Typography - Task 3A: Type Design and Communication

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13/10/2021 - 27/10/2021 / Week 8 - Week 10
Loke Yeanne Tung / 0343853
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Typography / Task 3A: Type Design and Communication (15%)


LECTURES

Lecture 8 - Task 3A Typeface Construction (Shapes)


Fig. 1.1 Deconstruction of alphabet "r"

We had to deconstruct 3 letters from the 10 typefaces given that comes close to the our sketches as a reference - how the letters are constructed in detail, look carefully and see what can be deciphered. Then, using the gained knowledge from the letter deconstruction in the process of digitize and construct the sketch that we have developed.


Fig. 1.2 X-height requirement

Adobe Illustrator Settings
Artboard: 1000 pts by 1000 pts
X-height: 500 pts by 500 pts
Color mode: CYMK


Fig. 1.3 Guidelines

Guideline Requirements
- Ascender line
- Cap line
- Median line
- Baseline
- Descender line


INSTRUCTIONS


Task 3A: Type Design and Communication

1. Research

Fig. 2.1 Identifying individual parts of characters (glyphs)

Letters can be dissected into parts. Like people, fonts have personalities, moods, styles — and even anatomical features!



Fig. 2.2 Differences in x-height, ascenders and descenders in these fonts set at 24pt

Fonts with a large x-height, or “tall” lower case characters, are easier to read than fonts with small x-height characters.


Fig. 2.3 Typographic illusion #2

Round shapes tend to be slightly bigger. If both letters are the same size, they will seem disproportional so we need to overshoot the O a little in order to make them visually equal.


Fig. 2.4 Typographic illusion #3

Rule should be applied to the most simple and geometric letters: For example letter "T" - Thin upstrokes, thick downstrokes and thin cross strokes.

References
Creamer, D. (2003). Computer Typography Basics.
        http://elibrary.bsu.edu.az/files/books_aysel/N_300.pdf
Stan, A. (2020). Typography design 101: a guide to rules and terms. 99designs.
        https://99designs.com/blog/tips/typography-design/
Velarde, O. (2017). Type Anatomy: A Visual Guide to the Parts of Letters. Visme Blog.
        https://visme.co/blog/type-anatomy/#skipahead


2. Exploration

Fig. 3.1 Sketches, Week 8 (13/10/2021)

Among the 6 sketches, my favorites are #2 and #3. #2 has its own sassy personality, feels like it belongs to the royal family. #3 has a more bubbly personality, I love that the oval in the alphabets are not a 90 degree oval, it's slightly tilted so it looks more playful.


Type Deconstruction
We had to compare our chosen type design sketch and compare it to the 10 typefaces provided by Mr Vinod, then choose the closest typeface that matches our type design sketch and deconstruct it in Adobe Illustrator.


Fig. 3.3 Chosen sketches and 10 typefaces comparison, Week 8 (13/10/2021)

The two typefaces that are the closest to my sketches would be: Janson Text and Futura. We are to deconstruct 3 alphabets to see how the letters are constructed in detail.


1) Janson Text LT Std


Fig. 3.4 Deconstructed alphabet "a", "g" and "t", Week 8 (13/10/2021)


2) Futura Std


Fig. 3.5 Deconstructed alphabet "a", "g" and "r", Week 8 (13/10/2021)


3. Digitization Process

Fig. 4.1 Digitization progress, Week 8 (13/10/2021)

I digitalised sketch #2 and sketch #3 to see which results I was more fond of.  What I had in mind for the bottom design was to make it look sleek and sassy but somehow it turned out to be funky and inorganic so I went with the one above. 


Fig. 4.2 Use of rectangles, Week 8 (13/10/2021)

Fig. 4.3 Use of oval shapes, Week 8 (13/10/2021)

I used two rectangles and the use of same size oval shapes so the alphabets look consistent throughout the typeface.


