TYPOGRAPHY - TASK 3: TYPE DESIGN & COMMUNICATION

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18.11.24 - 16.12.24 (Week 9 - Week 13)
Michelle (0373843)
Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 3: Type Design & Communication
TABLE OF CONTENTS
    3.1. Dissection
    3.2. Sketches
    3.3. Digitization
    3.4. Fontlab
    3.5. Poster
    3.6. Final Outcome

1. LECTURES

Please refer to the lectures in task 1 and task 2.

2. INSTRUCTIONS

3. PROCESS WORK

Dissection


Fig 3.1 Letter dissection

Typeface: ITC New Baskerville Std Roman 

Observation:
  • The serif of the ascender doesn't perfectly align with the serif of the legs of the h.
  • The left and right serifs aren't exactly the same.
  • The bottom of the h is not straigth, but slightly curved.

Sketches
Before I dive into sketching out ideas, I do scribbles to know the characteristics of each marker.

Fig 3.2.1 Markers exploration

Markers used (top-bottom order):
  • Artline caligraphy pen 3.0mm
  • Artline supreme brush marker
  • Artline whiteboard marker 3.0mm
Conclution after practices:
  • Broad-edge pen/flat nib, enables thick-and-thin with distinct difference between them.
  • Flexible pointed pen/brush, enables curves, allowing smooth transition with thick-thin.
  • Rounded felt tip/pointed pen, gives consistent size throughout every stroke.
Trough exploring with the broad-edge pen, I discovered that I can get different results by changing the angles of the same pen. The image below are the different results I get from holding the pen at a 45° angle, horizontally, and vertically.

Fig 3.2.2 Broad-edge pen hold at different angles

After I've gotten used to each pen, I started creating my sketches. Below are The ideas I've come up with.

Fig 3.2.3 Rounded felt tip sketches

Since the rounded tip doesn't give any variations in the stroke thickness, so I payed with the shapes instead.

Fig 3.2.4 Flat nib sketches

The flat nib gives off a very structured and edgy vibe, so my sketches are mostly very sharp and bloxy.

Fig 3.2.5 Brush tip sketches

I'm inspired with how the brush tip allows me to create smooth curves, so I tried incorporating a more complicated shapes like the heart and spirals.

Digitization

After having a clear vision of the design of my type, I digitize the design in Adobe Illustrator.

Fig 3.3.1 Digitization o l e d s n c h t i g . , ! #

I made guidelines to determine the size of the x-height, ascender, and decender from the baseline using rulers. I turn on the grids to act as a tool for measurement. I started with o and l. Then, I build the rest of the letters by using l as template. I only need to copy-paste and adjust slightly. 

Fig 3.3.2 Digitization a r v y u

After creating the required letters, I decided to add a few extra letters which is a, r , v, y, and, u. I just feel like it is unacceptable to produce a type inspired by love with hearts on the design, but the letters can't form those words. So, I added the letters above which now enables people to type the word love, heart, and you with my font. 

At this point, creating the additional letters didn't take as long as I have gotten used to the process from  the previous letters.

Fig 3.3.3 Design progression

The letters in red were the previous designs which I improved to be the ones in black. The changes details are: 
  • Slanted the letter o, i, period, comma, and exclamation using transform - shear +10° to unify them to the rest.
  • Widened the right stroke of the letter e, s, and c to look more balanced (not too thin).
  • Moved the heart design of g.

Fig 3.3.4 Measurements

As I digitize, I created elements to double check and make sure that my letters are uniform. I used rectangles to check the letter's widths, ellipses to measure its counters, and lines to ensure its angles.

Fontlab

After I am satisfied with the digitization and I've received Sir Max's approval, I transfered the letters into fontlab.

Fig 3.4.1 n & o bearings

First, I determine the bearings for the letter n & o as a guide for other letters.


Fig 3.4.2 c e d to o

Second, I adjusted the bearings for the letter c, e, d according to the bearings I set for letter o.


Fig 3.4.3 u l h i to n

Third, I adjusted the bearings for the letter u, l, h, i according to the bearings I set for letter n.


Fig 3.4.4 a s t g bearings

Fourth, I adjusted the bearings for the letter a, s, t, g by eye by still using the letters n & o as the benchmark.


