Typography Task 3A / Type Design and Communication
17.5.2022 - 31.5.2022 (Week 8 - Week 10)
Takuto Hozumi / 0354047 / Bachelor Of Design (Hons) In Creative Media
Typography
Task 3A / Type Design and Communication
LECTURES
Typo Task 3A Typeface Construction (Shapes)
Task;
- Research - type design
- Sketches: Different options (sans serif/serif, uppercase/lowercase)
- Identify references - from the 10 typefaces: Which of the 10 typefaces comes the closest to your chosen design (sketches).
- Deconstruct references
Fig.1-1: Deconstructed "r"
We have to ensure our font design is following the basics of Typography;
- Ascender height and Descender line (ascender and descender line must be within 1000pt)
- Baseline (X-height must be 500pt)
- Capital height
- Mean/median line
INSTRUCTION
Type Design & Communication
Outline of the assignment
You will be tasked to design a limited number of western alphabets. To begin, choose an existing font design that adheres to the direction that you would like to head in. Study the font carefully by analysing its anatomical parts.
Start with rough sketches and upon approval begin digitization of the drawings—software for digitization shall be determined in class. Artworks shall be printed out for critique sessions followed by refinements. If time permits we shall generate the font for actual use.
You will endeavour to create a typeface that has the hallmarks of a good typeface; subtlety, character, presence, legibility and readability. Below are the letters you will design;
a e t k g r i y m p n ! # , .
Process of Work
1. Idea Sketch
Fig.2-1: Sketches #1 - 4
Fig.2-2: Sketches #5 - 8
I created sketches with base, ascender and descender line. My favorites are #1 and #3. After receiving feedback from the professor, I decided to go with #3.
*More details are provided in the feedback section below.
2. Digitization
Fig.2-3: Setting of the Guide Lines
From the assignment designation, the x-height must be 500px.
Fig.2-4: Research of Typeface
Fig.2-5: Character Designing
Fig.2-6: Completed my First Design
Basically, I was proceeding with the design so as not to use diagonal lines. This meant that the design of the "A" in particular had to be changed considerably compared to the idea sketch stage. The part where the corners are arcs is drawn according to the rules, setting several patterns such as 30pt, 70pt, etc.
3. Final Design decisions
Fig.2-7: Design Change After Feedback (31/5/2022)
The professor mentioned that it has a problem with lowercase "y", uppercase "X" in my font. The "X" should have the top and bottom corners instead of arcs. I chose to produce uppercase for the assignment, so it is re-designed as Fig.2-7.
Fig.2-8: Tidied up the Shape
Before converting to font data, I tidied up the paths by deleting unnecessary anchor points in the finished design. While compositing shapes with the Pathfinder, unnecessary anchor points were sometimes generated, causing the design to appear slightly corrupted when observed at a reduced size. The brevity of the figure prevents such malfunctions from occurring.
4. Developing the final font in Fontlab
Fig.2-9: Installed Fontlab
Fig.2-10: Fontlab Settings
Before importing the graphic data, need to enter a numerical value of each height.
Fig.2-11: Paste from Illustrator
The graphic data can be Copy & Paste from Illustrator. It fits perfectly at the calculated height.
Fig.2-12: A to Z, and Some Symbols
Now that registration is complete, I move on to setting the character spacing.
Fig.2-12: Metrics Setting
Finally, the margins are set and ready to be exported as font data.
Fig.2-13: TTF Data
The font is only applied to "W" in Fig.2-13 because my laptop is a Japanese ver. and the font has only upper case, but the character data is surely correct.
Fig.2-14: Using the Created Font in Illustrator
Once installed, the created design can be used as a font.
5. Designing a Poster utilizing the Typeface
Fig.2-15: Poster (Typeface)
Final Outcome
Specified Fonts JPEG with Guide Lines (31/5/2022)
Specified Fonts PDF (31/5/2022)
Font download;
Final Outcome Poster JPEG (31/5/2022)
Final Outcome Poster PDF (31/5/2022)
Font Tester
FEEDBACK
Week 9
General feedback: Beginners should set references when designing fonts. Imitate the strength of the thick and thin parts, for example. A little difference can make a lot of difference. Rounding the connections or bending the straight lines just a little bit can make a big difference in the appearance as a Typeface.
Specific feedback: Idea #1, #3 is approved to proceed. (I decided on 3 based on my preference) The "A" design will be verticalized like the other letter designs. The blank space of #6, the idea of #8 are evaluated as possible but rejected because it is a little higher level. Also, number the idea sketches for identification.
Week 10
General feedback: A letter that is problematic for many students is K. It should be drawn strokes with the lower diagonal line above the upper diagonal line, rather than the upper diagonal line. The design of ".", ",", and "#" is also easy to mistake and should be studied carefully based on the given articles.
Specific feedback: Mentioned that I have a problem with lowercase "y", uppercase "X" in my font. I chose to produce uppercase for the assignment, but the "X" should have the top and bottom corners instead of arcs.
REFLECTIONS
ExperiencesIt was a very difficult task, but quite an interesting experience for me. It was the first time for me to create a font from scratch, and I was again impressed by the fact that various fonts are created with such effort, knowledge, and attention to detail, despite the differences in quality.
Observation
Although this project involved only alphabetical fonts, it is easy to imagine that creating a font with thousands of characters, such as Chinese and Japanese font, for example, would require even more work. In this research, I was particularly concerned with the overall sense of unity, and I achieved this by setting rules within the design. It is not perfect yet, but if I get a chance I would like to brush up again.
Findings
In the process of designing fonts, I noticed that even minor differences in the design of individual letters can significantly change the atmosphere of a string of letters. There are many decisions to be made for fonts, such as the ratio of vertical to horizontal line widths, how diagonal lines should be treated, and which areas should be curved and which areas should not. I thought that the easy-to-read fonts used for text and the striking fonts used for titles and catchphrases were designed with this in mind from the beginning.
FURTHER READING
きれいな欧文書体とデザイン (Beautiful typeface and design)
きれいな欧文書体とデザイン / 甲谷 一 (著)
The main feature of this book was visually explaining of the "design characteristics" of each typeface and each character, mention the historical background of classic and masterpiece typefaces. The book lectures on the practical knowledge in the production of alphabet typefaces used for logo production and other purposes. This book is a technical book for Japanese designers that can be used immediately to design typefaces to meet their design objectives.
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