Typography | Task 3 : Type Design & Communication

/11/2023 - /11/2023 / Week 8 - Week 

Kerly Ooi / 0358726

Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Task 03 / Type Design & Communication 

---

LECTURES

All lectures from 1 to 6 are completed in Task 1 - Exercise 1 & 2

---

INSTRUCTIONS

 

TASK 3 - Type Design & Communication

1. Sketches

For this task, we were given the task with creating 9 various writing styles using three different tip pens with a width of 3.0mm. I started writing with the pens I bought, and while writing, I am also researching about different types of writing styles until I discovered the one I liked. My preferred sketches were 3,8,10. We were also asked to test the upper- and lower-case forms of the letter ODHNG. 

Below are my sketches : 

Fig 2.1 Sketches of ODHNG , Week 7

Fig 2.2 Sketches of ODHNG , Week 7

Fig 2.3 Sketches of ODHNG , Week 7

After feedback given by Mr Vinod during week 8 online's class. I decided to go with sketch number 2. As it looks more different and exaggerated, said by Mr Vinod. 

Fig 2.4 Letters in writing style of 2 , Week 7

2. Digitisation 

First attempt :

Using Pen tool and Rectangle shapes tool.

Fig 2.5 Tools in Ai , Week 7

Fig 2.6 First attempt of digitisation , Week 8

Fig 2.7 Outline , Week 8

Second attempt :

I make changes on the letter 'n' & letter "h". Since, the width is not the same and the shapes looks a bit off. After changes i made, it looks much more better but not perfect still. 

Fig 2.8 second attempt of digitisation #progress 1 , Week 9

Fig 2.9 Outlines , Week 9

Fig 2.10 With guidelines & grids , Week 9

Fig 2.11 second attempt of digitisation #progress 2 , Week 9

During the feedback session with Mr Vinod, He suggested that I could make my letter 'n' and letter 'g' in the way that is shown below (Fig.2.11 & Fig.2.12) (left to right).

Fig 2.12 changes made on letter 'n' , Week 9

Fig 2.13 changes made on letter 'g' , Week 9

Therefore, I have my 

Third attempt :

Fig 2.14 third attempt of digitisation , Week 10

Final attempt :

I realised that my letter 'c' does not match with the overall letterforms so i decided to make adjustment to it. 

Below shows the process of letter 'c' (from the left to right).

Fig 2.15 third attempt of digitisation , Week 10

Final outcome :

Fig 2.16 Final typeface design , Week 11

Fig 2.17 Final typeface design with grids and guidelines , Week 11

3. Font Lab 

After finalising my font design in Illustrator, I started creating and exporting fonts using FontLab7 as instructed by my lecturer, Mr Vinod. 

Fig 2.16  Import the letters oledsnchig,.!# from Illustrator into Fontlab 7 , Week 11

The image below displays the letterforms fully altered with kerning.

Fig 2.17  "oldesnchtig,.!#" Adjusted and Finished Kerning  , Week 11

Fig 2.18  wording for poster , Week 11

4. Poster design

Then it was time to design a poster to showcase my new typeface. I experimented with the composition to see which one looked best. Below are my exploration before designing the posters.

Explorations : 

Below are my poster designs.

Fig 2.19  Poster design #1 , Week 11

Fig 2.20  Poster design #2 , Week 11

Fig 2.21  Poster design #3 , Week 11

Final Task 3 : Type Design & Communication

Fig 2.22 Fontlab screengrab , Week 12

Fig 2.23 Fontlab screengrab with metrics, Week 12

Fig 2. 24 Final type construction 'ko regular' (JPEG), Week 12

 

Fig 2.25 Final type construction (PDF), Week 12

Fig 2.26 Final poster design (JPEG), Week 12

 

 

Fig 2.27 Final poster design (PDF), Week 12

---

FEEDBACK

Week 8

Exercises : 

Specific feedback : I kinda like 2, it looks different and exaggerated :B (your decision). Now begin writing the instructed letters o l e d s n c h t i g , . ! # in the chosen hand then digitise. (ps/ 11 is cool too)

Week 9

Exercises : 

Specific feedback : Improve on the letter n, h & g. The letter 'n' upper part is not thick enough. If I am unsure, always type out the existing letterforms. Make use of a graph to ensure consistency.

Week 10

Exercises : 

General feedback : Make certain that each letter is consistent.

Week 11

Exercises : 

General feedback : The width of each shape should be the same without being adjusted when assembling the letters.

Week 12

Exercises : 

No feedback given

---

REFLECTIONS

Experience

My initial task was to examine a typeface of our choice. In my perspective, this was a rather time-consuming process. While it was fascinating to learn how specific letters are made, dissecting the letters was not a pleasant experience. However, after finishing this work, I was able to fully comprehend the complete font production process. I learned about the necessary procedures, such as research, without which I would not have known where to begin with my design. During the drawing stage, I struggled to come up with a desirable typeface, but after some scribbling and writing, I eventually figured out how to write the fonts out in a way that would probably be consistent.

Observation

The more I experimented with different writing styles while working on the drawings, the more ideas I was able to develop through trial and error. While digitising the letterforms, I discovered numerous little characteristics in other fonts that I would not have seen if I hadn't looked extremely closely at them. This really helped me form my letters more consistently. Typefaces are far more difficult than I had imagined.

Findings

The process of making a typeface was both difficult and educational. It allowed me to blend my love of design with typography, resulting in a one-of-a-kind typeface that I can call my own. I would strongly advise every other individuals to begin on this adventure and build their own typeface since it not only gives a personal touch to their work but also broadens their typographic abilities and knowledge.

---

FURTHER READING

The book I decided to read this week is Typographic Design : Forms & Communication

The Typographic message : 

This chapter introduces typography as a visual language capable of educating, persuading, enlightening, and entertaining. Typographic signs can attain clarity, expression, lucidity, aesthetic beauty, and more when designed with an informed eye and mind. 

The Multidimensional Language : 

The typographic message communicates verbally, visually, and vocally. Typography can be read and interpreted orally, but it can also be seen and interpreted visually, as well as heard and interpreted acoustically. 

It is a dynamic channel of communication. In this way, early twentieth-century typography was a revolutionary mode of communication, giving the written word new expressive potential. 

Take a look at the concrete poem "ping pong" (Fig. 5.0 ). The geometric form of this poetry is made up of the words ping and pong being repeated. These phrases represent the sound of a bouncing ping-pong ball when they are repeated, and the circular letters p, o, and g reflect the shape of the ball. 

Fig 5.0 'ping pong' (poet Eugen Gomringer) , Week 9

The Futurist manifesto, issued by the Italian poet Filippo Marinetti in 1909, had a major influence on European and Russian thought. Futurism was a celebration of technology, violence, danger, movement, and speed. Futurist typography, commonly known as "free typography," displayed these concepts in a highly expressive way (Fig. 5.1). 

Screams were expressed in bold font, and fast impressions were emphasised in italics. Letters and words flew over the page in rapid succession.

Fig 5.1 Les mots en liberte futuristes , Week 9

Futurism influenced movements such as Dadaism in France, Switzerland, and Germany, de Stijl in Holland, and Constructivism in Russia. Each of these historical revolutions had a profound impact on typography.

Artists and designers connected with these movements saw typography as a potent tool of presenting information about industrialised society's realities (Figs. 5.2 to 5.4). They despised typography for what it had become: a decorative art form divorced from the reality of the moment. 

Fig 5.2 Cover of the first issue of Der Dada , Week 9

Fig 5.3 Title lettering for De Stijl , Week 9

Fig 5.4 Constructivist cover design for Veshch, Gegenstand, Objet , Week 9