Typography - Task 3 : Type Design and Communication
14/11/2025 - 26/12/2025 (Week 8 - Week 14)
Lexandra Feodora Stefano/0384629
Typography/Bachelors of Design (Honours) in Creative Media/ Taylor's
University
Task 3 : Type Design and Communication
JUMPLINKS
No lectures, just an overall briefing of the task about what we need to do,
some references and seniors work, consultation, etc.
INSTRUCTIONS
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ysds9E9E5l-naUpNJkhBeoFZHE9yJWW0/view?usp=sharing
TASK
Dissection
We were asked to dissect the letters Hogb from the 10 fonts given before
and analyse them. I chose the font futura std book and started dissecting
the letters on Adobe Illustrator using 1000pt x 1000pt canvas. I followed
the tutorial given during class to dissect the letters.
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| Fig 1.1.1 Dissection (21/11/2025) |
From the dissection, I can tell that the letter H is very simple and the
size of the stems are the same, but the crossbar is slightly lower than
the x height. At first, I thought that the letter o was a perfect circle,
but it wasn't. Same goes to the letter g and b where they have an almost
circular shape but not a perfect circle. The stem on the letter b is
slightly taller that H and all of the bowls falls on the same baseline.
Futura is more of a simple font because it doesn't have serifs and it has
a more simple but modern look to it.
Sketches
For this task, we were asked to make our own font design. Before starting,
I searched some references to use for my sketches. I decided to go with
these references.
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| Fig 1.2.1 Reference (14/11/2025) |
Then I started sketching my idea using a pencil and graph paper to help
measure the size and height of the letters. Here are the sketches.
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| Fig 1.2.2 Sketches (14/11/2025) |
I showed my sketches to Mr Max and after receiving feedbacks, I decided to explore more on the third sketch and decided to do leaf shaped letters instead. Here are the references that I will be using.
|
| Fig 1.2.3 Reference 2 (14/11/2025) |
Then, I started sketching the words h o g b on the graph paper based on the
references above. I also started making other sketches with the designs that
I can think of. Here are the results.
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| Fig 1.2.4 Sketches 2 (18/11/2025) |
I showed him my sketches and Mr Max said that the fonts are too common
and that the concepts are too difficult to tell on the fonts so he suggested
to try and experiment with elements. I started by looking up references.
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| Fig 1.2.5 Reference 2 (18/11/2025) |
Then I started sketching using my sketchbook first before moving on to the
graph paper. Here are the sketches.
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| Fig 1.2.6 Sketches 3 (18/11/2025) |
After consulting, Mr Max said that I need to stick to one element instead of
multiple elements for one concept. So, I decided to stick to one element for
the cards (diamond) and one element for the music notes. I also decided to
make the spade element for my third sketch. Here are the results
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| Fig 1.2.7 Sketches 4 (19/11/2025) |
From the 3 sketches, Mr Max chose the spades one but he said to make sure
that all of the elements are the same size to keep it consistent and make
sure that the line sizes are consistent. Then I started drawing the final
sketch on the graph paper. Here is the results.
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| Fig 1.2.8 Final Sketch (26/11/2025) |
Digitalization
After getting the approval for the sketches, I moved on to the digitalization
of the sketches using Adobe Illustrator in a 1000pt x 1000pt artboard. First,
I followed the tutorial given in class on how to make identify the baseline
and the caps height in AI using the box.
Here is the final results for the digitized font.
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| Fig 1.3.1 Base (28/11/2025) |
Then I moved the sketches in AI and started digitizing it with the pen tool,
shape tools, shape builder tool, and direct selection tool. Here is the digitalized font in black and white.
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| Fig 1.3.2 Digitized - First Draft (28/11/2025) |
Then, I asked for some feedback, Mr Max said that the letter C and G feels
too cramped and I need to follow the O. So I redid those 2 letters and
changed the design to match the letter O.
