Advance Typography // Final Task: Type Exploration & Application

29th October 2023 - 2nd December 2023 (Week 10 - Week 14)

Emran Tarek Sayed // 0346648

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

INSTRUCTION

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TASKS

Final Task A: Type Exploration

For Final Task A: Type Exploration, we are tasked to create fonts that have a purpose so they can be solved within areas of my interest, such as animation, graphic design, new media, entertainment design and more.

Proposal

Starting with the proposal, which I have created below in the slides. It serves as ideation for my fonts. I have come up with one idea. That is paper folding the fonts. In the slides below, you can find the problem, solution and use of paper-folding fonts.

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UQqMHlS5esqK9A9CMIYrAwz4LQ5FoJIH/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>

Sketches

Using the references in the slides, I came up with a few sketches for my fonts. I have sketched them using Procreate on my Ipad.

Fig. 9.0. Sketch 1 & 2

29th October 2023

Digitalisation

After some thought, I chose Sketch 2 to digitalise as it is more readable than the first. Another reason was that I had already done a complete version of Sketch 2, unlike Sketch 1.

I watched one of Mr Vinod's videos on creating fonts using Adobe Illustrator to recap what steps I need to take to create the fonts. For starters, you should use another font as a base. Then, we used parts from the shape or pen tools to create the shapes within the guidelines. It is essential to keep using the same parts for the alphabet to keep the fonts' strokes and shapes consistent.

I created uppercase and lowercase together so they wouldn't look too different. Here is my process so far:

Fig. 9.1. Paper Fold Font Process (Part 1)

29th October 2023

Week 9

As I made the alphabet individually, I noticed many inconsistencies which could have looked better. Therefore, I have decided to change it up here and there. Twix a few of them, and so on. After a good 30 minutes, I finished all the uppercase and lowercase. Here is the results of it:

Fig. 10.0. Paper Fold Font Process (Part 2)

5th November 2023

Week 10

I like it a lot better than the previous version/attempt. And with that, I proceeded with the rest, which are the numbers and choices of ten punctuations of mine. Here is the final look of Paper Fold Font:

Fig. 10.1. Paper Fold Font Process (Final Part)

5th November 2023

Week 10

Also, here is the before and after look of the Paper Fold Font outlines (a lot of adjustments to be made, but I managed):

Fig. 11.0. Paper Fold Font Outlines (Before)

12th November 2023

Week 11

Fig.11.1. Paper Fold Font Outlines (After)

12th November 2023

Week 11

I initially decided to add two more punctuations to replace my original ones, but I kept them, too.

Fig.11.2. Paper Fold Font (Extras)

12th November 2023

Week 11

Fig. 11.3. Paper Fold Font (Final Version)

12th November 2023

Week 11

After I finished the design in Adobe Illustrator, it was time to put it in FontLab to apply for future uses. Future assignment, as in the next step after, the font presentation and font application.

Dragging each alphabet letter into FontLabs was easy, as I had seen Mr Vinod's video, too. But the part that took me a bit of time was the spacing between the letters. Anyway, let me show you how it looks before I adjust the spacing between the letters.

Fig. 12.0. Paper Fold Font Spacing (Before)

19th November 2023

Week 12

Using the sidebearings example, Mr. Vinod gave us. I found decent spacing for the letters. I started with uppercase, manually spacing H and O first, then doing the rest using H and O sidebearings as a base.

Fig. 12.1. Uppercase Spacing (Part 1)

19th November 2023

Week 12

Fig. 12.2. Uppercase Spacing (Final Part)

19th November 2023

Week 12

As I was spacing out the lowercase after being done with the uppercase, I changed the lowercase look of e and t as they looked off compared to other letters.

Fig. 12.3. Lowercase Spacing (Part 1)

19th November 2023

Week 12

Fig. 12.4. Lowercase Spacing (Final Part)

19th November 2023

Week 12

With that, I continue with the rest of them. Here is the final look at them:

Fig. 12.5. All Letters Spacing (Final Look)

19th November 2023

Week 12

Type Exploration

Fig. 12.6. Type Exploration (Finalise)

19th November 2023

Week 12

Final Task B: Type Application

Moving on to the final two steps. We must create about 4 font presentations and 4 font applications using the fonts we have just developed. Whereas font presentations mean we have to display the created fonts in a presentable way, and font applications are where we use our created fonts and apply it to anything related to your proposal.

Font Presentation

Without further ado, I started doing the pretty simple font presentations. It took me about an hour to finish it. Below are the process and results of my font presentations. I used Adobe Illustrator for all of these.

