TYPOGRAPHY TASK 3A : TYPE DESIGN & COMMUNICATION

May 11, 2022

TYPOGRAPHY TASK 3A : TYPE DESIGN & COMMUNICATION

Week 8 (18/5/22) - Week 13 (22/6/22)
Student: Tai Ser Yeet (0345798)
Programme: Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Task: Task 3A- Type Design & Communication

LECTURE

WEEK 7 -

Examples of typefaces we could refer to on platforms such as Google Fonts, FontShare
Study the good & bad fonts to identify their characteristics
First, compile all the typefaces that excite you and take inspiration from it
Secondly, start sketching a variety of typefaces
Lowercase descender, uppercase descender, x-height
Deconstruction 4 letterform of the lowercase ascender & descender, uppercase, x-height
It is always the small differences in the typeface which make it unique

PRE-RECORDED LECTURE

TASK 3: Typo_ 3A Typeface Construction Shapes

BRIEFING

Choose 3 letterforms out of a, e, t, k, g, r, i, y, m, p, n, !, # (one with a descender, ascender, and one within the x-height e.g 'm')
Do research; find out good typefaces to discover a lot of possibilities and directions in order to create your own
It is best to do the letters (O, H, T, and A) because the design of each of them can be used interchangeably.
Sketch 5-6 possibilities and choose 1-2 options from them
Look for a reference for an existing typeface that closely resembles your designed typeface (best to refer to one of the 10 typefaces provided by Mr.Vinod so it's easier)(e.g we could refer to how the Bodoni Std develops a contrast between letters)
Observe the details of how the letterforms are constructed before digitalizing in Illustrator.

Fig 1.1 Observing Nuances of Letterform, Week 8 (19/5/22)

PRACTICAL

1. Canvas size is 1000 x 1000 pts (Illustrator)

2. X-height has to be 500x500pt (exception with rounded letterforms overshooting because they have a smaller surface area and tends to look smaller)

Fig 1.1.2 Size of X-Height, Week 8 (19/5/22)

3. Can use either the Pen Tool or the Shape Tool to create the letterforms

4. The counter-space in between the two shapes is the size of a stroke (means the external stroke is equal to the inner space). You could make the space tighter too, there's no issue.

Fig 1.1.3 Measurement of Inner Space, Week 8 (19/5/22)

5. Place the shapes with your preferred width & height at the side to reuse them for other letterforms

6. Do not alter the original construction. Avoid merging/uniting the shapes together so we could see the strokes in the outline view.

7. Experiment with different variety of letterforms. It could just be minor details that set them apart.

WEEK 9 - Typography Lecture (Typo_ 3A (The Rest of the Lecture Videos)

start sketching alphabets 'O' & 'H'
finish sketches of letterforms
digitalization

INSTRUCTIONS

Fig 2.1 Instructions for Task 3, Week 7 (11/5/22)

TASK 3A: TYPE DESIGN & COMMUNICATION

TYPE DESIGN

On the cover page of the Facebook Typography Group, there was a picture that lists down the terms used to describe each part of the letterforms. I found it extremely useful as it helped me articulate my thoughts to my readers in an organized manner.

Fig 3.1 Glossary of Type Terms, Week 8 (18/5/22)

TYPE INSPIRATION

When I set my eyes on this print, I noticed the typeface they had used. It was minimalistic and oddly satisfying to look at mainly because one could follow the curved strokes which guide us throughout the type design. That reminded me of the glowsticks sold during my high school talent competition. Not only that, melting candlesticks also had a similar structure to this.

Fig 3.2 Prints By Alex Sullivan, (Source: Siddall, 2013), Week 8 (18/5/22)

This particular typeface takes on a clean and futuristic look which I appreciate.

Fig 3.2.1 Stretch Pro, Week 8 (18/5/22)

What I am interested about this typeface is the tiny star that they have incorporated inside the counter forms. It adds more visual interest to the design without overpowering it too much.

