Typography - Task 3 Type Design and Communication

10/10/2022 - 31/10/2022 / Week 7 - Week 10
Azriq Anwar Bin Saprudin / 0353272
Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 3: Type Design and Communication

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LECTURES

Week 7 - Lecture 

• Examples of fonts available on websites like Google Fonts and FontShare
• Study the qualities of both good and terrible typefaces to understand them
• First, gather all the fonts that inspire you and use them as a source of inspiration
• Second, begin drafting several typefaces
• X-height, lowercase and uppercase descenders
• Deconstruction of the lowercase ascender and descender, uppercase, and x-height letterforms
• The typeface is always distinctive due to its little variations

Pre-recorded Lecture

Task 3: Typo_3A Typeface Construction Shapes 

BRIEFING

1. Choose three letterforms (one with a descender, one with an ascender, and one inside the x-height, for example, "m") from the following list: a, e, t, k, g, r, i, y, m, p, n,!, #
2. To uncover many options and directions for your own work, do study and learn good fonts
3. The ideal letters to utilise are O, H, T, and A since their designs may all be used interchangeably
4. Draw five to six potential outcomes and select one to two of them
5. Find a reference for an existing typeface that closely resembles the typeface you made (it's easiest to use one of the 10 typefaces Mr. Vinod provided) (e.g we could refer to how the Bodoni Std develops a contrast between letters)
6. Before digitising in Illustrator, pay attention to the specifics of how the letterforms are built
   
   
   

   

   Fig 1.1 Observing Nuances of Letterform, Week 7 10/10/22 

PRACTICAL

1. The canvas is 1000 × 1000 points (Illustrator)
2. The required X-height is 500x500pt (exception with rounded letterforms overshooting because they have a smaller surface area and tends to look smaller)
3. Can build letterforms using either the Pen Tool or the Shape Tool.
4. A stroke-sized counter-space separates the two forms (means the external stroke is equal to the inner space). There would be no problem if you made the area smaller.
5. To reuse the shapes for additional letterforms, place them to the side with your specified width and height.
6. Don't change the design as it was created. To enable us to see the strokes in the outline view, avoid combining or unifying the forms.
7. Play around with a variety of letterforms. Small distinctions can be all that separates them.

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INSTRUCTIONS

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jmptm0iaEsWRJFetiVje2qWroxWz51D6/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>


Task 3: Type Design and Communication

Type Design

The terminology used to define each component of the letterforms are listed in a photo on the Facebook Typography group's front page. It was quite helpful to me since it made it easier for me to arrange my thoughts and communicate them to my readers.

Fig 1.1 Glossary of Type Terms, Week 8 17/10/22

Sketches

Fig 1.2 Font Design sketches Week 8 17/10/22

The top part of the sketches were my initial font I was going for. I transferred my sketches to AI for digitization. 

Fig 1.3 First Attempt on Digitization Week 8 17/10/22

This was my first attempt on digitizing my font design. After some feedback I had to rework the font due to inconsistency.

Fig 1.4 Second Attempt on Digitization Week 9 24/10/22

This was my second attempt on digitization. The design was overall more consistent.

Fig 1.5 Digitization Process on AI, Week 9 24/10/22

Fig 1.6 Transferring AI Font to FontLab 8, Week 9 24/10/22

Fig 1.7 Kerning Process on FontLab 8, Week 9 24/10/22

Fig 1.8 Elements used for my font, Week 9 24/10/22

Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication

Font download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jYEVJx-H4qx_htDK5Y9GsxxtWzTqAvU5/view?usp=share_link

Fig 1.9 Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication "Arik Blok" - JPEG, Week 9 24/10/22

Fig 2.1 Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication "Arik Blok" - PDF, Week 9 24/10/22

Fig 2.2 "Arik Blok" Typo Poster A4 - PDF, Week 10 31/10/22

Fig 2.3 "Arik Blok" Typo Poster A4 - JPEG, Week 10 31/10/22

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FEEDBACK

Week 9

General Feedback: Font design is inconsistent.


Week 10

General Feedback: Font is overall consistent.

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REFLECTION

Experience

This task was complicated yet exciting. Its an experience of creating your very own font. 

Observations
I had some difficulties on getting it to work on Fontlab 8. However, the process of designing it can be satisfying. 

Findings
Creating a typeface takes so much time and so much practice. The outcome would be worth it if time was more spent on the task but overall I was satisfied. It is definitely not an easy process but it was fun.

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FURTHER READING

Fig 3.1 The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli (2010)

Fig 3.2 The Vignelli Canon, Page 76

Texture: Designers must hone their perception in order to articulate and master the media since texture has an infinite variety of tactile or visual sensations. We articulate an object's shape to express its substance, to celebrate its appropriateness, and to disclose its spirit through the selection of materials and their finishes.

Fig 3.3 The Vignelli Canon, Page 78

Color: Although color is a crucial component in the creation of our projects, we have carefully chosen and limited our color palette in order to convey the intended message in the most concise and understandable manner, similar to how we do with fonts. There are times when bold primary colors and delicate pastels are acceptable, while other times call for only black and white. 

Fig 3.4 The Vignelli Canon, Page 90

Identity and Diversity: Fragmentation, a very prevalent disease of poorly designed communication, is caused by an excessive amount of diversity. Perceptive redundancy and poor retention are caused by having too many identities. To avoid these hazards, it is vital to strike the right balance between those components or to provide enough flexibility in any given design solution.