Typography / Task 3A: Type Design and Communication

15.10.2021 - 12.11.2021 (Week 8 - Week 12)
Britney Chow Pei Jun / 0350043 / BDCM
Typography
Task 3A : Type Design and Communication

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LECTURES

All lectures are completed in Task 1 - Exercise 1 & 2

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INSTRUCTIONS

For task 3, we're to create our own typeface.

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TASK PROGRESSION

Research

fig 1.0; Agency FB; sauce: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_FB)

I think that Agency Fb look kinda cool as it is more of a square-type typeface, however there are some strokes that are over the square, for example the left corner of the letter "A".

fig 1.1; Grov Condensed AB Regular; sauce: (https://en.fontke.com/font/10397298/)

Next, I went to check out some other fonts from other websites as well and I stumble upon this "weird" looking typeface. I couldn't tell why it attracts me, but I like the way some letters look. For example the capital letter "A & F" and the lowercase "f, n and r".

I then start to make some sketches base on the inspiration I got from the research. 

I tried to deconstruct the first typeface that inspired me, Agency FB as it looks a bit similar to one of my sketch. 

fig 1.2; Deconstructing O; (21/10/21)

fig 1.3; Deconstructing A; (21/10/21)

fig 1.4; Deconstructing H; (21/10/21)

After deconstructing these letters, I found out that most of these letters are made of simple shapes such as rectangles, circles and more. However, there are some parts of it that looks special. For example, the letter "h" and "a" have parts of them that are over.

fig 1.5; Creating letters H O A T; (21/10/21)

I then start to create my font in Illustrator using the shape tool. I first start with the letter "h", "o", "a", "t".

fig 1.6; Creating the rest of the letters; (21/10/21)

After creating all the letters, I then start to refine it. Below is the progress of some of the letters: 

fig 1.7; Creating letter H; (21/10/21)

fig 1.8; Creating letter O; (21/10/21)

fig 1.9; Creating letter A; (21/10/21)

fig 1.9; Creating letter T; (21/10/21)

fig 2.0; First draft; (21/10/21)

Although it is not the best, I think I still tried my best into doing it. I think some part of them is a success because I tried to make a "weird-looking" font. At least, that's the direction I want to go for. 

fig 2.1; Final outcome; (24/10/21)

Measurements:

x-height: 500 pt

cap height:  725 pt

ascender height: 685 pt

descender height: -224 pt

fig 2.2; Moving the letters into FontLab 7; (25/10/21)

After that, I move the letters into FontLab 7 as I'm not too sure why the FontLab 5 does not want to work with me. 

fig 2.3; Moving all letters into FontLab 7; (25/10/21)

fig 2.4; Kerning the letters in FontLab 7; (25/10/21)

I then start to kern them after moving all the letters into FontLab 7. I name this font "Cuchillo Demo Regular". Cuchillo means knife in Spanish, the reason why I name it this is because I think when I look at my font, I thought it look kinda like a knife, it has its sharp and blunt edges. A knife-y typeface, how cool is that hahaha! Although the name does not sound attractive and lacks creativity, I still think it sounds fine! 

Black and White Poster

fig 2.5; Poster Design 1; (28/10/21)

fig 2.6; Poster Design 2; (28/10/21)

fig 2.7; Poster Design 3; (28/10/21)

fig 2.8; Poster Design 4; (28/10/21)

I made 4 posters design with the font I have created after I finish kerning and exported it. I asked some of my friends which poster do they think looks okay, and they have different opinions, so after much debating from my side (haha), I chose the 1st one as I think it looks quite nice. 

Final Task 3A: Type Design and Communication

fig 2.9; Final Task 3A:Type Design and Communication 'Cuchillo Demo Regular' - JPEG; (28/10/21)

fig 3.0; Final 'Cuchillo Demo Regular' Poster Design; (28/10/21)

fig 3.1; Final Task 3A: Type Design and Communication, B&W Poster Design - PDF; (28.10.2021)

Download the font here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1COn0Ew96JTJHzN1TcQjMyiXcCu3CCFmO/view?usp=sharing

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FEEDBACK

General feedback: Watch out for the consistency of the typeface and explore more variety of typeface, do more research before starting.

Specific feedback: The typeface looks interesting, in fact, it looks quite cool. However, there are changes that needed to be made, for example, the tail of the letter "e" is too long and needed to be shorten, the comma and full stop also needs to be change as well. 

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REFLECTION

Experience: This is actually quite fun! I didn't think I would be able to create my own typeface before, but now I finally did. Although it is not complete, I do hope that I have the time finish it and actually make this an actual typeface. I found out various type of typefaces in other websites such as Dafont. And the typefaces I saw inspired me to do my own. 

Observation: From this task, I found out that there are quite some ways to actually create your own font. And all of them actually start from the basics of designing, shapes. It still amazes me till now how much just shapes could do. 

Findings: I would not say that this is a very easy task, however I think I still spend much more time than I need to on it. I work on my assignments quite slowly because I keep procrastinating and do not know how to smart. In tasks like these where I have to know the functions of the software, I spend even more time to understand how each tool works. In short, I think in the meantime of working harder, I should also learn how to work smarter. 

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FURTHER READINGS

fig 3.2; Typographic Design: Form and Communication by Rob Carter; 

fig 3.2; Page 233, Typographic Design Process; 

fig 3.3; Page 237, Typographic Design Process; 

fig 3.4; Page 241, Typographic Design Process: Case Study; 

fig 3.5; Page 244, Typographic Design Process: Case Study; 

Expanding the system

• Initial Ludd typeface experiments with the design of numerals grew into planning and creating an entire type family. 
• He followed a natural progression from an extremely light style to a heavy style and he proceeded to explore, he forged an unusual path, adding weight asymmetrically to
• the existing frames and creating unusual and seemingly incomplete. 
• These versions gave way to developing a semi–san serif version with
• contrasting weights (thick and thins) similar to a serif face but with
• tapered ascenders and descenders, stems, finials, and strokes, and the
• inclusion of ball terminals. 
• Finally, he designed a serif version with
• three different weights.

Learning through making

• One of his major concerns was to reconnect with making, drawing, and visualizing ideas. The sketching phase was critical because this manual design process allowed him
• thoughtful review and evaluation during each step of the evolution. 
• A slower pace created a sphere in which missteps, chance combinations,
• and unsatisfactory strategies could inform new directions of
• exploration. 
• Drawing was a way to fuse the physical making with the
• thinking, to build trust in the creative process, and to push beyond the
• sense of isolation and uncertainty that he sometimes felt as the project
• unfolded.