Project Two : Type Design by Vidit Narang

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Project Two Type Design Duration : 8 weeks Guide : Tarun Deep Girdher Brief : To design a typeface for smaller print sizes ( body / text face )

Project Two : Type Design Document

Contents Phase I Type What ?

What is the need to design letters? Is designing individual letters necessary and sufficient? What is the current scenario of Type design? Does one need to follow a set a guidelines while designing Type?

Phase II

Type is what Type does

Why do type designers have no choice over what context their typeface is used for? Linguists know more about a language and its origin whereas typographers know more about structure of the alphabets they represent. How does one solve this paradigm? Why does type lose character while commonplace reproduction techniques? (photocopying and fascimile) Why does type sometimes have an overpowering character and take excess space?

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Phase III Type Minded

Phase IV

A Different Type of Clarity

Phase V

Frozen Mettle Type

Tracing of outlines on Illustrator. Exploring different approaches and identifying area of work. Clearly singling out objectives keeping in mind the scope of the Project.

Refining and finalisation of skeletons. Design detailing

Applying minor variations and picking best suited characters.

Visual validation and confirming.

Testing on screeen and in print.

Redefining the Project Brief.

Progress on the Uppercase Character Set.

Starting on an Initial Character Sketch.

Conclusion

Shortlisting the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Typeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to take further.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Phase I Type What ?

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Shifting contexts and contradiction is something I feel remains common with my work and me; I feel I make working difficult enough for myself through the different levels and layers of critique. The initial idea of doing a Type design Project came to me during my Internship during the second quarter of 2008. Having started a self-expressionistic publication project I was keen on getting a taste of the metaphysical plane during content generation. I longed for tactility not just in terms of the final product but also during the process. A more hands-on approach would show me visible results and allow me to assess myself on an everyday basis. It was all very cloudy. Design a Typeface? What? Why? For Whom? Does it solve a purpose? Questions filled my head and not having an understanding deep enough on the subject, I decided to brush up my basics. At the same time I wanted to get a hang of what Type designers the world over had in mind. It became important to know how Type and issues related to it was affecting people who use them.

Talking to people helped in getting me started on the project. Not having an opinion of my own at that point, everything said was equally relevant or irrelevant.

One must give him/herself a context to work in by narrowing down and eliminating frivolous subjects. As we talk, someone somewhere will finish making a typeface. People have more than enough typefaces already to choose from. A type design project should look at type as a collective and not end up just as a form exercise.

I was deeply influenced at the same time by Neville Brody and work done at his Fuse Type Foundry. I questioned whether my first typeface should be an experimental one. Results aside, what would ensure me the maximum learning and tune me to perceive type in a different light?

Project Two : Type Design Document

Reading list :

Typotheque Papers

My Type Design reading list comprised of an assortment of books and papers about different aspects of Typefaces and Typography in general. By the end of which I had enough food for thought to start defining my Project Proposal.

A View of Latin Typography in Relationship to the World by Peter Bil´ak

Peter Bil´ak, founder of Typotheque, Dot Dot Dot by Rudy VanderLans

Twentieth Century Type

Family planning, or how type families work by Peter Bil´ak

Typographica Mea Culpa, Unethical Downloading by Steven Heller

Eric Gill got it wrong; a reevaluation of Gill Sans by Ben Archer

Fred Smeijers’s Arnhem typefaces by Andy Crewdson

Seria’s motives: How Martin Majoor developed his ‘literary typeface’ by Andy Crewdson

Martin Majoor feature by Peter Bil´ak

Reduce to the max by Max Bruinsma

Experimental typography. Whatever that means. by Peter Bil´ak

Type design in the 1990s, Demystification and remystification by Peter Bil´ak

Lewis Blackwell

Emigre the book Graphic Design in the Digital Realm Rudy VanderLans, Zuzana Licko, Mary E. Gray

Designing Typefaces David Earls

Designing Type Karen Cheng

Essays from the Typotheque Website

Interview with Peter Bilák, Milano, 29/05/02 by Silvia Sfligiotti Czechoslovak Typography Connections by Johanna Bilák Designing Type – book review by Peter Bilák

New Faces (abstract): type design in the first decade of deviceindependent digital typesetting (1987-1997) by Emily King

In search of a comprehensive type design theory by Peter Bil´ak

Fedra typefaces reviewed by Andy Crewdson

Microtypography, Designing the new Collins dictionaries by Mark Thomson

Deconstruction and Graphic Design : History Meets Theory by Ellen Lupton

10 Issues of Fuse by Michael Rock My Type Design Philosophy by Martin Majoor

The Science of Typography by Ellen Lupton Dutch type design by Peter Bil´ak Martin Majoor, type designer by Peter Bil´ak 20th century type by Stuart Bailey

