TYPOGRAPHY - Task 03: Type Design & Communication
15/06/2024 - 22/07/2024 | Week 08 - Week 13
Koh Sher Wei | 0353816
Typography | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media | Taylor's University
List of Contents:
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Task 03
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Fontlab
Instructions
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Task 03: Type Design & Communication
The task is to design a number of western alphabets. To start, we are to choose an existing font design that fits the design
idea that we are going for. The aim is to study and analyse the anatomy
of the font, then come up with rough sketches of our own typeface. Once approved, we
are to digitise our typeface design in Illustrator and
Fontlab7.
Week 09
Typeface dissection:
Fig1.1 Dissection of letters (h,o,g,b) [17/06/2024]
Chosen Font: [
ITC New Baskerville Std
]
I've noticed that the common attribute amongst the four letters, is that
the counter part of this letter form is generally made up of two perfect
circles. Additionally, the ascender is about 20 degrees angled to the cap
height. Whereas the stroke end of letter "b" is about 60 degrees angled
from the x-height, which I think imitates the stroke direction of a
calligraphy written letter.
Week 10
Initial Idea sketches:
Fig2.1 Sketch exploration [18/06/2024]
Fig2.2 Chosen sketches [18/06/2024]
Upon experimenting with different ideas and sketches, I've narrowed
down to two designs (fig 2.2).
The first design is a combination of thin and thick strokes with a
distinct cut-off edge to show the difference in stroke sizes. Instead of
rounding the curves of the stroke ends, I opted to make them sharp with
a cutting edge look.
As for the second design, I sort of transformed the natural form of
stroke weight in calligraphy into a more geometrically shaped typeface.
As calligraphy usually has heavier down strokes and lighter upstrokes, I
used that as inspiration to develop, exaggerate and slightly sharpen the
down strokes. I also tried to keep the ascender angle as well as the
counter form from my chosen font.
Fig2.3 Design exploration [18/06/2024]
Fig2.4 Refined sketch for 2nd idea [18/06/2024]
After acquiring feedback, I experimented with the given letters
as shown in Fig 2.4. I think in terms of difficulty, "n, e, s,
c" were the more tedious letters due to the geometrical form of
my design. The curvature of the letters "n, e, s, c" made it
difficult to incorporate the square strokes appropriately
without losing it's initial form.
Week 11
Sketch digitisation:
Fig3.1 Initial digitisation with guide lines [25/06/2024]
In my initial digitisation, I basically tried to replicate my
finalised sketch design with a solid form. The idea is to mirror the
thick and thin strokes in each letter. I also wanted a
thinner/lengthier typeface, hence making the counter rectangular as
opposed to a rounded square.
The letters I struggled most with, were "g, d, s, c", as they were
curved letters. Given the mirrored stroke sizes, it was difficult to
apply to the curved letters as the stroke direction restricts
over-exploration.
Fig3.2 Revised digitisation w/o guide lines [25/06/2024]
However, I was told that my digitisation in (Fig 3.1) lacks
consistency. The letters were not mirrored in the same
direction and did not look organised if arranged into
words.
So instead, I was told to standardise the direction of my
thick strokes following the letter "o" which is mirrored about
45 degrees angled to the right. I was also advised to move the
middle line of letters "e, s, g" higher, so that it would look
less compacted towards the baseline of the typeface. Lastly, I
flattened the stem head of each letter to not exceed the
ascender height, giving the overall design a neater
look.
Typeface Construction:
Fig4.3 typeface construction breakdown, Fig4.4 result of
"h" construction [02/07/2024]
Construction steps:
- Construct letters with simple rectangles, only by
rotating and changing the length but keeping the
width.
- Then made a square according to the width of the
rectangles and also halved the square.
- I placed the squares where I wanted thick strokes, and
the halved squares where I wanted thin strokes.
- To shape the typeface, I selected the constructed letter
form and used the pathfinder to unite the
shapes.
- Went into (Ctrl y) for clear construction lines, and
removed anchor points to create my desired
strokes.