Fig 3.2.2 Forest Regular, Week 8 (18/5/22)

SKETCHES

WEEK 8

Fig 3.3 Sketch 1,2,3 & 4, Week 8 (18/5/22)

Both Sketch 1 & 2 were based on Serif typefaces whereas Sketch 3&4 were San Serif typefaces.

Sketch 1 - I was inspired by the typeface, FOREST which has a unique serif. For each closing bowl and dot, it was replaced with a 4-cornered star, giving a galaxy feel to the typeface. However, since the artist of the FOREST typeface did not include lowercase letterforms, I took this opportunity to create it. And vóila, Sketch 1!

Sketch 2- In terms of the overall structure, it is similar to Sketch 2 but different in other aspects. For example, the title on top of the 'i' and the bowl is squarish whereas Sketch 1 is not.

Sketch 3 - This typeface is just like any other san serif letterform but when the eyes divert to the lower section of the alphabet, it becomes slanted in the right direction. I thought that it also looked rather futuristic that way.

Sketch 4- Sketch 4 tapers to the bottom, creating dynamic tension amongst the viewers.

FEEDBACK FROM LECTURER

Mr. Vinod suggested that I continue with the ideation stage as there is a lot to explore in terms of the variety of typefaces that I could come up with. On a brighter note, he thinks that Sketch 3 & 4 looks pretty cool.

WEEK 9

Fig 3.3.2 Sketch 5,6,7 & 8, Week 8 (18/5/22)

Sketch 5 - I wanted to apply Gestalt's Principle of Closure to this design. Thus, I sliced the letters in half in order to achieve that effect. According to an article I read about typeface readability, it states that we, humans are able to decipher letters up to a certain section.

Sketch 6- Sketch 6 was mainly derived from an idea of the letterforms glitching and distorting in terms of the strokes.

Sketch 7 - I have taken inspiration from Fig 3.2. When burning, candle sticks usually get very flexible and hence, would bend at a soft curve. I then mimicked the occurrence in Sketch 7.

Sketch 8- Since I consider myself an environmentalist, I thought that a typeface inspired by bendable straws would be quite unique.

FEEDBACK FROM LECTURER

Out of Sketch 3 & Sketch 7, he prefers Sketch 7. He also advised reducing the graphical elements such as the melted candle wax.

DECONSTRUCTION OF LETTERFORMS

WEEK 8

FIRST-ROUND

I was still stuck on the sketching stage so I thought it would be better if I just start with the first round of deconstructing the letterforms instead of wasting time. I could even obtain inspiration from doing so after this. Since Mr. Vinod & I both prefer Sketch 3, I have decided to go with that.

Before I begin to understand the nuances of letterforms, I had to list down all the mandatory 10 typefaces to get a clearer picture of which resembles my designed typeface. During the compilation, I made sure to pick a bold type style since Sketch 3 has a rather thick stroke weight.

Fig 3.4.1 Compilation of 10 Typefaces, Week 8 (18/5/22)

Out of the 10 typefaces given, I would say that 'Futura Std' & 'Univers Lt Std' are the most similar compared to the others mainly because it was one of the few San Serif typefaces out of the Serif bunch. Besides that, the lowercase 'a' whereas the tittle on the lowercase 'i' was a square instead of a circle.

Fig 3.4.2 Comparison Between Sketch 3 & Selected Typeface, Week 8 (18/5/22)

Fig 3.4.3 Different Variations of Letterforms, Week 8 (Source: Cai, 2016)(18/5/22)

I could only deconstruct one typeface considering the amount of time I had. After much thought, I have picked Univers Lt Std mainly because between that typeface & Futura Std, Univers had a much more important resemblance to my sketch as compared to Futura. For context, a tittle & the type of 'a' in a typeface is placed far more emphasis rather than ascenders & descenders. However, this isn't my way of disregarding the nuances of the letterforms, just my take on which suits my sketch the best.

Fig 3.4.4 Common Details With My Sketch, Week 8 (18/5/22)

RESEARCH ON HOW TO BREAK DOWN LETTERFORMS

A series of lines & shapes of different lengths & sizes were used.

