ATOMICA
Modular Font Process by Kate Schmidt
Project Overview
Description: All variations of type and lettering are based on a system of rules and principles that govern how each form is created. Modular fonts regulate a type on strict guidelines to create a set of visual elements that are repeated in various ways to create a cohesive and flexible type system. Using paper grids and then digital tools, students will create their own modular font.
Reflection: During the course of this project I learned various new skills including how to navigate the Glyphs application, how to adjust files between different software, and how to make basic frame by frame and timeline animations in photoshop. This project really opened up my horizons to new specialities within design that I want to explore further! This project was most challenging in the way that we had to come up with a consistent system for creating a set of harmonious letterforms. It was most rewarding in the way that I could see my initial font sketches evolve into a complete & refined digital font. Kate Schmidt VISC 202
9.23 RESEARCH
Wim Crowel’s Claes Oldenburg Alphabet, 1977
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Willi Kunz -the top half of letters are the most important because they give the most distinction between different letters -all modular fonts have modular sets that make up each letter
Bauhaus, Art Deco, DeStijl -focused on the simplification and reduction of letter forms -proportion theory and systems thinking exemplified by J.L.M. Lauweriks’ alphabet -bauhaus typography focued on functionality only, no distractions -Joseph Albers makes modular stencil fonts popular
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Wim Crowel -makes New Alphabet in 1967. No nonsense grid based approach. -takes approaches no one else ever had. Designed whole typefaces for events or exhibitions
Early Digital Type Design -Bitmap fonts began in 1984 when the Macintosh was introduced. -Digital font by Emigre increases the onscreen resolution of bitmap typefaces -Zuzano Licko was a pioneer of digital type design on Apple Macintosh
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Philippe Apeloig -great examples of how to use of closure to make implied forms. inspired by geometric shapes -the baselines do not ahve to be the same and there can be a mix of capital / lowercase (unicase) -think: how much can we take away?
Muir McNeil -explore how little counter space is needed -it is a good exercise to try many different versions of the same letter in varied styles -many letters are made of smaller units and rely on differences in colors and opacitys -good use of colors and opacitys in animations
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#TypeSystemsGrid -grids don’t need to be strictly horizontal & vertical, they can be warped in different ways -experiment with flipping the stress of the letter forms in opposite or unexpected directions
International Style -unadorned design for objectivity and efficiency -pioneers include: Karl Gerstner, Max Bill, and Josef Muller-Brockman -examples include Helvetica and Univers
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9.23 ROUND 1 SETS
Construction Methods: 1-10 Fontstruct Online, 11-26 Gridded Sketches
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9.28 ROUND 1 FAVS
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reduce pixeled edges & push stroke contrast
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17 combine
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24 based on pattern by ray eames
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9.28 PARTS OF A LETTER
VOCABULARY: aperture: finial: join: apex: beak: spine: waist: terminal: tail: taper: spur: overshoot: ball serif:
partially enclosed area tapered or curved end where 2 strokes intersect top meeting point sharp spur of arm core left-to-right stroke where strokes meet going inward ending wihtout a serif decorative descending stroke thinning stroke at join smaller curve endings the curved bit under the baseline rounded serif mark
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9.28 ROUND 2 SETS
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9.30 ROUND 2 FAVS
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1 create a combo of narrow & wide letters!
3 make version with diagonals & experiment with alignments
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9.30 ROUND 3 SETS
1- Cloud Nine
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2- Eames’ Dots
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3- Eames’ Offset Dots
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10.5 ROUND 3 FAV
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Create variations of vowels and double letters
explore ways to connect joints more seamlessly
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10.5 ROUND 4 SET
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Project Checkpoint As I narrow down my creative focus to just one modular font, I am considering which typeface has the strongest concept to use as a guide moving forward, and which presents the more unique solution when compared to typefaces that have already been designed. For these reasons, I will be working with the Ray Eames dot pattern inspired typeface! I feel confident that I can expand this style into an entire set while staying grounded in the original principles of construction used by Ray Eames. This is a very playful, spunky, and dynamic, Mid-Century Modern typeface. It pairs perfectly with many vintage motifs or any other popular styles of the 1960s and 1970s.
10.7 FINAL PUSHES
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10.12 TESTING
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10.14 ANIMATIONS
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10.19 PRESENTATION PREP
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10.19 PRESENTATION PREP
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10.21 FINAL PRESENTATION
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