We are now approaching the end of the first term here at Reading University MATD and I (would like to think) have made progress on my practical work! While I have been developing my typefaces, I had been working on other projects as well. You can see some of these designs in the "Featured" tab above.
For the first of my typeface projects I have created a friendly, versatile serif family that will be accompanied by extreme weights (thin and FAT) that can be used for editorial or general use. This project will probably be my main focus throughout the year, since it will have many weights and styles. I also believe this typeface has the most potential of the bunch because I do not know many on the market that are similar. I drew inspiration from humanistic imperfections in writing, and the aesthetic qualities of brush lettering. You can see this typeface in the first 3 examples at the bottom of this article.
But even before I drew my first "a" of that typeface, I started creating an "italic" that wasn't even first thought of as an italic. I drew this font first as brush lettering for a project at Cisneros Design. I looked at it one day and thought to myself, "hmm, that could be neat as a typeface!" So, in reality, it is a italic with no regular. I thought about adding a regular to it, but maybe it's more of a lone wolf and can get along just fine by itself! Some thought I was crazy at first, but this idea of creating an italic before the regular is quite fun and will hopefully lead to even more exciting discoveries. You can see this font in the fourth string of text below.
I also was roaming around the intertron (yes, technical term) one day and stumbled across an old type specimen by the Ludlow Typograph Company in Chicago that dates back to 1958. However, inside the specimen there are typefaces that were punched and cut in the 1920s. A few of these designs caught my eye with their brilliant, unique, vintage feel and I wondered if anyone had made digital drawings of them. After perusing around some nerdy typography sites, I found nothing. So, I decided to start digitising revivals of my own! Obviously though, my drawings are not direct revivals, but merely inspired revivals. Not only have I been able to learn more about this company and the designs, but I have also enjoyed every minute (or countless hours) of reviving the type. This project is no where near complete, but I plan on working on it when I have some spare time. This font is shown on the last line below.
Hopefully something in these typefaces will catch your eye. These are works in progress, but feedback and critique are greatly appreciated. Enjoy.