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

The book Designing Typefaces by David Earls, having an array of interviews from various type designers on their type design strategy (or the lack of it), proved extremely helpful. It became clear that there was no one way of designing letters and that as long as one keeps a clear conscience, things normally fall into place. It became important for me to choose between originality of expression and historical relevance of type (owing to the few thousand years of the unchanged Latin script). Interviews with Akira Kobayashi, Jonathan Barnbrook and Jean François Porchez were particularly interesting. Designing Type by Karen Cheng was a complete primer on Type Design and followed a friendly tone. It dissected the letterform anatomically and had a good blend of macro and micro typography. It was divided into four sections, covering both Serif & Sans-serif and Uppercase & Lowercase. It featured a lot of student work (Cheng is also a professor), and provided the book with a fresh perspective on things.

Out of all the Typotheque Papers a few really stood out in terms of subject (such as the one about Redesigning the Collins Dictionary), but an article on the legitimacy of Zuzana Licko’s Type Design by Matthew Carter was particularly significant. Quoting him,

The proper study of typography is type, not calligraphy or history, and legibility is not an intrinsic quality of type but something acquired through use.

It was exciting to know that I was one amongst millions all over with the same frame of reference. Type all in itself, seemed not all that intimidating anymore and I felt I finally had some knowlegde on the subject I was dealing with. As far as designing type was concerned, I thought of keeping in mind a “Do what makes sense” attitude.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Phase II Type is what Type does

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Conventionally speaking, an ideal Type Designer’s job is to make letters that hold significance to him. Whether it be self expression and emotive typography or conversely type designed either for a purpose or a commissioned typeface. Typefaces designed for signage at big sizes, and its flip side, extremely small print sizes are all specialized fields in themselves. Type primers from various foundries talk extensively about the desired/implied use of their Type. The possibility of a person going through these primers before using type is probably a little too much to ask for. It is still a designer’s responsibility to guide people as to what was kept in mind while its creation so it can be used to its maximum capacity. Loose context and lack of knowledge generally leads to type being used in places even where the designer himself would intend or imagine it to be. This came to me as a promising area of intervention. If type designers don’t have a choice of content their typeface is going to be set in, then what would help to bridge that gap? Can Type in itself be universal and flexible enough in terms of the associations it makes? There is a general impression about linguists knowing in depth about the origins of a language and its usage. They would though know little about the structure and proportions or anything to do with the physical form. Their dilemma is also justified since language to them bears a vocal relation. Spoken word corresponds to language a lot more than written because a true vernacular is only complete with its twang and slang. Conversely, typographers know more

about the structure and the skeleton of Type, which is in their view the best manifestation of language. It is quite debatable a subject as to whether true expression is spoken or written. Can typography solve this paradigm? Can language be treated such that its written expression is not alien to spoken? Can words make the same associations when spoken or read from somewhere? I figured that the least a Type designer could do at this point, is to pick a language she/he would call a true vernacular. The word ‘vernacular’ bears a not so much of a geographical importance as much as it does to patterns of usage and grammar; her/ his fluency and comfort with the language. Ultimately, if it means for one to communicate through language, it should happen effortlessly, written or spoken. Type is known to depreciate in value as it gets reproduced through commonplace techniques such as photocopying and fax. Nuances and edges at small sizes hold less importance as they add less to the overall recognition of the character. Serifs and other such details cease to exist. Fast reproduction adds to this problem as Type loses its clarity and hence loses character. What can be done to retain a character that can be appreciated at small sizes as effectively as display text does?

Project Two : Type Design Document

A physical limitation of a typeface comes from the space it occupies, especially in text heavy scenarios (like newspapers and directories), designing spacesaving type can reduce the number of pages and hence the impact it puts on the environment. Saving space through typography can happen in two ways, First through fitting in more letters per line (reducing the overall width of the letter); and Second by accommodating more lines in a give space (reducing the ascender/descender and increasing the effective x-height. Type also has problems sometimes of a subjective nature, something that cannot be separated into black and white so easily. The problem of Typefaces having an overpowering character is a common one that I face. Effective type sends the message across before someone can read it, but what about the times when there is no message sent? Type cannot always make statements because it only adds to the numerous layers content is as it is presented in. Also, doing what it does best, type should be able to reach out to people and spread information, without making connotations where not required. This was an issue extremely personal to me, and one where I would deal with not just my own psychology. I would really like if Type could be muted enough to have a familiarity to everyone and nothing in particular.

