Serif typefaces include a slight projection finishing off the stokes of its letterforms (called serifs). A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface. Serifs can be classified as Old Style, Transitional, Modern and Slab.

Fig 1.2 Old Style serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Old style serifs generally include:

Diagonal stress (the thin parts are on the diagonal rather than horizontal or vertical axis)
Bracketed serifs (where there's a curve attaching the stem and head)
Minimal contrast
Wedge-shaped serifs
Angled heads serifs

Examples: Adobe Jensen, Garamond, Goudy Old Style .

Fig 1.3 Transitional serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Transitional serifs generally include:

Usually vertical strokes
Vertical stress
More pronounced contrast than in Old Style designs
Oblique and bracketed serifs

Examples: Baskerville, Perpetua

Fig 1.4 Modern serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Modern serifs generally include:

Little or no bracketing on the serifs
Vertical axis on curved strokes
Dramatic contrast between thick and thin strokes
Ball-shaped stroke terminals

Examples: Didot, Bodoni

Fig 1.5 Slab serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Slab serifs generally have:

Heavy serifs with very little or no bracketing
Virtually no contrast in stroke weight

Examples: Museo Slab, Rockwell, American Typewriter

Fig 1.6 Glyphic serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Glyphic serifs:

Emulate lapidary inscriptions rather than pen-drawn text
Have minimal stroke weight contrast
Use triangular serif shapes

Examples: Albertus, Cartier Book, Newtext

b. Sans Serif

Sans serif, the French word “sans” meaning "without" do not include any projections at the end of the stokes of its letterforms. Sans serifs can be classified as Grotesque, Neo-Grotesque, Geometric, and Humanistic.

Fig 1.7 Grotesque sans serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Grotesque sans serifs often include:

A spurred uppercase "G"
Minimal contrast on the strokes
Some of the curves were more square (Older versions)
A double-story lowercase "g"

Examples: Franklin Gothic, News Gothic

Fig 1.8 Neo-Grotesque sans serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Neo-Grotesque sans serifs fonts are:

More legible
Plainer (Otherwise have similar features to the older Grotesques)

Examples: Helvetica, Arial, Univers

Fig 1.9 Geometric sans serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Geometric sans serifs:

Have round "O"s
Are based on simple geometric shapes
Have no contrast between strokes

Examples: Futura, Avenir

Fig 1.10 Humanistic sans serifs | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Humanistic sans serifs:

Are based on the proportions of Roman-style capitals
Were created to be more legible
Have more contrast than other sans serifs
Have a calligraphic influence

Examples: Gill Sans, Verdana, Lucida Grande

c. Script

Script typefaces are based on the fluid strokes of handwriting, and can range from formal to very casual. They're suitable for display use. Scripts can be classified as Formal, Casual, Calligraphic, Blackletter, and Handwriting.

Fig 1.11 Formal scripts | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Formal scripts are characterized by:

Flowing loops and flourishes
Letterforms that are generally connected

Examples: Bickham Script, Snell Roundhand, Kuenstler Script

Fig 1.12 Casual scripts | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Casual scripts have:

A brush-like appearance with stronger strokes
Letterforms that are sometimes connected

Examples: Brush Script, Bianca, Mahogany Script

Fig 1.13 Calligraphic scripts | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Calligraphic scripts:

Emulate hand-lettered calligraphy
Generally have high contrast

Examples: Mistral, Vivaldi, Ballerino

Fig 1.14 Blackletter scripts | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Blackletter scripts are:

Very formal
Based on handwritten calligraphy
Strong contrast on strokes

Examples: Goudy Text, Monmouth, Engravers Old English

Fig 1.15 Handwriting scripts | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Handwriting scripts:

Are casual
Mimic modern handwriting

Examples: Blog Script, Pacifico, Cedarville Cursive

d. Monospaced

Fig 1.16 Monospaced | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Monospaced typefaces are non-proportional — every letter takes up the same amount of horizontal space on the page or screen. There are serif and sans serif varieties.

Examples: Courier New, Consolas, Source Code Pro

e. Display (Decorative)

Fig 1.17 Display | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Display typefaces vary widely in their appearance, and include both practical and novelty fonts suitable for headlines and titles.

Examples: Broadway, Cooper Black, Curlz

(iii) Overshoots

Fig 1.18 Overshoots | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Overshoot is the degree that capital letters go below the baseline or above the cap height, and lowercase letters go below the baseline or above the mean line. (Note: Overshoots are important for the legibility of a typeface).

