Joe Leadbeater
OUGD601
Context of Practice
Practical
Background Into Dissertation
Practical Concept
The dissertation which has informed this practical is entitled ‘The Reinvention of Typography In A Digital Era’. The essay closely analyzes the effect of the computer and font file formats on typographic design and the industry itself.
The idea behind the practical is to communicate these positives of being a modern day type designer. The aims of the project were to:
Traditionally an exclusive skillset, cheaper and easily accessible tools have democratised the industry, allowing type designers to work independently, with no previous craft skills needed. With file formats originally quite limiting for type designers, the most recent file format, OpenType, allows the inclusion of over 65,000 characters. These include functional characters (like multi-script characters for global language use), as well as aesthetic options (like ligatures and swashes). With font software like ‘Glyphs’ being easy to use and just 240 Euros (£185), the tools are easily accessible. Furthermore, the Internet has created a level playing field for font licensing, as well as communication. It is now easier than ever to get in touch with experienced type designers for advice.
- Use a modern day typographic software - Glyphs. - Create a font with a large character set, allowing global lingual use and giving the choice for a variety of functions. - Interact with renown type designers. - Use the Internet’s file sharing capabilities to collaborate on a typeface globally. All of the above have been achieved. Clothworker contains multi-scripts, ligatures, ornaments, borders and more. Highly experienced and well known type designers with experience at Adobe, Lost-Type and Fatype Type Foundry all gave advice. Finally, the typeface had contributors working from the UK, Slovenia, Spain, France, Austria, Czech Republic and the USA.
01 / 11