A ‘Universal Type’ in my opinion would hold no significance to anything or anyone in specific. As my reality might not collide with anyone else’s, to address it with a set of assumptions would be unfair. Was it time to make an anonymous piece that fulfills every requirement of ‘true design’: Solving a purpose while remaining invisible? Another important aspect thought of was deciding who my target audience for this Typeface was going to be. What was the context I was placing this Typeface in? I decided on addressing everyone (going of course with the assumption that they can read the Latin script and are familiar with the English language), and taking the idea of a ‘context-free’ Type a step forward. When it came to thinking about the area of application, the ‘directory/yellow pages’ scenario proved a little restrictive because of its limited access in the modern context. By saying that it was going to be a text face for smaller sizes, was I limiting my user group only to people with good vision? (conventionally, younger age groups)

Would you consider an Opthalmologist’s point of view on Typography?

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

The Proposal : With some questions I felt the need to answer through my area of work, I started out defining my Project Proposal which clearly stated my current state of mind and defined type functionally.

Context : Letters represent language. Type is a manifestation of spoken word with direct relation to the content and form of knowledge. Typefaces, like people have a face, that their voices can be friendly, rough, cold, angry or demanding. The visual form of the typeface is able to provoke in the reader, a whole range of associations before s/he actually knows the context of the text. Although type designers can hold no responsibility for what their fonts are used to communicate; Fonts acquire meaning through use and we judge fonts by how they refer to our previous experiences. One of the biggest problems I face as a person who uses type almost on an everyday basis, is to pick something with less character (to not let it empower content) yet contemporary and new (following modern ideas of the present).

Type to me: Type is the systematic process of retaining consistent letterforms while one tries to solve the issues linked to the function of the typeface. Type can be treated as both letter and image.

Type in Theory: In separatist terms (where type, typeface, font, letters and alphabets are used interchangeably); type theory would mean to critically examine resemblances and patterns in a typeface to determine its purpose. It identifies character of a type that will eventually decide its usage and application. In ideal situations

type theory should also talk about language and vernacular. The word vernacular in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terms talks mostly about usage and comfort level and less about geographical locations.

Type in Practice: To a Graphic Design point of view (conventionally speaking), type is rigorous, especially when it comes to Type Design as a discipline. It involves an eye for details and nuances of characters, balancing black & white, dealing with recognition of letterforms. Optimizing letters for smaller sizes (specific to print) involves further visual form correction. Mastering proportions, balance and optical corrections, the type designer can achieve his aim, be it improved legibility, historical accuracy or originality of expression.

Function of Type: Functionally type can exist between useless and useful depending on the conscience and vision of the designer. A morally and ethically inclined person is more likely to solve issues pertaining to legibility, communication and space. Since we normally read from paper, saving space is an effective way of saving paper and hence trees. Type can account for loss of character during commonplace reproduction techniques such as photocopying and facsimile. Type should spread information and reach out to people. It should come across neutral enough to not make meaning where not required. It should not be for an occasion. It should be universal.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Phase III Type Minded

Exploring different approaches and identifying area of work. Clearly singling out objectives keeping in mind the scope of the Project. Redefining the Project Brief. Starting on an Initial Character Sketch. Shortlisting the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Typeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to take further.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Explorative Study : My leisurely time goes mostly making words and absurd sentences out of jazzy looking alphabets. It proves as a good stress buster and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m always waiting for that one Typeface to emerge that will uplift the status of a mere bunch of alphabets. Was it time for me to view Type more seriously and with greater conviction? As an initial warming up exercise I set out making rough family sketches of individual letters I had drawn over time. Some case studies proved frivolous while some promising. In all I discovered it was necessary for one to start with an initial character and it is only by means of optimization that character can be removed or worked out in such a manner that all letterforms complement each other. It also got me thinking on how Type can be seen as both type and image. Also I pondered a lot over the push and pull of form and counter spaces, and about how type is extensive an exhaustive. Learning from the brief but important explorative study, also pulled my natural tendency towards making type that does not occupy excess space. It felt very unnatural to use more space if optimum space was satisfying. Excess character in Typefaces that come in everyday usage comes across as unnecessary as there are times when the type really overpowers the very content and shouts out. Another problem of over-designing as one would term it, was an interesting yet new area of intervention.

Project Two : Type Design Document

In a short session of clarity, I boiled it down to the basics of it, What language does this Type represent? English (Latin), as it is my vernacular language. Why are you designing it? Because I am very let down about certain problems with type in use. I want to make a universal looking Typeface that works well for a variety of contexts. How would you classify it? Characteristics such as serifs cease to exist at small sizes and degrade during reproduction. The fact that they make us reflect on history (they hold more historical significance than any other), concluded that the Typeface had to be sans-serif. What is the character of this Type? It has a friendly and adaptable character. It has humanist traits.