Fig. 4.4 Construction progress of "i", Week 9 (23/10/2021)

Fig. 4.5 Construction progress of "m", Week 9 (23/10/2021)

Fig. 4.6 Construction progress of "t", Week 9 (23/10/2021)

Fig. 4.7 Construction progress of "!", Week 9 (23/10/2021)

Fig. 4.8 Construction progress of "," and ".", Week 9 (23/10/2021)


Fig. 4.9 First attempt and revised version overlaid to show difference, Week 9 (23/10/2021)



Fig. 4.10 Guides and digitalized letters, Week 9 (23/10/2021)

Measurements (from baseline)
Ascender: 675 pt
Cap height: 650 pt
Median: 500 pt
Descender: -150 pt

Overshoot: 3.5 pt (for 'o' only)


 Fig. 5 All digitalized letters, Week 9 (23/10/2021)


4. FontLab Progression


Fig. 6.1 Pasting letters from Adobe Illustrator to FontLab, Week 9 (24/10/2021)

Fig. 6.2 Letter kerning in metrics table, Week 9 (24/10/2021)


Fig. 6.3 Installed final font, Week 9 (24/10/2021)


5. Font Generation and Basic BW Poster

Fig. 7.1 Boo! - type display poster, Week 9 (24/10/2021)

If my font is reincarnated as a human, I would assume it has a bubbly and playful personality. The word "Boo!" is a word usually said suddenly to surprise someone who is unaware of one's presence. It seems like an act my font would do if it's a human. Therefore, I named it "Boo!"



Fig. 7.2 Sample words #1, Week 9 (24/10/2021)


Fig. 7.2 Sample words #2, Week 9 (24/10/2021)



Fig. 7.3 Typo poster explorations, Week 9 (24/10/2021)

#1: Clean and neat. (chosen)
#2: Information placed at the bottom looked a bit odd and awkward.
#3: Love the white space at the top right and the middle left.


Final Task 3A: Type Design and Communication

Download Boo!.ttf here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RLat_cZEJuPfELTUEZ4KIvRz6v-3QBAn/view?usp=sharing

Fig. 8.1 Final Task 3A: Type Design and Communication "Boo!"- JPEG, Week 9 (24/10/2021)



Fig. 8.2 "Boo!" Black and White Typo A4 Poster - JPEG, Week 9 (24/10/2021)


 
Fig. 8.3 Final Task 3A: Type Design and Communication "boo!"- PDF, Week 9 (24/10/2021)



Fig. 8.4 "Boo!" Black and White Typo A4 Poster - PDF, Week 9 (24/10/2021)


FEEDBACK

Week 8
Independent Learning Week

Week 9
Fig. 9 Feedback, Week 9 (20/10/2021)

General Feedback: Some mistakes are avoidable if we analyze more existing typefaces.
Specific Feedback: Overall looking good, just taper the exclamation mark a little more, shorten the arm for 't' and change the circle in 'i' and '!' to something more suitable for my typeface so it ties everything together.

Week 10
Specific Feedback: Nice looking font, good rounded edges, creates a friendly demeanor, only the different axis of the counter space for the b makes it look a little awkward when used together. Other than that its a really nice looking font! Good job.


REFLECTION

Experience
I love this project at the same time I also hate it. It requires so much time, patience and effort which I am still trying to improve, but overall this project has taught me to pay more attention to the details which could benefit me in the future.

Observation
I observed that I kept making amendments which I could've double checked from the beginning to avoid more mistakes being made.

Findings
I found that I kept wasting my time recording my progress in the blog that I always end up deleting, which could affect my time management. So note to self: Always have a end product time to time then record it in the blog.


FURTHER READING


Fig. 10.1 Comparison of a square and circle

Curved characters like “C” and “O” tend to look shorter than squarish characters like “H” or “T” at the same height, because less of the character touches the tallest point on the line. Therefore, type designers tend to overshoot, trading mathematically equal height for optically equal height.

Reference
Brownlee, J. (2015). Why All Typefaces Are Optical Illusions. Fast Company.
        https://www.fastcompany.com/3042391/why-all-typefaces-are-optical-illusions

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