Fig 3.4.5 r v y bearings

Fifth, I adjusted the bearings for the letter r, v, y by using the letters n & o as the benchmark. I make a little exception for the left bearing of the letter r to not follow the rule because of how my r is designed (it is slanted with serifs on the left). It will create too big of a distance if it uses the same left bearing as the letter n).


Fig 3.4.6 kerning

Sixth, I adjusted the kernings for all the letter pairs by eye.

Poster

After I've imported my letters to fontlab and adjusted the bearing and kernings, I exported the font and downloaded it. I used the font I've created to make this poster below.
Fig 3.5.1 Alignment

I start with typing in the phrase I thought of using all the letters I've created. I adjusted the text size (88pt) to the canvas and added extra information (font's name, my name, and the year the font was created) in Univers LT Std (8pt). Then I tried using both left and center alignment.
Fig 3.5.2 Heart Design
After, I decided that I center alignment is better because I wanted to add heart designs as the background. I made heart designs to amplify the theme of love from my font and message.

Fig 3.5.3 Word placement
After playing with the heart shapes in the background, I moved back to adjusting the placement of the word to suit the heart silouhette better.

Final Outcome

Download here: MichelleW Regular

Fig 3.6.1 Fontlab Screengrab 1 (9/12/24)

Fig 3.6.2 Fontlab Screengrab 2 (9/12/24)

Fig 3.6.3 Final Type Construction in Ai 1 (JPEG), (9/12/24)

Fig 3.6.4 Final Type Construction in Ai 2 (JPEG), (9/12/24)


Fig 3.6.5 Final Type Construction in Ai (PDF), (9/12/24)

Fig 3.6.6 Final poster (JPEG), (9/12/24)

Fig 3.6.7 Final poster (PDF), (9/12/24)

4. FEEDBACK

Week 9
General Feedback: Sketching "hogb" in different styles using the 3 different markers. Mr. Max told us to make sure each letter is around the same size, with the same x-height, ascender and descender.

Week 10
General Feedback: Reviewing & selecting sketches, digitizing the chosen sketch in Ai
Specific Feedback: Mr. Max approved on 2 designs (3rd blocky design with broad-edge pen & 1st heart design with brush tip) and told me to pick one I prefer better.

Week 11
General Feedback: Letter Dissection, finalize digitizing in Ai
Specific Feedback: Mr. Max mentions that my letters are not quite consistent in terms of the width and spaces, that I need to adjust them more.

Week 12
General Feedback: Transferring the letters made in Ai to Fontlab, making the poster
Specific Feedback: Mr. Max suggested me to make the letter e, s, c have 2 thickness like the letter d, h, and n. He also guided me to make the punctuations and letter i more slanted/angled using transform-shear.

Week 13
General Feedback: Submission of task 3

5. REFLECTIONS

Experience
Overall, I'm very happy finishing task 3 because now I have my our own usable typeface! I enjoyed the process of coming up with our own unique ideas and designing it according to the rules of letterform. It was pretty hard to come up with an original design which doesn't already exist, since there's already so many typefaces today, but it was a nice challenge. Making sure each letter has the same width, length, and size was tough, especially for my cursive letters. But the process of sketching manually on graph paper beforehand helps a lot in understanding the proportions of the letters. 

Observations
I noticed that I like to work slowly, taking my own time to really explore my ideas, practice, and focus on details to maximize my result and minimize my mistakes. Doing this enables me to feel more satisfied with my work and effort, despite how the result is in other's perspective. My lack of experience in designing (especially in digital medias) also slows my progress in comparison to others which often made me feel left behind. This motivates me to manage my time better, so I can still take my time but also keep up with other's speed.

Findings
I now understand the process of creating a new font. Every letter needs to keep the same proportion in order to be recognizable, readable, and pleasing to look at. Continuity in the scheme of design is also important to maintain the theme of the font. 

6. FURTHER READING

Fig 6.1 Typographic Design Form Communication - Rob Carter

Unity of design in the type font
Repeating visual features (such as curves and serifs) create both variety and harmony in typography. This repetition with variety is key to good type design.

Fig 6.2 Unity of design in type


Measurement
The width of each character is measured by its unit value, and software advances.
Fig 6.3 Measurement

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