A Latin humanist sans-serif that is universal.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

The Brief : While the final brief for the Project was drawn, I saw myself focussing on certain subjects where I felt intervention was required. Keeping in mind the scope of the project, I decided to detail out aspects that I felt for the most. A tentative timeline was worked out to give a workable frame to it. Almost simultaneously, the first character sketch of the typeface was drawn and I felt it suited the brief and the objectives defined in it.

Introduction :

Project Timeline : [ Duration : 8 Weeks ]

Issues related to Type that can be resolved through this Project:

Week 1 :

• Solving the Text-Language paradigm. • Reproduction of Type using common techniques ( photocopying and fascimile) • Type overpowering content due to too much character. • Type taking up excess space.

Defining a brief, looking at various areas of intervention. Coming up with a Project Proposal stating what Type Design means to me.

From the few previously addressed problems, solutions to some were carried forward and tested. The problem relating to Type with unnecessary character was taken up. This Project aims at testing if there can be a typrface that is generic enough to not stand out where not required and is ‘a face in the crowd’. Also the optimisation of physical space is an important issue, but for the scope of this Project it remains secondary.

Exploring possibilities with the identified approaches.

Week 2 : Week 3 : Finalizing approaches out of explorations done in previous weeks.

Weeks 4, 5 & 6 : Working with the redefined brief, that clearly states the purpose and direction of the Project. Finalizing basic structure of Typeface. Making the Character-set. Applying Visual-Correction for smaller sizes.

Weeks 7 & 8 : Putting traced outlines on Font Software. Packaging and applications of the Typeface.

Project Two : Type Design Document

After the brief was in place and the learning from the explorative study was at the back of my head, one of my quick doodles composing the word ‘eragon’ was jotted. I felt it had a huge scope for work. After that, I started out on an initial character sketch by composing the letters ‘habergfons’. A rough sketch of what I felt the font should look like was completed and I saw a subdued and familiar character coming across. Even though it was far from what I would imagine the Type to be, it was a direction that fulfilled the previously mentioned criteria.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Project Two : Type Design Document

Realizing from the previous character-set for ‘habergfons’, the ascender and descender seemed too big for the conservative proportions of the Typeface. The ‘spur’ character for letters such as ‘n’ proved helpful during testing for smaller sizes as it retained its ability to be recognized. Another set for ‘Handgloves’ was finished and the character that emerged seemed quite close to the look and feel of the desired Type. It was upright yet friendly with humanist details. The subtle thinning of the horizontal stroke kept it from being ‘industrial’. The overall appearance of letters started to tend to a rounded rectangle, again adding to its easy spacing. Standardization of characters such as ascenders, descenders and spurs was to be finalized after trying out different possible variations of all the alphabets in the character set.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Project Two : Type Design Document

The initial brief clearly defined the typeface as something like a face in the crowd. It had to carry a character not jarring enough to overpower content. But approaches in a few directions had me realize that one needed a character to start with and by means of optimization and reduction, the type can be made to appear neutral. Another important feature of the typeface is that it cannot have a masculine or a feminine role/outlook. It has to be a right balance of both. The choice of sans-serif type was chosen over serif so as to keep it as contemporary as possible (though nothing is dated). Also during reproduction of body text, characters such as serifs cease to exist and were hence avoided. As a type designer it became important for me to decide what connections one could draw in the typeface and trees, personalities and body types. The overall skeleton and structure were reconsidered because on first look the typeface came across as slightly bolder and condensed. On reduction, these features constitute inkblots and break continuity of text. The readability vs. legibility paradigm struck me midway as I reflected on how it is not only important for an ‘e’ to look like any ‘e’, as much as it’s important for it look like an ‘e’ belonging to that particular typeface. This comes mostly from learning during the formative years, where one learns to draw associations between alphabets, their sound and usage. Owing to that, it is also important to keep that initial character to aid familiarity.

The subtle influences coming across through the initial character set were those related to cursive writing and calligraphy, and I decided to retain them to enhance the universal appeal. Reflections on helical growth in typography proved helpful on defining my observation point at this moment. Based on the collective learning from this, the Character Map was fabricated where standardizations of the appearance of spur endings and bowls were made. Also the overall geometry in terms of units was secured making the skeleton more defined .