Fig 1.19 Overshoots (Circle-shaped glyphs) | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Circles appear smaller than squares of the same size to the human eye. To compensate for this, type designers use optical corrections to draw circle-shaped glyphs slightly larger than their square-based counterparts.

Fig 1.20 Overshoots (Triangle-based glyphs) | Week 7 (6/11/23)

For very sharp tips, like in some geometric sans-serifs, the overshoots should be quite considerable. (Note: Not all typefaces will have overshoots of exactly the same size. Generally the bolder the type, the more pronounced the overshoots).

Takeaways:

Circular and triangular shapes seem smaller than squares of the same width and height.
To make them look the same size we need to make them slightly bigger.
This makes them protrude beyond the lines of a grid, creating overshoots.

(iv) Typographic Contrast

Fig 1.21 Typographic contrast | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Typographic contrast is the difference in thickness between the strokes of a letter.

Typefaces might have "no contrast", when the width of the stroke is always uniform, like in Sans Serif fonts.

Fig 1.22 Low contrast typefaces (Minion & Jensen) | Week 7 (6/11/23)

Typefaces have "low contrast" when there is s small variation in thickness (e.g. Minion, Jensen).

Fig 1.23 High contrast typeface (Bernard Modern) | Week 7 (6/11/23)

A typeface has been designed with "high contrast" when the stem stroke looks much thicker than the other strokes on each letter, being the last ones designed with almost a hairline thickness (e.g. Bernard Modern).

Fig 1.24 Contrast between thick and thin strokes | Week 7 (6/11/23)

(v) Typographic Stress

Fig 1.25 Angle of Stress for different typefaces | Week 7 (6/11/23)

The angle of stress determines the direction of thick and thin strokes and the contrast in type. A font's angle of stress can be identified by drawing an imaginary line Through the thinnest section (or stroke) of a letter.

Fig 1.26 Different angles marked with a calligraphic pen | Week 7 (6/11/23)

The concept is based on classic calligraphic writing, where a pen would make a different mark depending on the angle at which is held.

(vi) Evolution Small Capitals

Mr. Vinod gave a brief lecture in class on the history of the evolution of the letter 'T' and discussed the development of lowercase letters in general.

Fig 1.27 Evolution of the letter 'T' | Week 9 (20/11/23)

The evolution from writing in capital letters to developing lowercase letters occurs when writing quickly over time. This evolution arises as a consequence of the need for faster writing.

2. Deconstruction

Choose a preferred font from the 10 fonts provided that closely aligns with our design.
Analyze/deconstruct the letterforms using the following letters (H, o, g, b).
It is recommended to concentrate on lowercase letters with ascenders, descenders, and x-height, and also on capitals with a cap height.

I chose to deconstruct the typefaces Bodoni and Serifa because I felt that my design was essentially a blend of Bodoni's thick and thin contrasts between strokes, combined with Serifa's straight strokes.

(i) Bodoni:

Fig 1.28 Deconstruction of the letter 'H' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

Fig 1.29 Deconstruction of the letter 'o' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

Fig 1.30 Deconstruction of the letter 'b' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

(ii) Serifa:

Fig 1.31 Deconstruction of the letter 'H' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

Fig 1.32 Deconstruction of the letter 'o' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

Fig 1.33 Deconstruction of the letter 'g' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

Fig 1.34 Deconstruction of the letter 'b' | Week 7 (8/11/23)

3. Sketches

Sketch the following letters ODHNG / odhng using at least 3 different pens.
Explore 3 different writing styles for each of the 3 pens.

Fig 1.35 Practicing strokes with different tools | Week 7 (8/11/23)

I first went ahead and practiced writing strokes in different angles so I can decide and select the best tools and also familiarize myself with them before I begin my sketches.

Fig 1.36 Selected 3 tools with different writing styles | Week 7 (8/11/23)

Mr Vinod liked the 3rd design in the second page as he felt the others were too rudimentary and also advised for me to practice writing more before beginning to digitalize my design.

Fig 1.37 Revised sketch with all letterforms | Week 8 (13/11/23)

4. Digitalization (Font)

It was advised by Mr. Vinod when digitizing to have 3 different artboards:

1 for strokes
1 for shapes
1 for unify

Additional notes to take into account when digitizing:

Command + Y to see the accuracy of the pen stroke(s).
Letterforms can’t be a stroke, they need to be a shape. To do so go to object > path > outline stroke (make sure there’s no fill).
Use the pathfinder (unite) tool for it to be one glyph.
However sometimes when uniting a shape, it doesn't get entirely united. The solution is to go object > compound path > make. This flattens it completely and helps especially when you are trying to minus shapes out of the main shape.
Use the width tool to adjust stroke widths (note not to use too much of it as it may present inaccuracy).
Maintain consistency throughout a set of letters by utilizing the original shapes present in the initial design of the first letter across all letters in the family.
Use the smoothing tool to reduce the number of anchor points.

