Typography / Task 3

14/11/2023 - 19/12/2023 (week 7 ~ 13)

Shim Yi Xun || 0363292
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Typography

Task 3 - Type Design & Communication

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.  CONTENT  .

1)  Instruction

2)  Feedback

3)  Reflection

4)  Further Reading

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.  INSTRUCTIONS  .

Week 7

  Task 3 - Letter dissection  

We have to select a preferred font from the 10 fonts provided. Use the following letters: H, o, g, b and do a detailed dissection of the letters in Adobe Illustrator.

I selected Futura to dissect:

figure 1.1.1 Dissection

Observation:

I observed that all the straight strokes of the Futura font had the same width. However the circles are irregular, they are somewhat oval.

Week 9

We need to sketch the following letters ODHNG / odhng using the 3 pens (choose: uppercase/lowercase), and explore 3 different writing styles for each of the 3 pens.

Material: 

Graph paper + 3 markers (can choose by ourselves but it must be 3.0 above)

Broad-edge pen:

figure 1.2.1 Sketch 1

Rounded-nib pen:

figure 1.2.2 Sketch 2

Pointed-nib pen:

figure 1.2.3 Sketch 3

After sketching, we need to digitise all the letters (o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! #) in the approved style. Based on that, I have chosen the broad-edge pen sketch number 2 to do my digitisation.

This is my first attempt of digitisation:

figure 1.3.1 Digitisation

Week 10

Ms.Hsin said there were some mistaken angles on some of the strokes, if I set one of the angles for my font, I must unify all of the strokes' angles, and that's the reason why my overall font looked a little bit awkward. So I modified the error strokes' angles.

figure 1.3.2 Modification process

So this is what it looks like after the modification, it really looks much better.

figure 1.3.3 Digitisation

Week 11

The final version of my digitisation:

figure 1.3.4 Final digitisation (guideline)

figure 1.3.5 Final digitisation

Week 12

This week we had to import the font we designed into FontLab by following the video tutorials. 

figure 1.4.1 FontLab interface

After importing, we need to adjust the kerning between the letters.

figure 1.4.2 Letters kerning (1)

figure 1.4.3 Letters kerning (2)

Adjusted my font and exported it after making the necessary modifications. I name my font "Shim Shim" (don't ask me why).

figure 1.4.4 Font export setting

Week 13

Final Version:

Download the font here:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OIu_bXcAIWCr568sqPkqPqzmyln8YUYn/view?usp=sharing

figure 1.5.1 FontLab screen grab

figure 1.5.2 Final type construction (JPG)

figure 1.5.3 Final type construction (PDF)

figure 1.5.4 Final poster (JPG)

figure 1.5.5 Final poster (PDF)

.  FEEDBACK  .

Week 9

  General:   

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  Specific:   

Ms. Hsin said I could move on to digitise the broad-edge pen sketch number 2, but some details can be modified to make it better. She suggested I refer to the early gothic old English and observe its characteristics and try to combine it with my font.

Week 10

  General:   

-

  Specific:   

I needed to pay more attention to the angles of the strokes. All characteristics must be common.

Week 11

  General:   

Need to notice the x-height of the letters 't' and 'i'. 

  Specific:   

The angle of the hashtag needs to be modified to archive the overall theme.

Week 12

  General:   

Before importing the letters into FontLab, make sure that the letters are united by using the Pathfinder.

  Specific:   

Note that all the letters should be aligned at the x-height correctly. 

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.  REFLECTION  .

  Experience   

Creating a font has been an impressive experience that has given me more insight into the field of typography. And I also realized that, creating fonts is not easy at all, it really tests our patience and attention.

  Observation   

Font design is an iterative process that takes a lot of trial and error. To make sure that every character complemented the overall theme, I had to pay close attention to the details of every curve and line. Besides artistic expression, there are technical obstacles to be overcome. I had to gain fluency with font software, understand kerning, and understand the particulars of various font formats.

  Findings   

I have learned practical skills from this task that go beyond using a digital canvas. My concept of design has been affected by this experience, and it has also become an experience for me in exploring typography.

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.  FURTHER READING  .

NOTE