COMMUNICATIONS — Sprint 2
For sprint 2 we were provided with a concise introduction, illustrating the process of customising and creating our own typefaces. Brett presented three distinct approaches to constructing typefaces that adhere to a dot and square grid while simultaneously permitting the incorporation of free forms derived from squares, rectangles, and quarter-circle cutouts.
To start us of Brett gave us examples and told us about ‘OHMY and how those 4 letters are the foundation of most other alphabets. So we started of with thinking about our word-forms from those four letters and also playing around with letter ‘S’ because that’s a tricky letter to construct.
My earlier approach was to sketch the letter with a pencil and then shade areas around that shape, but I felt I wasn’t being creative because of that. Using normal writing and constructing around that was limiting and restricting the extent of my type exploration. So I let that approach go and began to use my marker and dive in with the shading after mentally thinking and creating the concept for my typeface. I was exploring various fonts, including uppercase and lowercase letters, and experimenting with flowy and box serif fonts, as well as sans serif fonts. This allowed me to have a diverse range of options to select from.
The type assignment was quite soothing for me, yet it simultaneously challenged my ability as I approached the brief given the constraints. It was enjoyable to experience and play with the restrictions, as I felt more focused and somewhat guided.
Today, after completing my typefaces, Brett created a pin-up showcasing all the forms we were able to create given the time. We then engaged in a discussion about our preferences and dislikes regarding each typeface, with a particular focus on the one that stood out the most. For me, it was the compact, short, and wide H and S, accompanied by a grid square serving as a serif. I found this typeface to be distinct from any I had previously encountered, as it simultaneously exuded boldness and playfulness. Moreover, I recognized its potential to serve as the foundation for constructing the forms of 26 alphabets with a cohesive theme. Consequently, I decided to pursue this concept further.
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Brett wanted us to design a poster with four 7’11 sheets featuring our font, ensuring that the text is displayed in a well-spaced and visually appealing manner. Given the rectangular nature of my letters, I have opted for a simple approach to align and space them. I intend to maintain a slightly wider kerning and line spacing to enhance readability. Additionally, I have positioned the text in the center to maintain focus and ensure equal representation of each letter. I have chosen a black background for this poster, as I believe it effectively highlights the serifs compared to a white background. This choice was inspired by the intriguing contrast it creates.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Adobe Acrobat and the technique of enlarging documents by combining sheets of paper. However, due to some printer-related issues, I was compelled to improvise and position my poster on eight US letter cartridge sheets instead of printing it on tabloid paper. I carefully cut some sides as instructed and secured the sheets together using masking tape. There were some white spaces on the paper, which I subsequently filled in using a black Copic marker to achieve a flawless finish for the poster.
After displaying our work after another pin-up Brett walked us through the font building process using the Calligraphr website that gives us a template to form, customise and generate useable fonts. This was such a fun sprint I really enjoyed and learnt a lot during this run and especially loved to see the result as an actual font .eps file.
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