(i) Illustrator

Fig 1.38 Practicing creating letterforms with other designs | Week 9 (20/11/23)

When constructing the letterforms in Illustrator, I ended up creating other designs however Mr. Vinod commented that they were too rudimentary and still preferred the initial designed he wanted me to work on.

Fig 1.39 Measurement of letterforms | Week 9 (20/11/23)

Following the video tutorials provided by Mr. Vinod, I went ahead and followed the measurements for the ascender line, cap line, median line, baseline, and descender line. I also added 2 extra lines for the overshoot over the median line and below the baseline for consistency and precision.

Fig 1.40 Composition of main shapes | Week 9 (20/11/23)

I started off by constructing the main shapes (shared parts) I would be using throughout the rest of my letterforms so that they will all be consistent in shape and size.

After constructing the letters, I then went ahead and constructed the punctuations using the link Mr. Vinod had provided us as references.

Fig 1.41 Same downstroke terminal angle for letters 'g, t, e, c, s' | Week 9 (20/11/23)

The letterforms in my sketch followed a vertical angle, hence I needed to make sure that all the downstroke terminal angles for the letters 'g, t, e, c, s' as well as the punctuation ',' had the same vertical angle.

Fig 1.42 Process of designing the 'comma' | Week 10 (27/11/23)

The design for my comma followed a squarish style (see option no. 4 in the first image above). When constructing the comma, I followed the guide and used 2 stacked periods from my typeface.

Fig 1.43 Process of designing the 'period' | Week 10 (27/11/23)

When constructing the period, I followed the guide and made sure that the period was at least 3 pts bigger than the dot used in the letter 'i'.

Fig 1.44 Comparison of letterforms from initial to final stages | Week 9 (27/11/23)

The image above shows the process for the construction of my letterforms from the initial to final stages with comments highlighted on the right which indicates the changes that were made in each stage.

Fig 1.45 Outline of final letterforms | Week 9 (27/11/23)

(ii) FontLab

Notes to take into account in FontLab:

It is good to have an underline below the descender (-215).
Set bearings for letters 'n' and 'o' first.
+50 / -50 for bearings (usually)

Fig 1.46 Importing letters to FontLab | Week 10 (4/12/23)

Fig 1.47 Reference for bearings (lowercase letters) | Week 10 (4/12/23)

Referencing the sheet provided by Mr. Vinod in Fig 1.47, I then went ahead and set the bearings for my letterforms.

Fig 1.48 Before & After adjusting bearings of letterforms | Week 10 (4/12/23)

Fig 1.49 Testing out all letterforms with different phrases | Week 10 (4/12/23)

To ensure that the bearings looked equal in distance, I went ahead and typed different phrases and made adjustments where I saw necessary.

Font Tester Preview

Try typing characters from the set — o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! #

5. Digitalization (Poster)

Fig 1.50 Layouts #1-3 (Initial) | Week 12 (14/12/23)

While I thought the designs for the posters above looked interesting, I realized that adding too many graphical elements would take away the main design which I am trying to showcase, which is my font.

Fig 1.51 Layout #4 | Week 12 (14/12/23)

To emphasize my font, I then went ahead and settled for a simpler-looking poster which only displays the text of my font and used a black coloured background to provide contrast.

Fig 1.52 Guidelines (Alignment) for revised poster | Week 12 (18/12/23)

After receiving feedback from Mr. Vinod, he suggested aligning the spacing of the exclamation mark to line with vertical text (font name/name/year). He also suggested adding the text “90 pt” to the top right of the page.

Fig 1.53 Design process of poster (initial to final) | Week 12 (18/12/23)

Fig 1.54 Poster (Final) | Week 12 (18/12/23)

6. Final (Submission)

Final Type Construction

Fig 1.55 Final Type Construction "Seridoni" (JPEG) | Week 12 (11/12/23)

Fig 1.56 Final Type Construction "Seridoni" (PDF) | Week 12 (11/12/23)

[Link to Download Font]

Final Poster

Fig 1.57 Final Poster (JPEG) | Week 12 (15/12/23)

Fig 1.58 Final Poster (PDF) | Week 12 (15/12/23)

FEEDBACK

Week 8

Specific feedback:

Mr Vinod preferred sketch no. 5 on the second page as it was consistent and clear. Other sketches seemed too rudimentary. However, he advised that I needed to practice more and begin writing the instructed letters in the chosen hand and then digitise.

