Typography Task 3 / Type Design & Communication

Typography Task 3 / Type Design & Communication

21/6/2024——19/7/2024 Week9-Week13

Zhang Wan Ru/ 0368214

Typography / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylors University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.Lecture 

2.Instructions 

3.Task

4.Feedback

5.Reflection

6.Further Reading

LECTURES

All lectures 1-6 completed in Task 1/ Exercise and  Task 2 / Typographic Exploration and Communication

Typography Task 3 briefing and demo

Fig .Guidelines

Guidelines from top to bottom:

~ Ascender line

~Cap line

~Median line

~ Baseline

~ Descender line

Areas:Top - Ascender height Middle - X-height Bottom - Descender height

Adobe Illustrator settings:

Art board: 1000 × 1000 points

Things to take note:

~X-height must be 500 points

~Ascender and descender line must be within the art board

~Ascender height = Descender height

Instructions 

TYPEFACE DESIGN PROCESS - Task 3

Goal: Design select western letters.

Steps:

～Pick a Font: Choose a font as a starting point, analysing its parts.

～Sketch Ideas: Roughly sketch multiple variations.

～Digitise: Once approved, use Illustrator & FontLab to refine.

～Print & Critique: Print designs, get feedback, and refine.

～Focus: Learn subtlety, character, presence, legibility, readability.

Letters: o, l, e, d, s, n, c, h, t, i, g, ., !, #

Research: Utilised Week 9 sessions for sketches & type design research.  Attached designs for reference.

Before that, I went to Pinterest to see some designs of typography and observe the design highlights of some other works.

Fig.3.1 Reference example

What I found from these excellent works is that they all have the same points, the font elements are the same.

sketch：

Fig.3.2 sketch 

Fig.3.3 sketch

digital ：

I asked teacher Max to ask me about my mistakes. The teacher told me that the size and thickness of my font were not consistent, and my baseline was different from the same line and my X-height was different, so he asked me to adjust the mistakes.

Update：

 Final Font in FontLab 7

Post-design finalization, we moved to FontLab 7.In Week 11, Max guided us on importing designs, exporting as TTF/OTF. ---ttf

Fig . Copying and pasting the letters into FontLab

Fig .Imported fonts

Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication

Font download:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DjNNo1a1A9SfhTfZkrPGr4Dbwv4iXk_O/view?usp=sharing

I adjusted it based on this lower-case calculation.

Fig . FontLab Screengrab

Fig .Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication "Zhang" - JPEG

                            Fig . Final Task 3: Type Design and Communication "Zhang" - PDF

Fig . Final Poster - JPEG

                                                           Fig . Final Poster - PDF

FEEDBACK

WEEK 9:

General feedback：This week's homework is to design nine different font designs and use three different pens to experience the special features of font design. I learned some other excellent designers' design works from Pinterest. Now I have made several designs in class, and Teacher Max also gave me some suggestions to change them.

Specific feedback: In this design, we should follow its length and width should be the same length, and the letter case design should be different, and they should have the same common points, like some of the family have similarities.

WEEK 10:

General feedback:Teacher Max selected two fonts from the nineand asked me to choose a digital form and design the letters (o l e d s c n c h t i g,..! #) Designed with my design, I showed them all in the form of fishtails.

Specific feedback:Each letter of my design has the same characteristics - fish tail. However, when I asked teacher Max for his advice, he pointed out a key point to me: my letters are different in size, length, width and height. They should all have the same size and the same starting point, so I have to change my homework and pay attention to the requirements of font design.

WEEK 11:

General feedback:Mr. Michaels has approved my digital work. There are just a few minor issues that need to be adjusted.This week, our task is to import it into FontLab. Using FontLab for the first time, I felt a little difficult and needed to learn it carefully. The most important thing is to make sure that the font is set correctly, otherwise it will cause problems. Specific feedback:The process of importing it into Fontlab is quick and easy, but the Settings in Fontlab need to be adjusted to maintain the contents of the AI. But the hardest part is that I spend a lot of time adjusting my letters in Adobe Illustrator because some of the letters are not formatted correctly yet. Next, I need to change the thickness of the font and its kerning. I have carefully observed some small irregularities in my own font and made corrections.