Fig. 13.0. Font Presentation 1 (Process)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.1. Font Presentation 1 (Result)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.2. Font Presentation 2 (Process)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.3. Font Presentation 2 (Result)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.4. Font Presentation 3 (Process)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.5. Font Presentation 3 (Result)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.6. Font Presentation 4 (Process)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Fig. 13.7. Font Presentation 4 (Result)

24th November 2023

Week 13

Font Application

Finally, I will apply my fonts to any application related to my proposal. Those would entertain me, such as shows, events, games, cartoons, etc. To add on, I will use the word "Mochi" to represent my font as a Paper Fold. Below are the process and results of my font applications. I used Adobe Photoshop for the Font Application.

Fig. 14.0. Font Application 1 (Process)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.1. Font Application 1 (Result)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.2. Font Application 2 (Process)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.3. Font Application 2 (Result)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.4. Font Application 3 (Process)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.5. Font Application 3 (Result)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.6. Font Application 4 (Process)

1st December 2023

Week 14

Fig. 14.7. Font Application 4 (Result)

1st December 2023

Week 14

FINAL SUBMISSION

Type Exploration

PaperFold Fonts Link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-nz1r-TU9Y2xMtwIaWuSjJUio09xcgGX/view?usp=drive_link

Fig. 14.8. Type Exploration Finalise

1st December 2023

Week 14

Type Presentation

Fig. 14.9. Type Presentation Finalise

1st December 2023

Week 14

Type Application

Fig. 14.10. Type Application Finalise

1st December 2023

Week 14

FEEDBACKS

Week 10:

Specific Feedback: When designing a font, you need to know the purpose of why you made the fonts. By having a purpose, you are basically solving it when making the fonts.

Week 11:

NO FEEDBACK

Week 12:

ABSENT

Week 13:

General Feedback: Everyone should use the examples Mr Vinod gave us as reference for font presentation

Week 14:

Specific Feedback: You have to quickly finish up the application and the blog.

REFLECTIONS

Final Task: Type Exploration & Application

As a university student, my venture into the field of font design has been a tremendous learning experience. This project has been a journey of creative exploration and skill development. It centres around creating fonts with specific applications in mind, such as animation, graphic design, new media, and entertainment design. The most important thing I've learned from this project is the importance of having a clear purpose from the beginning. My North Star has been understanding how these fonts would be used in different contexts, such as graphic design and animation. This clarity has been crucial in directing every design decision throughout this project.

One of the most essential font design principles today is consistency. One challenging but worthwhile aspect of the project has been ensuring that the fonts retain the same style and spacing between all characters. This consistency is crucial for readability and professionalism in addition to being aesthetically pleasing. I've also learned how important it is to use seasoned professionals' references and examples. Mr. Vinod's advice and reference materials have proven to be very helpful. Understanding design principles and industry standards has improved my fonts' calibre. The eye-opening experience of learning from experts has broadened my design horizons.

My approach to design changed as the project progressed. I drew several different font concepts initially, but I narrowed it down to one I thought would be the most readable and appropriate for what I wanted. The goal of designing fonts with both practical and visual appeal guided the decision-making process. The detailed work of making spacing adjustments was the most taxing part of the project. To attain the ideal equilibrium between characters required persistence and an astute sense of proportion.

Nevertheless, the meticulous work put into this stage produced incredibly functional and aesthetically pleasing fonts. Towards the end of the project, I focused on font applications and presentations. These actions were essential to showing my fonts professionally and helpfully. The font applications helped me see how my designs fit in perfectly with the goals of my original proposal by enabling me to see how they could be used in games, cartoons, events, and shows.

To sum up, this font design project has been a profoundly educational experience. My knowledge of typography, design concepts, and the value of purpose-driven creativity have all increased due to it. The knowledge and abilities I gained from working on this project will help me in my future endeavours in graphic design, animation, new media, and entertainment design. I've discovered that design is about more than appearances; it's also about functionality and purpose, and I can't wait to use these realisations in my future design projects.

FURTHER READING

Type Exploration & Application

The article "Typography Trends in Graphic Design: 2023 Edition" from Type for You, released on September 17, 2023, provides a thorough summary of the most recent developments for a university student interested in typography. This article explores how typography in graphic design significantly affects brand identity, emotional resonance, and message delivery. The rise of variable fonts—which are particularly useful for responsive web design—the shift towards maximalist typography, which is distinguished by bold, decorative typefaces and vivid colours—the continued appeal of kinetic typography in digital advertising and video content—the growing appreciation for hand-drawn and custom typography—the resurgence of retro and vintage typography—and the growing emphasis on sustainable typography practices in line with eco-conscious design movements are some of the key trends that are highlighted. These trends, which highlight the dynamic nature of typography in modern design, offer insightful information to professionals and students in graphic design and related fields (Type for You, 2023).

Sources:

Type for You. (2023, September 17). Typography Trends in Graphic Design: 2023 Edition.

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Emran Tarek Sayed (0346648)

Advance Typography // Final Task: Type Exploration & Application

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