Fig 3.4.5 Scheme For the Construction of Roman Letters (Source: Brown, 1902), Week 8 (18/5/22)

Fig. 3.4.6 Alphabet of Classic Renaissance Letters according to Albrecht Durer, adapted and reconstructed by F. C. Brown, Week 8 (18/5/22)

DECONSTRUCTING UNIVERS LT STD

Fig 3.4.7 Deconstruction of Letterforms, 'i' & 'k', Week 8 (18/5/22)

Fig 3.4.8 Deconstruction of Letterforms, 'a' & 'y', Week 8 (18/5/22)

Tiny details that were different than expected :

i=the width of the tittle was slightly larger than the width of the stem.
k=the arm & leg of the 'k' tapers as it moves to the intersection point respectively. The lines were not parallel as I expected.
a=Univers' letter 'a' was complicated due to its organic design thus needing many circles to form the letter.
y=the two strokes that made up the vertex narrows until it reaches the overhang and expands in width.

WEEK 9

SECOND-ROUND

I was halfway through planning for the digitalization process of Sketch 3 when Mr.Vinod's Week 9 feedback threw me off a tangent. He mentioned that he preferred Sketch 7 compared to Sketch 3. For Sketch 7, I felt that it looked more like the typeface called 'Heavy' of the type family 'Futura STD'. As a result, I had to repeat the deconstruction process once more in order to understand the design better.

DECONSTRUCTING FUTURA STD

Fig 3.5 Deconstruction of Letterforms, 'i' & 'k', Week 9 (25/5/22)

Fig 3.5.2 Deconstruction of Letterforms, 'a' & 'y', Week 9 (25/5/22)

Firstly, the 'i' & 'k' was constructed similarly to 'i' from the type family Univers Lt Std. (See Fig 3.4.7 & Fig 3.5) The 'a', on the other hand, was a single-story lower case type. As for 'y', the vertex seems to be slightly shallower as compared to the same letter from Univers. (See Fig 3.4.8 & Fig 3.5.2)

DIGITALIZATION OF LETTERFORMS

WEEK 10

I remembered there was a time when Mr. Vinod had shared with us that he had created a Murukku typeface and it was similar to the typeface that I wanted to design. And so, I requested to download his typeface as a reference when I start digitalizing my sketches. (See Fig 3.6)

Fig 3.6 Murukku Typeface By Vinod Nair, Week 10 (1/6/22)

As advised by Mr. Vinod, the letter 'O' should be created first before any letterforms. I began by forming an equal circle and thickening the strokes to 80 points. Next, I narrowed the left and right sides of the circle until it becomes more of an oval shape.

Fig 3.6.2 Comparison Between Regular Circle & My 'O' Letterform, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Initially, I tried combining basic shapes to form the letter 'i' but it did not turn out even so I went with another route & used a mixture of shapes & multiple lines.

Fig 3.6.3 Progress In Creating the Letter 'i', Week 10 (1/6/22)

Since I was inspired by the bent candlesticks, I made the tittle into a droplet to illustrate the burning flames.

Fig 3.6.4 Experimenting with the Tittle, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.6.5 Opening Up the Circle for the Letter 'e', Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.6.6 Progress In Creating the Letter 'y', Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.6.7 Progress In the Endpoint of Letter 'p', Week 10 (1/6/22)

In Fig 3.6.8, I chose the fourth 'k' because other options possess the twirls on the top which complexify the letterforms unnecessarily.

Fig 3.6.8 Variations of the Letter 'k', Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.6.9 Progress In Creating the Letter 'k', Week 10 (1/6/22)

In Fig 3.7, I first took Futura's hashtag and made it into an outline. Next, I rounded the edges of the strokes to ensure the cohesion of the overall typeface.

Fig 3.7 Progress In Designing the Hashtag, Week 10 (1/6/22)

The inner corners of the hashtag(RIGHT) were softened in order to make it more organic.