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Character Map :

Character Specifications :

The strokes :

The typeface carries a more or less condensed appearance. The typeface aims at universality and thus avoids over-the-top and jazzy details. Keeping it as basic and at the same time novel is what the approach requires. The overall grey value of the typeface that is close to even, it being a sans-serif, becomes even more necessary. It is a monotone with a few quirks. It has some level of humanist and friendly features clubbed with an almost industrial regularity (in terms of stroke thickness and overall skeleton).

Vertical strokes in this typeface are pretty uniform with equal stress throughout the height of the letter.

The Skeleton : Ascender : x-height : Descender 2 : 5 : 2 units Effective height of Uppercase/Letters with ascender or descender - 7 units Average width of letters (only lowercase) - 2.5 units (approx.) The width of the letters is hence, almost half as that of the x-height

Horizontal strokes are slightly thinner in themselves, the effect of which is more pronounced with uppercase letters where they appear singly, and the axis for which is perpendicular. Bowls and spurs when jutting out of or emerging from a vertical stroke undergo thinning on a diagonal axis. The curved horizontal stroke meets the vertical stroke angularly, but to aid legibility, it might become more curved. The counter spaces for closed bowl letters range between wide and optimum. Due to the overall conservative proportion it becomes of this even more important. The appearance of spurs occurs only in letters with bowls where the vertical stroke carries from the side facing away from the bowl (p, d); letters such as ‘r’ and ‘n’ and ‘m’ for improved legibility. Spurs are also placed at the end of letters such as ‘i’ and ‘l’ for the same.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Phase IV A Different Type of Clarity

Refining and finalisation of skeletons. Design detailing Visual validation and confirming.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘a’ : A bifurcated approach in both single and double storeyed ‘a’ proved that the latter was apt for the desired Type. It was infact one of the ideals for others to draw character from. The structure of the lowercase character ‘a’ was tried out with and without the spur. Findings showed that the spur only helped in establishing the character ‘a’ better. Different lengths of the top curved stroke were worked and a more stern and longer stroke had a stronger hold of the letter.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘b’ : For the lowercase ‘b’, two ortions, with and without spur at bottom were tried. It was left for standardization to decide what characters are retained in similar letters. Different lengths of the vertical staff were also tried out of which the smaller ones seemed to hold better. In another version, the top of the vertical stroke was bent but turned unnecessary.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘c’ : The lowercase ‘c’ from initial sketches was fairly curved but due to issues relating to its connection with the other letters, was made more angular. More mass was eaten from inside to give it a bigger and more square counter space.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘d’ : Besides trying out a spurred and non-spurred ‘d’, different versions were done varying the angle at which the top of the bowl meets the stem. A steeper angle seemed to work better. The spur situation was again left to the standardization stage.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘e’ & ‘f’ : Trying to balance weight and keep the ‘e’ was a tough task. The moment it was made for angular or skewed towards one side, the counter spaces reacted difefrently and the overall skeleton seemed weak. A combination of curves, angularity and diagonal stroke established the character and the extension of the tail helped in holding it upright. The ‘f’ drew its curve from the descender in ‘g’ and ‘j’. Even though the standardization of that curve was yet to happen, a call was taken on whether the ‘f’ should be one with ascender or descender. The descender in ‘f’, helped in letter-spacing and went well with the rest of the characters.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘g’ : Variations of the lowercase ‘g’ were carried out testing the spur character at the end of the vertical stroke. The descender of the ‘g’ was applied in varying lengths where the one in midway suited the best. The counter space of the bowl was also widened and an angular approach was taken instead of a very curved one.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘h’ (& y) : The ascender for the lowercase ‘h’ was worked out to a midway as well after trying out variations. Broadly, an ascender smaller or larger than that seemed odd. The counter stroke was widened and the sub-stroke was placed further away.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘i’ & ‘j’ : The overall structure of the lowercase ‘i’ was kept upright after trying out variations with the spur endings. The different styles of dots were tried out between circular to rhombic where the former ones seemed to suit better. This decision was also postponed till the standardization stage. For the lowercase ‘j’, lengths of descenders were also kept varying but again fixed on the average. Different curvatures of the bowl were tried out, but nothing was frozen upon till correlation with the other descenders was made.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘k’ : Variations of the lowercase ‘k’ were done on a few levels where a lot of decisions were looked at individually as well as collectively. First being about the vertical strokes where spur endings were applied, and from which a completely upright perpendicular cut chosen. The second set of variations was done with the choice of loop or diagonal stroke. The loop character that gave ‘k’ a quirky look was hence avoided. The placement of the bend between the two diagonals was again left for standardization with respect to letetrs like ‘a’. Also a more angular over curved approach was taken to widen the counter spaces further.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘l’ : The selection of an upright perpendicualrly cut structure was picked for the top of the stroke; whereas a curved ending at the bottom, again with relation to the descender ‘g’ & ‘j’ was applied.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘m’, ‘n’ (& ‘u’) : The bowls for the lowercase ‘n’ (and subsequently ‘m’), were adopted from the angular ones from ‘c’ & ‘d’, ‘b’. The spur endings were taken forward for ‘n’ as it helped in better recognition at smaller sizes. Based on the ‘n’ and adapted ‘m’; the lowercase ‘u’ was taken forward but was kept slightly wider for better legibility.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘o’ : The lowecase ‘o’ derived its skeleton from the fairly resolved ‘c’. Keeping most of the characteristics similar, the ‘o’ was based around a rounded rectangle. The counter space was widened by reducing mass from the inner edges.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘p’ & ‘q’ : The lowercase ‘p’ & ‘q’ shared their basic structure with each other, barring the vertical stroke ending; which for ‘q’ was inclined for better familiarity at smaller sizes. Alternate versions with and without spur were tried for which a standard was yet to be set.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘r’ : The set of lowercase ‘r’ was among the first ones to be resoled upto a satisfactory level and was hence standardized. The last ‘r’ especially in this set, defined the overall stroke thickness and the size of spur in other letters; even though the length and thickness of the horizontal stroke was variable.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘s’ : The lowercase ‘s’ being a letter with a structure entirely its own, did not follow any standardization. All along an effort to make the ‘s’ more angular was made. The stroke endings were thinned in coordination with other letters, after which the letterform seemed weak and unevenly grey. The decision for stroke endings was left for later to be resolved with direct correlation to the charcter set.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Lowercase ‘t’ : Based mostly around the ‘l’, the lowercase ‘t’ had a perpendicularly cut vertical stroke. The lower end whereas was intended to be the same as the descender of ‘g’ & ‘j’.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Lowercase ‘v’, ‘w’, ‘x’ & ‘z’ (diagonals) : The set containing diagonal stroked characters was not resolved for conflicting reasons mainly related to the thickness of stroke endings. Overall width of letters would have to follow a means of visual judgement. The letters ‘v’ & ‘w’ for concentrated mass towards the base was made wider to keep the overall grey value same.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Project Two : Type Design Document