Week 9

General feedback:

Command + Y to see the accuracy of the pen stroke.
Letterforms can’t be a stroke, they need to be a shape. To do so go to object > path > outline stroke (make sure there’s no fill).
Use the pathfinder (unite) tool for it to be one glyph.
Use the width tool to adjust stroke widths (note not to use too much of it as it may present inaccuracy).
Use original shapes from the initial design of the first letter to obtain consistency in a family of letters.
Use a smoothing tool to reduce the number of anchor points.

Specific feedback:

Only stick to one axis/angle, else there will be a contrast to thick and thin strokes.
Minor adjustments need to be made however Mr. Vinod commented I was on the right path in terms of progression.

Week 10

General feedback:

E-Portfolio:

E-portfolio is worth 30 marks and it is crucial to make sure that everything is documented neatly and accurately.
Do not make lectures too long to the point where it takes up more space than the task itself (if needed, put images together rather than individually and use bullet points).
At the least, you need to show 3 images/steps for progression before showing the final artwork.
Empathy is crucial as a designer when it comes to creating a good user experience (add quick links at the end of each post and a “to the top” link at the bottom of each section/page).
When designing fonts, use pangrams to check letterforms.

Task 3:

You can create your own grid structure to design your letterforms if needed.
Designs can be evolved from the original sketches.
Entry and exits for strokes are generally the opposite directions.
Document the stages of each letterform.

Specific feedback:

Digitalization:

The letterforms are consistent.
Has a reverse contrast font.
However, the slab serifs are a bit disturbing and the letter ‘t’ ascender is too high.
Commented that there are some minor issues but i’m on the right track.

Week 11

General feedback:

In Illustrator, "Shift + delete" an anchor point (to delete an anchor point but retain the shape).
Always pay attention to the counterform (black and white spaces).
Maintain thickness and style of letterforms to have consistency.
Side bearing is the spacing between the left and right sides of the letterform.

Specific feedback:

Make the cross stroke of the letter ‘e’ thinner.
Control the loop of the letter ‘g’.
Mr. Vinod demonstrated how to adjust bearings and kerning if needed using my letterforms.

Week 12

General feedback:

Link to download font.
Screen Grab of FontLab process.
Final Type construction in JPEG/PDF.
Final JPEG/PDF A4 black & white poster.
Font Tester/Preview (optional).

Specific feedback:

Approved work and can proceed to design poster.

Week 13

General feedback:

When creating the poster, impact is important.
Finish updating task 3 process.
Complete task 4 eportfolio compilation and reflection.

Specific feedback:

Align the spacing of exclamation mark to line with vertical text (font name/name/year).
Add text “90 pt” to the top right of the page.

REFLECTIONS

Experience

This typography subject has been one of my favourites thus far. It was a genuinely enjoyable and enriching experience as I had the opportunity to create my own font design. Sketching out letterforms in various writing styles was challenging because it required consistency and precision in writing while maintaining a steady angle with the tool. However, I felt content with the final result. This project significantly taught me the fundamentals of typeface design, what constitutes a good typeface, and improved my observational skills.

Observations

I discovered that creating a font or typeface requires a significant amount of time, study, and patience. It's not an easy task and involves considering various technical aspects. While sketching different design ideas and examining typefaces created by others, I also realized the significance of the contrast between stroke and stem widths.

Findings

Creating a font or typeface demands considerable time, dedication to study, patience, and keen observational abilities. It's a complex endeavor with numerous technical aspects to consider. While sketching different design concepts, I discovered the significance of contrasting stroke and stem widths. The absence of such contrast results in visually unbalanced letters, ultimately leading to an unsuccessful design.

Book 2 | Typographic Design: Form and Communication

Fig 1.59 Typographic Design: Form and Communication by Rob
Carter, Philip B. Meggs, Ben Day, Sandra Maxa, Mark Sanders

The Typographic Font

A font is a collection of characters of the same size and style used for typesetting. A well-designed typographic font demonstrates visual unity, where characters exhibit consistent weights in strokes and optical alignment. Control over the distribution of lights and darks within characters and their spacing ensures an even tone throughout the font. Font variations can range from a limited set of capital letters in display faces to comprehensive sets of nearly two hundred characters for complex typesetting, such as in textbooks.