Fig 3.7.2 Two Types of Hashtags, Week 10 (1/6/22)

PUNCTUATIONS

Mr.Vinod shared an article that teaches us how to create proper punctuation for our typeface design. Here are a few key points that I applied to my work:

1. Period has a lesser overshoot compared to the letter 'o'

Fig 3.7.3 Difference in Overshoot of Letter 'o' & Period, Week 10 (1/6/22)

2. Comma is the height of two periods

Fig 3.7.4 Process in Designing the Comma, Week 10 (1/6/22)

In Fig 3.7.5, I played around with the tittle, mimicking the design of the 'i'. Later on, I realized it resembled too much of a graphical element therefore I stuck with the traditional style of the letterform.

Fig 3.7.5 Experimenting with the Exclamation Point, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.7.6 Position of Exclamation Mark & Period on the Baseline, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.7.7 Switching the Ends to a Projecting Cap, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.7.8 Switching the Ends of 'g' to a Projecting Cap, Week 10 (1/6/22)

EXCLAMATION POINT ON GUIDED LINES & COMPARISON WITH LETTERFORMS

Before applying Mr. Vinod's feedback, I wanted to figure out the exact placement of the exclamation point in relation to the other letterforms as well as to the lines such as baseline & cap-height.

Fig 3.7.9 Comparison Between Placement of Univers & Futura(LEFT), Exclamation Point & Ascender of 'k'(RIGHT), Week 10 (1/6/22)

Looking at Fig 3.8, the hashtag from Futura Std had the upper horizontal stroke that rises above the median line. Besides that, the parallel, vertical strokes also exceed the ascender line. For my typeface design, I wanted something different from the default hashtag therefore I lowered the horizontal & vertical strokes so that it only touches the median line & the ascender line respectively.

Fig 3.8 Comparison Between Hashtag from Futura STD & My Design, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.8.2 Uniting the Various Part of Letterforms, Week 10 (1/6/22)

COMPLETED DIGITALIZED TYPEFACE

The first typeface I produced was Typeface Design 1. However, I felt as though the rounded caps gave the entire impression that the typeface was simply created using the brush tool instead of basic shapes & extensive manipulation. At that time, I looked at Mr. Vinod's Murukku type design and I noticed that he ended his letterform strokes with a projecting cap. This is the moment where Typeface Design 2 was born. (See Fig 3.8.3 & Fig 3.8.4)

Fig 3.8.3 Typeface Design 1, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.8.4 Typeface Design 2, Week 10 (1/6/22)

FEEDBACK

For Type Design 2, Mr. Vinod suggested touching both points of strokes on the median line and baseline. In terms of the overall typeface design, he stated that it was rather rudimentary; basic but consistent.

IMPORTING DESIGNS INTO FONTLAB

In Fig 3.9, I already had problems with importing my illustrated designs from Adobe Illustrator to Fontlab. Most of the letterforms copied were not following the lines and had been enlarged. It wasn't until later did I find out that we were instructed to change the settings from FontLab so that everything was copied & pasted exactly the way it was. Because of my late discovery, I had to manually resize the letterforms according to the guided lines. Not only that, the counter forms were not cut out therefore I had to also do that myself.

Fig 3.9 Importing Type Design Into FontLab, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.9.2 Ensuring the Correct Placement of Punctuations on the Lines, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 3.9.3 Imported Type Design Into FontLab, Week 10 (1/6/22)

KERNING

Fig 3.9.4 Kerning Each Letter, Week 10 (1/6/22)

PROBLEMS FACED

While I was in the process of kerning, I gradually acknowledged that the grey area & the white spaces were not equal. Our human eye looks at a word as a whole, not as individual letters which then enables us to read more efficiently. However, if a certain typeface facilitates the notice of individual letterforms, it then reduces the chances of good readability. As for now, the majority of the time, I see white counterforms from letters, a,y,p,g, and r which distract me from reading the actual sentence with ease.

