edges) which reduces legibility, and is even more apparent in small text. To solve this issue, techniques like anti-aliasing, hinting, and even using pixelated fonts are used.
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| Fig 2.3 Problems of Typography on Screens |
Week 11 / Thinking With Type
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| Fig 2.4 Thinking With Type Book Cover |
Continuing from the previous week, I read about bitmap fonts in this book. Bitmap fonts are made of fixed pixels which is different from vector-based outline fonts. Although outline fonts are preferable for high-resolution print and can be scaled to any sizes, it is usually hard to read on screens at small sizes. This is the advantage of bitmap fonts as they maintain their pixelated appearance and melt regardless of any size changes.
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| Fig 2.5 Bitmap Fonts |
Week 12 / Typographic Design: Form and Communication
This week, I decided to read the "Typographic Design" book again to read about spacing because I think it would provide a good insight for making the spacing on my own font. Spacing have impact on legibility because when done incorrectly – too much or too little – it could create an uneven texture and disrupt the flow of reading. The appropriate spacing should be proportionate to the width of letters, though this can be subjective. With experience and practice, we can develop an eye for what is spacing is the most suitable.
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| Fig 2.6 Spacing |
Week 13 / Typographic Design: Form and Communication
This week, I read about the art movements that affect a change in typography. In the early 20th century, movements like Futurism, Dadaism, de Stijl, and Constructivism caused the direction of typography into an expressive art form that reflects modern industrial society. These movements reject traditional and decorative typography, making them more practical and following the demands of its era.
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| Fig 2.7 Constructivist Cover Design |