Fig 1.60 Font collection for Adobe Garamond

Lowercase
Capitals
Small caps
Lining figures: Numbers that are the same height as the capital letters and sit on the baseline.
Old Style figures: A set of numbers that are compatible with lowercase letters; 1, 2, and 0 align with the x-height; 6 and 8 have ascenders; and 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 have descenders.
Superior and inferior figures: Small numbers, usually slightly smaller than the x-height, used for footnotes and fractions. Superior figures hang from the capline, and inferior figures sit on the baseline.
Fractions
Ligatures: Two or more characters linked together as one unit, such as ff. The ampersand is a ligature originating as a letter combination for the French word et (and) in medieval manuscripts.
Digraphs: Ligatures composed of two vowels, which are used to represent a dipthong (a monosyllabic speech sound composed of two vowels).
Mathematical signs
Punctuation
Accented characters: Characters with accents for foreign language typesetting or for indicating pronunciation.
Dingbats: Assorted signs, symbols, reference marks, and ornaments designed for use with a type font.
Monetary symbols: Logograms used to signify monetary systems (U.S. dollar and cent marks, British pound mark, and so on).

Optical relationships with within a font

The passage discusses optical adjustments necessary for achieving visual harmony within a font. Mechanical and mathematical construction of letterforms can lead to spatial issues, requiring adjustments to maintain visual balance.

Fig 1.61 Pointed and curved letters

Pointed and curved letters have little weight at the top and/or bottom guidelines; this can make them appear too short.
To make them appear the same height as letters that terminate squarely with the guidelines, the apexes of pointed letters extend beyond the baseline and capline.
Curved letterforms are drawn slightly above and below these lines to prevent them from appearing too small.

Fig 1.62 Two-storied capitals and figures

In two-storied capitals and figures, the top half appears too large if the form is divided in the mathematical center.
To balance these letters optically, the center is slightly above the mathematical center, and the top halves are drawn slightly narrower than the bottom half.

Fig 1.63 Horizontal strokes

Horizontal strokes are drawn slightly thinner than vertical strokes in both curved and straight letterforms. Otherwise, the horizontals would appear too thick.

Fig 1.64 Tight junctions

Tight junctions where strokes meet are often opened slightly to prevent the appearance of thickening at the joint.

Fig 1.65 Combining diagonal and vertical strokes

Letters combining diagonal and vertical strokes must be designed to achieve a balance between the top and bottom counterforms.

Fig 1.66 Vertical strokes determining their height

Strokes can be tapered slightly to open up the spaces, and adjustments in the amount of stroke overlap can achieve a harmony of parts.
Letters whose vertical strokes determine their height are drawn slightly taller than letters whose height is determined by a horizontal stroke.
Optically, they will appear to be the same height.

Fig 1.67 Stroke weight of compact letterforms

The stroke weight of compact letterforms, such as those with closed counterforms, are drawn slightly smaller than the stroke weight of letterforms having open counterforms. This balances the weight optically.

Fig 1.68 Curved strokes

Curved strokes are usually thicker at their midsection than vertical strokes, to achieve an even appearance.

Unity of design in the type font

Tremendous diversity of form exists in the typographic font. Twenty-six capitals, twenty-six lowercase letters, ten numerals, punctuation, and other graphic elements must be integrated into a system that can be successfully combined into innumerable words.

Letterform combinations from the Times Roman Bold font (Fig 1.66) demonstrate visual similarities that bring wholeness to typography. Letterforms share similar parts. Repeated curves, verticals, horizontals, and serifs are combined to bring variety and unity to typographic designs using this typeface. All well-designed type fonts display this principle of repetition with variety that is demonstrated in Times Roman Bold.

Fig 1.69 Curved capitals

Curved capitals share a common round stroke.

Fig 1.70 Diagonal strokes

The diagonal strokes of the A are repeated in 'V', 'W', 'M'. Lowercase letters have common serifs.

Fig 1.71 Repetition of same stroke

'F', 'E', 'B' demonstrates that the more similar letters are, the more common parts they share.
Repetition of the same stroke in 'm', 'n', 'h', 'u', 't' creates unity.

Fig 1.72 Shared parts

Likewise, the letters 'b', 'd', 'p', 'q' share parts. Capital serifs recur in similar characters.

Fig 1.73 Optical adjustments

Subtle optical adjustments can be seen. For example, the bottom strokes of the capital Z and L have longer serifs than the bottom stroke of the E.
This change in detail compensates for the larger counterform on the right side of the first two letters.

QUICK LINKS

| Task 1: Type Expression & Text Formatting

| Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication

| Task 4: Final Compilation & Reflection

Cari Blog Ini

Justin Wilbert (0366371)

typography task 3 ( final task )

INSTRUCTIONS

Sections:

1. Research