Typography - Project 2
24.10.18 - 31.10.18 (Week 9 - Week 10)
Tamara Audrey Saputra (0335846)
Typography
Project 2 - Font Design
Lectures
Lecture 9: -
24.10.18 (Week 9)
No lecture. We were briefed about our next project, Project 2 - Font Design.
No lecture. We were briefed about our next project, Project 2 - Font Design.
Lecture 10: -
31.10.18 (Week 10)
No lecture today. We were explained about our final project and were taught on how to use the FontLab to generate our own font.
No lecture today. We were explained about our final project and were taught on how to use the FontLab to generate our own font.
Instructions
Project 2
Font Design Sketch and Digitization
24.10.18 (Week 9)
To start off, we were asked to pick a letter from our initials and apply one of the type families from the given nine. It could be in uppercase or lowercase, but we have to make sure its complex enough to be studied. Since, after that, we had to study it using circles and lines in Illustrator.
For lowercase, the x-height should be at 500pt. Meanwhile, if uppercase it should be 700pt. The typeface can only be in bold or regular.
I then decided to pick "t" as it is the first letter if my name. For the typeface, I set it to ITC New Baskerville Std Roman. As I find the serif-fonts are generally more complex. Next, I studied the letter in Illustrator using lines and circles.
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| fig 1.1: Letter Study |
While making the study of the letter, I discovered that the curves aren't simple, they're made up of lots of varying circles. It is evident on the lower part of the "t" where the circles are intense. The thickness of the strokes also reduces at several parts of the "t" which makes me realize how contrast is added.
Next, we were requested to take 3 initials of our name and create a typeface of our own that are based on our chosen typeface, in my case, ITC New Baskerville.
The following picture is the sketches I've done for developing my initials.
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| fig 1.2: Sketches |
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| fig 1.3: Final Sketches |
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| fig 1.4: Early attempts |
During my early attempts, I traced the Baskerville font directly using the "create outline" option as well as the pen tool and alter it accordingly to my sketch. However, I, later on, found out that doing so is not allowed. Hence, I re-do it by tracing it from my sketch.
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| fig 1.5: Final Result |
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| fig 1.6: Final Result Compilation |
Next, we have to import our font into FontLab Studio 5 to generate our own type family.
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| fig 1.7: process |
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| fig 1.8: The process in FontLab Studio 5 |
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| fig 1.9: The process in FontLab Studio 5 |
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| fig 1.10: The process in FontLab Studio 5 |
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| fig 1.11: Generating the font |
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| fig 1.12: Experimenting |
Feedbacks
Week 9
Specific Feedback: I opted Baskerville typeface for the letter study. Knowing that we should make a version of ours based on our chosen typeface, I decided to "create outline" it and alter it from that. Which I, later on, found out from Mr. Vinod that we aren't supposed to do that as it could be considered as plagiarism. However, we are allowed to "pen tool" it. After re-doing it and showing it to Mr. Vinod, he suggested me to adjust some parts of it such as the "t" 's crossbar, the "a"'s finial, and the "s"'s spine.
Week 10
Specific feedback: I need to redo again since apparently, pen tool-ing it directly isn't allowed. Nevertheless, Mr.Vinod approved the project 1after I showed him the thumbnails print, which means I can proceed with printing it into a booklet. Another input from Mr.Shamsul is that I can utilize the black box graphic elements, which I included in every corner of the page, into a page number box.
Reflections
Experiences
Week 9
When we were shown the study of the letter, it instantly reminded me of such similar photos I often see in Behance and I didn't know what it was for. Now that I got the chance to create one was quite an exciting experience.
Week 10
Different from the previous weeks, this week's class felt a lot more laid back. As we were just told to refine our font and plan for our final project.
Observations
Week 9
I noticed that serif typefaces are more complex in terms of its shapes, especially, their curves. Compared to san-serifs type.
Week 10
It was interesting to see how people can come up with various type of creations.
Findings
Week 9
I discovered that finding that right proportion and curve is difficult, not as easy as it may seem.
Week 10
I found out that to make a typeface requires an abundance of effort, not only to come up with an idea but also to keep on refining it to reach perfection. I learned to become more appreciative of the typefaces that I've taken for granted, oblivious to the long history behind it.
Further Readings
The Fundamentals of Typography (Week 9)
The Page - How We Read
This section of the book discusses how in general, the humans' eyes travel when reading a book. In magazines or publications, the right-hand pages are called recto and they are usually contended by magazine advertisers as readers see this page first then the verso page, which is the left-hand page. Furthermore, small text can actually encourage an active reading, in comparison to display text which can turn into an 'object' that people see but do not read and encourages skin reading.
Basic Design Typography (Week 10)
Setting Type - Using Multiple Typefaces
The use of multiple typefaces in a design is optional and it is possible to complete a design using a single typeface. However, the use of two or more typefaces can create an immediate sense of hierarchy in a text which can ease readers navigation when reading. Usually, distinctive typefaces are often used for titles and it has to be contrasting to its body text typeface (e.g Souvenir for the title, Helvetica for the body). Typefaces that are too similar may go unnoticed when put side by side.
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