Week 12
Final Digitisation:
Fig5.1. final digitisation [09/07/2024]
For the final digitised version, I enhanced (Fig3.2) slightly,
and applied the same rules to the remaining letters.
Measurements
Ascender: 790pt
X-height: 501pt
Baseline: 0pt
Descender: -220pt
FONTLAB:
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Fig6.1 Illustrator to Fontlab [16/07/2024]
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Fig6.2 Fontlab imported letters [16/07/2024]
Week 13
Final Submission:
Fig7.1 screen grab of fontlab process [23/07/2024]
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Fig7.2 final type construction in Ai JPEG [23/07/2024]
|
Fig7.3 final type construction in Ai in PDF [23/07/2024]
Fig7.4 final JPEG A4 black & white poster [23/07/2024]
Fig7.5 final PDF A4 black & white poster[23/07/2024]
Lecturer's Feedback:
Week 09
General Feedback:
- Look for tutorial videos in the BDCM playlist.
- When digitising, only do the given letters, not A to Z.
- Get idea approval before starting on digitisation.
Specific Feedback:
- After initial idea on one letter, proceed to check if technique
can be applied to curved letters as well.
- There are two good ideas to develop, try to complete all letters
'H,O,N,G,B'
- Both developed ideas are good, but 1st complete idea is similar
to typeface "fudula"
- Second idea needs to be refined.
- The feature of the typeface needs to be standardised (i.e, the
wide parts need to be mirrored; like letter O)
- Refine the sketches and can proceed to digitise.
Week 10
- Absent
Week 11
- Absent
Week 12
General Feedback:
- Should start to proceed on fontlab.
Specific Feedback:
- slant all letters to the right for a neater arrangement
- vowels should have a shorter middle space (?)
Week 13
General Feedback:
- Post our poster designs on fb page.
- Update, refine and complete e-portfolio for submission next
week
Reflection
Experience
Throughout task 03, I can definitely say that it was not an easy
assignment. Coming up with sketches and digitising actually made
me wreck my brain a little. It was genuinely such a tedious
process, that it took so long to complete. I can't even count the
amount of times where I had to re-construct my design because it
was just not turning out. Nevertheless, despite many breakdowns, I
still have to conclude that it was not an enjoyable
experience.
Observation
The one thing that I think was difficult for us, is that in
general many typefaces already exist. It's not easy to totally
come up with something completely new or different, hence it took
quite some time to get an approved design. Furthermore,
constructing a single letter doesn't take much time. However when
you have to standardise a "rule" to apply to all the different
letters; It prompts you to do minor changes or really try out
multiple different ways to apply these rules in order for the
letters to look united. Which is why, I believe out of all the
other tasks, task 03 is probably the most tedious and time
consuming one.
Findings
Personally, before I started this task. I have always wondered
why some fonts just simply didn't piece well together, or
sometimes one letter is too spaced out. It never used to occur to
me that typefaces/fonts were also originally created and designed
by hand. Now, I finally understand that perfecting and tidying
typefaces takes a lot of time and effort, which makes me
appreciate the little perfections and imperfections in different
fonts.
Further Reading
Fig8.1 "Typographic Systems" book by Kimberly
Elam
INTRODUCTION
This book talks about the complex nature of organising text
on a page. It delves into the exploration if eight major
structural frameworks beyond the traditional grid, including
random, radial, modular and bilateral systems. She uses
examples and exercises to show how these systems can be
applied in design, with goal of helping designers understand
the methods to better organise texts and images in creative
and effective ways.
CONSTRAINTS AND OPTIONS
The emphasis on balance between structure and flexibility
explains how legibility and hierarchy constraints guide the
organisation of text and images. At the same time, there are
also creative options within these constraints that allow
designers to be creative and experiment with various systems
beyond traditional grids. In addition, the understanding and
manipulation of options within constraints can lead to
innovative solutions. It is possible to achieve dynamic and
effective typographic compositions within structured
frameworks if developed properly.
