I started to develop my typeface by using an existing typefaces to base my design on.
I struggled with getting the width of the individual letters to the correct size and had
to re draw the typeface a few times. The height I drew my typeface at was 3cm because
it made it easier to divide into the thirds grid which makes the letters easier to proportion.

This is the first attempt at drawing my typeface. As you can see I found faults with it such as letter width, difficulty with curves, letters being out of the thirds grid and the letter spacing (kerning) looking wrong. After noticing these things I decided that 2.5cm width was correct for the capital letters but I should take the the lower case letters down to 2cm width. I also decided that getting the right curve would take a few attempts and maybe some extra grid work and a steady hand. With the width being taken down to 2cm the letters would be more proportionate and so would stay in the thirds grid. The kerning would be left until my typeface had been scanned into the computer.

I also tried a slim version as I thought mine looked a bit too similar to an existing typeface.

To get to grips with creating a typeface by drawing I drew out existing typefaces. I like the simplicity of the more cubic designs but I think my typeface will have curved edges as I like things to flow smoothly.

 

Kerning

“kerning is an adjustment of space between two letters.” (http://thinkingwithtype.com/contents/text/#Kerning)

Metric kerning uses the kerning tables that are built into the typeface.

Optical kerning is executed automatically by the page layout program. Rather than using the pairs addressed in the font’s kerning table, optical kerning assesses the shapes of all characters and adjusts the spacing wherever needed.

Tracking

“Adjusting the overall spacing of a group of letters is called tracking or letterspacing. By expanding the tracking across a word, line, or entire block of text, the designer can create a more airy, open field.” (http://thinkingwithtype.com/contents/text/#Kerning)

Designers most commonly apply tracking to headlines and logos.

You can express the meaning of a word or an idea through the spacing, sizing, and placement of letters on the page.

So I made a word press blog not through the university site and couldn’t link them together. This is a research post from the typography project copied from my word press blog to my uni word press blog because technology hates me.

I’m only missing the number 3! No idea what they were marking but the typeface is easy to ready and stands out. It also adapts well to being on a curved surface (a pole).

More spray Paint! Yay!

This one uses colour! Colour does make the typeface look a lot smarter round the edges, it trims the excess of the letters.

yeah its engraved again, which I like.

I really liked this because there’s many words on it. It’s a water valve so it’s important to be able to read the signs so the typeface has been designed in a way that makes the letters clear and simple.

Had to include this because you see it most days. This typeface makes good use of being all in capitals, its also really easy to read so that people know where/what it is.

Yeah, I really love spray painted typefaces. I like the fact that over time it cracks and peels away in places which gives it a well used worn in look.

Again more carving. This has paint or some form of metal involved as well to give it that gold/coppery shine.

I love tequila. I joke it’s actually horrible but, I do like the font. I like that the lower serifs are smaller than in most typefaces.

I thought this was ironic as I was looking for typefaces. I also really like the kerning.

I like the fact that the typeface has curves in places you wouldn’t expect, it makes the font different but in a subtle way.

This mainly got included because I was hungry and really wanted tapas. The typeface here is quite tall and thin which means you can fit a lot of it into a small space.

Again this stood out because it uses more than one typefaces. This looks more handwritten than the previous board though.

This reminded me of the AHS font. I like the idea of having dots for decoration in a font but I’d need to be careful that it doesn’t look like a full stop as my typeface needs to be fully functional.

The road sign typeface is one that just had to be included because its so good for the purpose its been created for. The kerning has to be perfect so that cars can read it from afar and the letters all look very uniform and its easy to read.

I like that the typeface spells downwards instead of across, it makes this stand out in comparison to other typefaces.

This was found on an old church. I liked it because it was a typeface not created by a template or a computer, it was carved by hand into stone. As I’m considering building/crafting my typeface its important that I look at hand crafted typefaces.

This really got my attention. There’s such a variety of typefaces on there and I like them all. I especially like the kerning used to space everything out in a way that doesn’t look overly busy.

Graffiti is unique because its hand written so cant really be replicated. I thought this would be a nice thing to include when looking at typeface.

This really stood out to me I think its the bright colours.

I liked the fact this typeface was all in capitals, it made it really stand out and gave it an impact a lot of other typefaces don’t really have.

This reminds me of the coca cola logo. I found it on a barbers shop window near the cathedral and shops up there are usually quite old. I like the curvature of the typeface.

This font I liked because it was a little graffiti-ish. it also reminds me of war for some reason. I think its the cracks in the typeface that make me think of war time when I look at it.