First & Second Level of Refinement :

Finalized characters from the various options were put together to give a fair idea of how the letters would appear together to form words or when they come together as a whole character set. A lot of unexpected issues seemed to arise as certain odd combinations of pairing appeared. The cross bar in the ‘f’ had no relation to the bowl in ‘a’; after which a standard was fixed. The overall width of ‘a’ was also increased to match other letters. The lowercase ‘b’ which had a more or less satisfactory appearance was only made slightly angular at the edges. The ‘c’ appeared a lot narrower and weak as compared to other letters and was hence rectified. Lowercase ‘d’ looked incomplete without the spur character that also made it give the

impression of an inverted ‘p’. Changes were made to the ‘e’ almost till the final stage rendering it a lot wider (both overall and in counter space) and more angular. The lowercase ‘f’ was widened to correlate better with other letters. The ‘g’ was also made wider and thicker at stroke endings to go better with other characters. The overall width of the ‘h’ was increased. The ‘i’ was given a spur ending as the former looked too narrow and subdued with other letters. The ‘j’ was also widened at the extended stroke ending. The dots for both ‘i’ and ‘j’ were altered to get a rounded rectangle that seemed to suit much better than a complete circle. Between variations for the lowercase ‘k’, a diagonal stroke was preferred over a curved (which seemed

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

quirky as compared to other characters). The ‘l’ was only bent more at the stroke ending for better connectivity with the characters it is placed next to. Spur endings for both ‘m’ and ‘n’ were extended out slightly whereas stroke endings were widened. The lowercase ‘o’ was made more symmetric as an asymmetric form seemed skewed. The stroke thickness was also reduced at the central axis to expand the counter space. A spur was added to ‘p’ and the counter space was widened. The spur less ‘q’ was also widened and the stroke ending was made to meet the vertical with less steepness. The horizontal stroke of the ‘r’ was made longer and was made narrower where it met the vertical. The base of the horizontal stroke was smoothened out more to