WEEK 12:

General feedback：I need to use Fontlab to adjust the length, width and height of my font design. Teacher Max has told us the adjustment requirements, and we need to adjust the distance of ourfont

design according to the requirements.

Specific feedback:When I adjusted the specific value, I always calculated the wrong number, which led to different situations in my fonts. Now I asked my classmate for help, she explained to me how to calculate the formula, and finally I overcame the difficulties and exported the fonts I designed and uploaded them to Drive for download. WEEK 13:

Overall feedback: Complete all typesetting and final compilation and reflection, as well as updating the notes of the reading list. Update the feedback in the Google form and post the final poster in the comments section on facebook.

Reflection 

Experience ：The work is a formidable challenge. We not only had to conceive the design, but also make our own typefaces, which was a novel and exhilarating experience. However, due to problems with the air conditioning, we have spent most of these weeks in online tutorials. Although it was a little inconvenient and inefficient, fortunately, Mr. Max was patient and provided us with detailed instructions every step of the way. In addition, Mr. Max responded positively to any questions that arose. The successful completion of this mission left me with a deep sense of accomplishment as it resulted in a unique typeface.

Observation ：Before we started sketching the design, Teacher Max suggested that we choose a specific element or theme for the font design. I think this is a very effective way to ensure that all character styles and atmospheres are consistent. In this task, Teacher Max used the same feedback method as in previous lessons, through screen sharing and using some design examples to show everyone how to improve. This allows us to learn and apply these improvements to our own designs. Through observing the students' works, I found that they have different styles and are full of creativity. Some people emphasize the overall shape of the font, while others prefer to use graphic vector elements. These different approaches make all the works diverse and creative.

Findings：During the font design process, I found that kerning needs to follow more rules than during the design phase. When designing the font, we need to pay attention to the length, width and height of the font design, the font should be the same and uniform, and the design style should not be different, for example, with o as the main thing, the part of h higher than o should be the same as the height of o. But overall this still gives us a lot of freedom to express creativity, as long as the overall design is balanced and the design style is consistent, however, once we import the letters into FontLab, we need to adjust according to a specific kerning table, which must follow fixed data. That font adjustment and calculating values was a little difficult, but I overcame it.

FURTHER READING:

《Typography Basics》

INTRODUCE

"The Basics of Typography" is a comprehensive guide to understanding the basics of typography. This book is designed to help master the basic principles and techniques required for effective typographic design. It also offers a comprehensive exploration of the variety of fonts used in everyday life, from digital screens to physical signs. The book divides more than 120 typefaces into Serif, Sans Serif, Display, Script, and Symbols & Dingbats, and explains the origin, purpose, and main characteristics of each typeface.

Understand fonts

The first part of the book delves into fonts. It covers different categories of fonts such as serif fonts, sans-serif fonts, script fonts, and display fonts. This section explains how each type category has its unique characteristics and historical significance, and learn when and how to use them appropriately in your design.

 Layout in design

The second part focuses on the application of typography in design. It emphasizes the importance of choosing the right font for different design environments, taking into account factors such as readability, tone, and audience. This section also covers the principles of typography hierarchy and spacing, how to create visually appealing effective layouts.

                                          

This is the knowledge point for my task three, I have a more profound learning through reading this book. All characters should be adjusted up and down based on the baseline. Letters below the baseline are called falling letters, and letters above the height of x are called rising letters. X- height is the space between the top of the flying up part of the lower letter.

Leading ,or line spacing, refers to the amount of space between lines of type. 

~the font used--some fonts require more line spacing than others to keep their ascenders and descenders from touching.

~the line length--longer lines require more leading for easier reading 

~the type size--the larger the type size, the more line spacing is required.This rule mostly refers to body copy; headline, which are normally set larger, may actually be set with tighter line spacing.

This is an introduction to the software and tools in Adobe that we use in learning typography.

Overall, "Fundamentals of Typography" provides a comprehensive introduction to the world of typography, providing practical insights and tips for both beginners and experienced designers. It highlights the key role of typography in design, providing the knowledge needed to make informed typography choices.