Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

I am using a chapter from a book called “Meditations from the Mat”, that is about living mindfully and at peace with yourself and those around you. It exemplifies the characteristics of the culture of Buddhism and simplicity which I am excited to use to inspire my typeface. Some things I want to exemplify in my typeface are simplicity, structure, but not hard hitting, consistency, and airy.

A few rules I will abide by are A 6 by 3 modular grid

The x height will be 1/2 of the ascender

A consistent stroke (no contrast in line weight)

This was my original concept, which I may still work from. However I found while working with it that I want to do something more materials based and unique, and will fiddle with that idea this weekend to have a final idea of what I will be working with for this next project.

Sandra Albertson Typeface

Inspiration for my typeface comes from a story called, “The Star Thrower” where one small man makes a big difference. The story takes place on a beach and has a very heartwarming message so I want to use a typeface that will represent that. I decided to go with a modular typeface that I created on illustrator. The font uses a 6×2 grid where the ascenders and descenders have a max height of 4. I am using lowercase letters and I wanted to keep the x height of the letters fairly small so that the ascenders/descenders appear longer and make the font more delicate looking. My goal is to make the font universal and peaceful so that it truly captures the essence of the story. The letters like “o” are wider than they are tall which is something that I feel contributes to the font’s success. I didn’t want a tall, skinny font but rather a solid skinny one. I kept the lines of my letters pretty thin to keep them looking delicate. Some parts of the letters are slightly thicker as well to create contrast within the font and add more interest. As you can see, on letters like “p”, the line is not closed but left open. I thought that this would make the typeface feel more handwritten and add to the “friendliness” of the text. Overall, my typeface is very clean and feels complete. I wanted a typeface that was small but mighty and I think it does a great job of demonstrating the feeling of my selected story.

My text is from a CNN article about Elon Musk and his privatizing of rockets and building it into an industry since NASA stopped the production of space shuttles. Elon musk is an engineer and has created Tesla, electric cars. He is very technological and intrigued by space.

I decided to make an alphabet with inspiration from BattleStar Galactica text I saw. My text is about Space and technology so I wanted a text to somewhat resemble the futuristic and space feel.

alphabet design by Evan Matthews

Some rules I had for when designing some of the letters were:

– The letters must have serifs

-Letters must have a space (white line) throughout the letter except on letters with descenders/ascenders that will only have the space through the descender/ascender.

-Letters without descender and ascender must have an “opening” much like how the “o” where the letter does not connect.

– Have also decided after posting this that would like the letters to have a more square feeling so the curve in the p would be more similar to that of the o, same with goes for the h.

These are just rough sketches since I am traveling and don’t have access to the adobe programs.

I am creating a modular font that will be in all capitals. The goal of this font is to combined modern and old style text to bring alive an old romanticized view of adventure. My text is from a Sherlock Holmes story, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, as it follows Sherlock and Watson deciding to travel to Dartmoor to investigate a murder. The text incorporates the elements of adventure, travel, and maps that I want to include in my modular font. The rules for my font are as follows:

1. Each letterform will contain no contrast in its lines. They will all be thin lines like on the latitude and longitude lines of a map, relating it back to the mood and idea of the text. (No contrast= modern)

2. In at least one place on a letterform where the thin lines overlap, there will be a small number representing a degree like on a map. Beyond the thin lines these degrees will help signal the fact that the letters are also depicting map qualities. These extended lines will also act similar to serifs on some of the letters brining in that old style/vintage feel (an example of this would be B and D).

3. There should be plenty of white space (ground) to indicate a large vastness of space like on a map.

Hopefully these rules/characteristics will come together and create a text that looks like it was derived from the lines of a map brining about a sense of adventure.

The text I chose to inspire my alphabet’s design is a paragraph from the novel The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  The novel is set in New York in the 1920’s, and the passage is describing a night scene in the city.  I wanted my typeface to show characteristics of the city (buildings, architecture) as well as the 20’s Art Deco style.  The text has a graceful, romantic tone to it that I want it to reflect as well.

Chosen basic building blocks

To build the typeface, I will be using a modular method, with a module of 4 by 3 units.  I want the letters to be slender and tall like the skyscrapers of New York.  The typeface will have a high x height to add to the overall height of the letters.  I am using three basic units to build the letters, a half circle, a straight line and a curved, s-shaped line.  Details like high, slanted cross bars, decorative smaller lines inside the letters and flourishes that create serifs give the proud and flamboyant style of the Art Deco movement.  So far, I have chosen to build capital letters.  Depending on how those go, I am thinking about lower case letters as well.

My alphabet design follows a materials-based method as well as a modular method. I am using thread wrapped around nails that are nailed into a board. The nails are in a sort of grid that creates the modular part of the alphabet while the string and nails create the materials. After creating the letters I put them into illustrator and then image trace them. This keeps their organic feel but also gives them structure. The rules for this alphabet are that each letter that has a curve should be as curved as possible while wrapping around the nails. The x height is 4 nails high and the cap height is 6 nails high. Each part of the letter should be two strings thick, not just on one side of the nail, and when possible not overlapped. If the letter needs to be taller than the x height then it should reach all the way to the cap height. This typeface fits the text I chose because it looks very nostalgic and homemade. I want to use an old Christmas carol for my text and I think that the red thread on the wood looks very festive and cozy. This typeface will make a great headline with its blocky look.

Here is an “a”, a “d”, and an “n”.

letter a by: Hannah Croskrey

letter d by: Hannah Croskrey

letter n by: Hannah Croskrey