blend in better with the vertical stroke. The spur was also made more prominent. An overall thinning at the central axis looked odd in case of ‘s’, so only stroke endings carried thinning. The overall structure was made more angular to gel better with other letters. The length of the ‘t’ was reduced visually and the cross bar was moved a few notches upward. The bottom stroke ending was made more horizontal. A diagonal moved a few notches upward. The bottom stroke ending was made more horizontal. A diagonal cut was added to the top of the vertical and the cross bar. The ‘u’ (initially an inverted ‘n’) was widened and the spur was placed upward to match the baseline. The overtly angular ‘v’ was given a friendlier appearance by curving the strokes

outwards. The top stroke endings were given a diagonal cut. The ‘v’ was used to derive the ‘w’ where its width was kept at roughly one and a half times that of ‘v’. The ‘x’ drew its strokes from a more curved and symmetric version of the strokes used in ‘v’. The central point of meeting for the two strokes was eaten into to distribute mass evenly. The overall width of the ‘y’ was increased and the spur bottom stroke ending was derived from ‘j’ and its counterparts. The lowercase ‘z’ when based completely on a diagonal axis gave a robotic quality and was changed to one with faintly curved strokes that seemed to go better with other letterforms.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Phase V Frozen Mettle Type

Tracing of outlines on Illustrator. Applying minor variations and picking best suited characters. Testing on screeen and in print. Progress on the Uppercase Character Set. Conclusion

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Letters acting as Standards :

The lowercase ‘a’ in a lot of respects gave direction to a number of characters. The width for the top horizontal stroke defined the stroke endings for various letterforms. The overall width of the bowl remained constant for all characters with bowls. Spurs endings at the bottom defined spurs for all letterforms.

With its overall structure and how the stroke ends into a horizontal after bending, ‘i’ defined how letterforms such as ‘j’ and its contemporaries would behave. The dot used for both ‘i’ and ‘j’ was frozen upon.

The bend and horizontal stroke ending for ‘l’ defined all characters with a similar structure such as ‘f’, ‘g’ and ‘j’ (where the only difference was the extended length of the stroke).

Initially ‘r’ drew its spur from the lowercase ‘a’ but at the finalization stage, the standardized ‘r’ ended up influencing how ‘a’ was structured. Its overall width and thickness of stroke reflected on narrower letters such as ‘f’ and ‘t’.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Letters with Ascenders & Bowls :

The ‘b’ comprised of a perfectly straight vertical where the top merged into the bowl in a gentle downward slope. The stroke thickness of the horizontals in the bowl was increased for better legibility and the strokes were then smoothened to blend in with the vertical.

The ‘d’ had a similar structure except for the spur ending at the bottom maintaining the baseline and the horizontal part of the bowl at the bottom meeting the vertical at a much sharper angle.

The ‘p’ had more or less the same structure as the ‘d’ other than a slightly shorter spur and more weight at the outwards pointing top portion of the bowl (forward thrust for better readability.

The ‘q’ had a similar structure as ‘b’, with the exception of the increased weight at the bottom of the bowl. Thicker stroke endings at the top of the bowl where it meets the vertical at a much steeper angle.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Letters with Curved Structures :

The structure of the ‘c’ was tending to a rounded rectangle. The stroke endings were thickened and made to bend gently to add more stability to the overall letterform.

The ‘e’ followed a similar structure as the ‘c’. The bowl was altogether moved a few notches upward to reduce counter space (that seemed too big) and aid legibility. The stroke ending was kept slightly sharper and shorter to balance the bowl.

The lowercase ‘s’ did not follow any predefined structure as such though its stroke endings were thinned slightly to go in accordance with other characters. The outer edges were kept slightly more angular, whereas counters were rounded to balance weight better and to give the ‘s’ a hybrid character.

The ‘o’ also followed a rounded rectangle approach where weight was focused more over a diagonal axis on the top right and bottom left corners. The counter space followed a symmetrical structure while the outer edges were asymmetric to tweak its appearance.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Letters with Vertical Stroke & Bowl :

The lowercase ‘h’ had a fairly simple orientation that was easy to achieve applying standardizations. More mass was added though to the bowl at its bend for a forward thrust.

The lowercase ‘n’ carried the spur character that was widened slightly more than the one according to the standardization. Keeping the counter space wide enough, more weight was placed on the bend of the bowl. The horizontal stroke of the bowl joining the vertical was kept steep enough to let the spur stand out at small sizes.

The ‘m’ also like ‘w’ was worked out at roughly one and a half times the width of the ‘n’ with emphasis of mass on the top bends of the bowl.

The lowercase ‘u’ was based on an inverted ‘n’. The overall width was widened and the bottom was lowered to maintain the baseline.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Letters with Descenders :

The lowercase ‘g’ (one of the earliest standardized characters) had a gentle slope at the top where the horizontal of the bowl met the vertical. The descender stroke was increased to further aid legibility.