Fig 4.1 Progress of Kerning, Week 10 (1/6/22)

To resolve this issue, I went back to Illustrator & reduced the size of the holes by narrowing the curve of letterforms.

Fig 4.1.2 Letterforms After Changes In Illustrator, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Fig 4.1.3 Finished Product After Kerning, Week 10 (1/6/22)

Before exporting my type, I named it after my inspiration. My typeface design is called CandleLight- Regular.

DESIGNING THE POSTER

I found out that two pairs of words shared a similar vowel which are 'e' & 'a'. The concept of a crossword puzzle came to mind and I based my poster composition off of that.

Fig 4.2 4 Types of Composition, Week 10 (1/6/22)

The difference between both of the compositions was that in Option 3, the 'great' was aligned to the 'make' whereas, in Option 4, the 'great' was aligned to the 'typ'. Despite the misalignment in terms of the reading flow, I still preferred Option 4's alignment mainly because as a whole, the eye was not moving in a zig-zag motion in order to read the text. Instead, it was a straight line from 'make type' to 'great again'.

Fig 4.2.2 Choosing Between Option 3 & 4, Week 10 (1/6/22)

FEEDBACK

Mr. Vinod said that there is still room for improvement in terms of composition even though it's fairly good. On a brighter note, he mentioned that the sizing is good already.

FINAL SUBMISSION

TYPE DESIGN

Google Drive Link: Click this to download CandleLight-Regular

Fig 5.1 Final Submission of Type Design, JPEG, Week 10 (1/5/22)

POSTER DESIGN

Fig 5.2 Final Submission of Poster Design, PDF, Week 10 (1/5/22)

Fig 5.2.2 Final Submission of Poster Design, JPEG, Week 10 (1/5/22)

FEEDBACKS

WEEK 8 - SKETCHES

Specific Feedback

Mr.Vinod suggests keeping sketching for more possible typefaces. On a brighter note, he thinks that Sketch 3 & 4 seems cool.

WEEK 9 - SKETCHES

General Feedback

Readability reduces when ascenders & descenders are shortened.

Specific Feedback

Out of Sketch 3 & Sketch 9, he prefers Sketch 9. He also advised reducing the graphical elements such as the melted candle wax.

WEEK 10 - DIGITALIZATION OF TYPEFACE

General Feedback

The thickness of strokes for typeface design must be consistent.

Specific Feedback

In terms of technicality, Mr. Vinod suggested touching both points of strokes on the median line and baseline. In terms of the overall typeface design, he stated that it was rather rudimentary; basic but consistent.

WEEK 11 - POSTER DESIGN

Specific Feedback

Mr. Vinod said that there is still room for improvement in terms of composition even though it's fairly good. On a brighter note, he mentioned that the sizing is good already.

REFLECTIONS

EXPERIENCE

There was a moment when I was rather demotivated after Mr. Vinod gave his feedback on my type design. He stated that it was rather basic & rudimentary which disappoints me because, at that stage, I could not suddenly change my design as it was already very near to the day of submission. I felt that if I continue on with the 'rudimentary' type design, I would ultimately receive a low grade. Fortunately, I powered through my emotions & continue on with the design despite the negative feedback. It all worked out in the end because I was quite satisfied with the poster design and Mr. Vinod even praised me for the amendments made to the type as well as the good composition.

OBSERVATIONS

In my viewpoint, the activity could be improved by providing more tutorials & guidance on the navigation of the FontLab Software. Next, initially, I always believed that my last-minute works were often better than the ones where I had started earlier on. However, I began to think differently because, for Task 3A, I had done the sketches pretty early on in the process and this helped clear my mind on tasks that needs be done. Consequently, I was able to obtain feedback from Mr.Vinod regarding the digitalized type which in turn, allowed room for amendments in order for my design to be improved.

FINDINGS

As said by Mr. Vinod before we began Task 3A, we, as students would begin to further appreciate all the created typefaces and the characteristics which distinguish them from each other. Designers have put a lot of thought & effort into designing type families that allowed each and every one of us to utilize in our projects in order to deliver our intended message.