Building My First Typeface
Project Requirements: First, build a typeface with all uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation. Then, create a type specimen showcasing the typeface.
This project was created Spring of my Sophomore year, in a studio course. I utilized the application Glyphs to create a typeface that included uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and the numbers 0-9. There were many ups and downs, but one of my biggest struggles was learning type anatomy from the ground up. Which way do serifs go? How much overshoot do I need? What is a counter?
I started this project out with a concept, then I built a mood board off of the initial idea, and then I started sketching. I sketched these letters out nearly 150 times. After that, I vectorized everything, only to realize that I did not know which way serifs go. All of my serifs were backwards. After the first critique, it was time to regroup, I needed to redo my serifs, increase my counter size, and drastically change my overshoot. It took hours to overcome the issues, but the key was collaboration. My classmates and I spent a lot of time outside of class learning together and critiquing each other. In the end, this project was a huge learning piece for me.
Following a guest critique by famous designers from New Mexico; Gen Ramirez and Zrinka Buljubasic, I have concluded that the most important thing about designing a typeface is fortitude. This means sticking with the design process until the end and nitpicking every little detail.
Typefaces leave no room for error and this project has opened me up to a whole new world of perfection seeking. This project was a launch point in my undergrad career that led me to evaluate my priorities and it has led me to fall in love with the process. Every project that has followed this project has been drastically better than it would have been if created last year. Thus proving the need for hard work and determination.
My Process
Before starting this project, I needed to pick a direction. There were 3 mood boards with very contrasting ideas, but above was the mood board that I ultimately decided to work off of.
2. Then I had to begin sketching. There ended up being more than 150 total sketches.
These sketches are called wiggle sketches. It was an exercise assigned to help teach me and my classmates proper serif direction, thicks, and thins. We then selected a few of our favorites to sketch with accuracy and measurement.
3. This step in the project was very tedious. This portion included taking the wiggle sketches and forming them into clean sketches. They needed to be as perfect and consistent as possible because this was the start of building the system of thicks and thins. These were the letters that would later be scanned in and vectorized.
I had a hard time translating my lowercase measurements into my uppercase letters and my numbers. Everything kept coming out just a little bit off, visually.
4. After scanning in my sketches I utilized Glyphs to digitize the letter forms. It was the first time I had ever created vectorized letters, so it was very tricky for me.
5. Many things were brought up during the critique. The main issue was that all of my serifs were going in the wrong direction. I had to nearly restart, but it was worth it.
6. As the b and d were inverse, this was a great comparison of my before and after. There were still issues to be fixed after a little bit more critique, but overall the changes made (through lots of perseverance) were night and day.
7. Finally the finished product was brought to life, in a type specimen book. Above is the final product, of the final project can be seen in the portfolio section.