The ‘j’ followed standardizations set by ‘i’ and ‘g’. The ‘y’ again following standards of ‘g’ was made slightly thinner at the descender stroke ending to balance the open bowl (and the absence of a closed bowl).

The lowercase ‘t’ was worked out picking the standardized keystroke and shortening the tail to account for a narrow skeleton. It was cut so as to give it a more stable horizontal feel. The cross bar was trimmed along a completely perpendicular axis and thickened to achieve an even grey value.

The lowercase ‘f’ after trying variations from frozen upon characteristics was changed to have a wider, more angular structure. The cross bar was slightly thickened. The spur ending at the bottom was curved gently so as to not get in the way of letter spacing.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Letters with Diagonal Strokes :

The lowercase ‘k’ adapted a hybrid structure that was a mix of a perfectly straight vertical with curved strokes for diagonals. The upper diagonal stroke was trimmed diagonally to give the top bowl a more open appearance.

Strokes for the lowercase ’v’ were rounded outwards and the top edges were given diagonal cuts, both containing the letter and giving it a symmetric look. The lowercase ‘w’ (at one and a half times the width of ‘v’) had relatively less curved inner strokes. Both the ‘v’ and the ‘w’ had a completely parallel base for added stability.

Mass was eaten into from the outer edges focused on the stroke intersection. Only the top stroke endings were given a diagonal cut to contain the mass better.

The diagonal stroke of the ‘z’ was thickened slightly to maintain an even grey value. The horizontal stroke endings were flattened to give a much gentler curve.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

120 pt.

72 pt.

36 pt.

24 pt.

12 pt.

Project Two : Type Design Document

72 pt.

36 pt.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

180 pt.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Progress on Upper Case Characters :

The lowercase characters after three stages of refinement were moved to software and refined creating outlines. The uppercase character set whereas was only refined till the first stage. Keeping the character in correlation with lowercase letters, the uppercase character set was also approached with the same set of guidelines. The characters had an almost constant stroke thickness; a minor thinning at the horizontals (not as pronounced as earlier decided). It had a humanist character; jagged angular diagonals were replaced by gentle smooth curves. Due to their larger size as compared to lowercase characters, the uppercase set carried minor symmetric bending in

completely vertical strokes (focused at the centre of the stroke length), to let go of an almost industrial regularity. Spurs were avoided in the whole character set to break the lowercase appearance that would create misinterpretations. Characters with bowls joined the verticals with a gentler slope. It was decided to refine the uppercase character set (that had quite a few discrepancies), digits, punctuations, ligatures & special characters altogether, and only then be put on software to resolve issues of letter spacing. For the scope of this 8 Week Project, only the lowercase character set was made usable.

Vidit Narang / Semester 8 / Graphic Design UG / 2008-09

Conclusion :

Earlier notions of Type and Typography separated themselves from image in an obvious enough manner. Of course I thought; how could Text and Image be the same thing? Everything around seemed to be image, text or a combination of both. Through this project, I feel I find it difficult and at some level meaningless to separate text and image and that the dividing line between them is now blurred. I feel something more universal and quintessential holds them both together and that is their relation to form. I would now say,

Making this Typeface no doubt has had its high and low points, its strengths and shortcomings. At the end I can definitely feel I have become more sensitive to nuances of Type and Form. In retrospection, looking at the character set, there is an urge from my side to add (so called frivolous) details and quirks. The flipside of a feeling is something contradicting and quite the opposite. I also feel it was probably better to stick to a basic sans serif typeface for this first attempt. It motivates me to think more freely now and I altogether feel more capable of achieving ever different and functional Type.

All Type is Pure Form but all Form may or may not be Type.

I consider that food for thought that I can take forward with future Type endeavors.

For Form to cross over and become Type there has to be intent. It becomes important for a Type Designer hence, to be responsible in terms of expression and catering to the needs of his/her target audience.

Project Two : Type Design Document

Colophon : This publication is a part of “Project Two : Type Design”, a Classroom Project carried forward by Vidit Narang, a fourth-year undergraduate student of Graphic Design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad over the year 2008-09. Project Two : Type Design Document Copyright National Institute of Design & ViditNarang 2009 Concept and Text : Vidit Narang Guide : Tarun Deep Girdher Thank You : Dahiya, Dev, Rashmi, Satya, Shilpa Das, Aishwarya, Gaurav, Punia, Rohan, Sarah, Shaqib Bhai, Shreya, Suyesha, Tenzin Font Used : FF Seria® Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic by Martin Majoor (2000) All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any term or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.