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| Fig 1.3.3 New C and G (28/11/2025) |
Here is the final results for the digitized font.
 |
| Fig 1.3.4 Final - Outlines (30/11/2025) |
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| Fig 1.3.5 Final-Guide (30/11/2025) |
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| Fig 1.3.6 Final - Digitization (30/11/2025) |
Fontlab
After getting the approval on the digitization, I moved the fonts into
fontlab 7. I decided to name the font 'Spado' which is an old Spanish word
for spade. Spado means a sword in Spanish. Here is the final results for the
font.
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| Fig 1.4.1 Fontlab (05/12/2025) |
I followed the adjustments for the side bearing according to the file that
Mr Vinod sent. I also adjusted some of the kerning so it doesn't look too
wide/odd.
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| Fig 1.4.2 Kerning (05/12/2025) |
Click Here
to download Spado.
Poster
After designing and finalizing the fonts, we were asked to make a
typographic poster or a poster that consist of words only (no design). I
used an A4 size for the poster and with the limited letters, I decided to
write "#The light Don't let go, it does shine on. It echoes!" Here is the
poster.
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| Fig 1.5.1 Poster (07/12/2025) |
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lk3hmCQwkc8UYX3NXTb7YSoVDXNKAinS/view?usp=drive_link
FEEDBACK
Week 8
General Feedback : don't forget to submit task 2 and an overall
briefing on task 3
Specific Feedback : sketches 1 and 2 are too common and
graphical so it cannot be used since this task is focused on the fonts
not graphics, explore more for sketch 3, and elaborate for sketch 4
Week 9
General Feedback : a tutorial on letter dissection and
checking the sketches
Specific Feedback : Too common, not strong enough, and to
hard to tell the concept. Stick to one element so it stays
consistent, flame is too common, connect the dots is good but not
creative. Can use the spades one but make sure that the elements are
all the same sizes. Make sure the letters are consistent.
Week 10 :
General Feedback : a reminder to finish the sketches by this
week and a tutorial on how to digitize the sketches in Illustrator
Specific Feedback : C and G feels cramped, need to follow O
Week 11 :
General Feedback : a tutorial on how to move the fonts into
fontlab7
Specific Feedback : the digitization is okay, just need to
try it on fontlab first. Don't forget to add the name of the font,
my name, and year in the poster.
Week 12 :
General Feedback : a reminder to complete task 3 before the deadline
Specific Feedback : change/remove the first outline and add the newest font outline
REFLECTION
Experience
This task was very overwhelming at first, especially the sketching part
because it was hard coming up with the ideas that are not common or
already available online. Making the fonts on graph paper was also quite
difficult and it was a little hard to do the measurement. It was also my
first time ever using Fontlab7 so I got to learn a new app. I think this
is one of the most complicated task for this semester.
Observations
I observed that I got to do this task faster than what I was expecting at
first. The part that took the longest was getting the approval for the
sketches, but after getting the approval, I worked on everything else very
fast and got to finish pretty quickly.
Findings
I find that coming up with new fonts in this era can be very hard,
especially with how many fonts that are available nowadays. Making fonts
also takes quite some time and patience, making sure that every letter
falls in the same family, making sure that everything stays consistent,
etc. I find that the feedbacks given plays a huge role on helping me
improve and complete this task.
FURTHER READING
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oUVzw1Lfgbze25mjS9E1VoWGS-grvBNU/view?usp=drive_link>
I decided to read page 134 (page 146 on the pdf) about rendering type on
screen. It talks about how the internet is a challenging environment for good
typography, especially for text size. Its a problem that inherent on all
on-screen font display. Designing on a computer screen the same legibility
issues will apply to on-screen type. It talks about how rendering an outline
letterform on a computer screen have to be converted into pixels. Satisfactory
on-screen typographic display blend many factors form font enhancement
methods, computer operating systems, and even a user's choice of web browser
can play huge roles. Those things must be considered to achieve optimum
typographic outcomes. This part really explains on how different traditional
typography is with on-screen typography, especially on the things we need to
consider to reach a certain satisfaction level for the typography.
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