Task 3A Type Design & Communication

Typography / Task 3A Type Design & Communication

17.5.2021-4.6.2021 (Week 8 - Week 10)

Rachel Ung Xuan Ning (0341314)

Typography / Bachelor of Mass Communication

Task 3A / Type Design & Communication

LECTURES

Refer to lectures under Exercises

Typeface Construction

For this tasks, the videos we watch consists of Type Construction (Shapes) and demonstrations on how to use FontLab. The lecture starts with the deconstruction of existing letterforms, to have a better understanding of typeface construction. Then learning how to measure the ascender, cap height, x-height, baseline and descender, which would assist us in proceeding our task 3A.

Figure 1.0 Anatomy of letterforms

INSTRUCTIONS

Task 3A Type Design & Communication

For task 3A, the first few instructions given to us was to Research > Sketch > Identifying reference (from existing fonts) > Deconstruct.

Research- search for good typefaces designed, look at the different possibilities to look for inspirations and set a direction for our own font design.

Figure 2.0 Research on different typefaces (17/5/2021)

Sketching- to sketch out our font design ideas. Start with 5-10 sketches, then identify and decide on the best 2-3 designs.

Figure 2.1 Sketch (20/5/2021)

Identifying Reference- looks at the 10 typefaces and determine the one closest to my sketches, use that typeface as a reference, to deconstruct and to have a better understanding of that typeface construction. I chose to reference the typeface UniversLTStd (Roman). Below is my deconstruction of the letters-

Deconstruction-

UniversLTStd (Roman), Uppercase letters "H" and "D", and Lowercase letter "o".

Figure 2.2 Letter Deconstruction Progress (21/5/2021)

Figure 2.3 Letter Deconstruction "H" (21/5/2021)

Figure 2.4 Letter Deconstruction "D" (21/5/2021)

Figure 2.5 Letter Deconstruction "o" (21/5/2021)

Next, we decide on the sketch and start developing the fonts on Illustrator. These are the letters we have to design "a i m e p y t g d o b ! , . "

Figure 2.6 Designing font in Illustrator (progress) (25/5/2021)

Figure 2.7 Designing font in Illustrator (progress) (25/5/2021)

Figure 2.8 Font Design Attempt 1 (27/5/2021)

I took in to consideration the feedback and opinions by the lecturers and tried to improve my font design.

Figure 2.9 Designing font in Illustrator (progress) (1/6/2021)

Figure 2.10 Designing font in Illustrator (progress) (2/6/2021)

Figure 2.11 Designing font in Illustrator (progress) (2/6/2021)

After I'm happy with the work on illustrator, I'll have to download FontLab to my laptop and transfer my vector artworks from illustrator to FontLab.

Figure 2.12 Transferring/Importing vector artwork to FontLab (FontLab progress) (3/6/2021)

Figure 2.13 Adjusting bearings and kerning (FontLab progress) (3/6/2021)

Figure 2.14 Installing font (FontLab progress) (3/6/2021)

I decided to name my font "Captain" and below is my final result of my font design-

Figure 2.15 Font Design (final) (3/6/2021)

After exporting and installing the font, next to is make an A4 font display poster which says "I AM, A TYPE GOD. OBEY ME!" with my very own font "Captain".

Figure 2.16 Font Display Poster (final) (4/6/2021)

FEEDBACK

Week 8

Independent Learning Week

Week 9

General feedback- Inconsistency in thickness of strokes. Make sure the cuts of the angles of the alphabets are the same. Have to explore more on the fonts and the shapes, for example, the bottom of the letter "B" must be bigger and slightly different from the top of the letter "B". Could also make the bottom of the letter "B" like a square, to make it stand out more. Too many things going on to the letters at the same time, make sure to identify the basics of the characteristics, any thing other than the basic characteristics are not necessary. Letter "M" is to narrow, has to be slightly wider, especially compared to letter "E" and "G". Try to innovate the letters more, exploring more and introducing new ideas to it.

Week 10

General feedback- The lecturers seem to be okay with my font design, although not outstanding, but adequate. It is a relatively basic and safe design choice. Thickness of strokes are more consistent, better than the previous attempt. They also mentioned that we could proceed with the next step, which is to make a poster using the font designed.

REFLECTION

Week 8

Independent Learning Week

Week 9

Experience

This week I got feedback from the lecturers on my first font design attempt for Task 3A. I got to learn about the insufficiency of my font designs and understand ways to improve these flaws. There are so many things to consider when designing letterforms, for example, it is important to be consistent in the designs, taking care of every details like the angles and thickness of strokes.

Observation

I have learnt to experiment on different ideas and seek for ways to improve my font design. I can't just do one letter and move on to the next, there should be a thought process before proceeding to the next letter design.

Findings

Font designing is honestly pretty tough, especially when trying to create my very own simple but unique letterform. It can sometimes be quite tedious, especially when having to focus on little details as well. There is really still a lot for me to learn in terms of font designing.

Week 10

Experience

We have to finalised our Task 3A by this week. Our last step for this task is to create a poster to showcase our very own font design. I created a relatively simple poster, therefore, it was surely not as tough as when designing and creating our own letterforms.

Observation

I realised that many of my classmates are really talented and have created really good work. Though I've tried my very best and have put in great effort when doing this task, but I'm also aware that there's still room for improvement. It is important to push myself harder to do a better job.

Findings

I find that its really hard to create an outstanding font. There's so many things to consider when designing a font, such as the consistency in thickness, paying attention to the details, etc. It really takes a lot of practice, patience and time in order to create a good font design.

FURTHER READING

Design Elements Typography Fundamentals by Kristin Cullen

Figure 3.0 Design Elements Typography Fundamentals

This book shares the basics of typography, including ideas on construction of letterforms and type setting methods. The contents are mainly on guiding principles that are useful for typographic explorations.

Figure 3.1 Anatomy & Terminology (page 35) - Design Elements Typography Fundamentals

Figure 3.2 Anatomy & Terminology (page 38) - Design Elements Typography Fundamentals

A deeper explanation on the fundamentals of typography, including anatomy and framework of type.

Figure 3.3 On Typefaces (page 54) - Design Elements Typography Fundamentals

Sharing about the variety of typefaces out there, which is helpful for task 3A research purposes. It even provides a long list of the different typefaces and fonts on the page 55. It also states the different types of serifs and san serifs.

Source: https://www.academia.edu/36984786/Design_Elements_Typography_Fundamentals

Rachel Ung

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