Advanced Typography - Task 3: Type Exploration and Application

Propose a minimum of 3 ideas for font design, either create a font to solve an issue, explore an existing letterform, or experiment with a new and original idea.
After creating the letters, make 5 font presentations and applications.

Return to Table of Contents

3. PROCESS WORK

3.1 Research

Figure 3.1.1 Proposals, Week 9 (16/6/2026)

For the proposals, I knew I wanted to extract letters from a certain pattern, similar to task 1, but not in the same way I did it previously. I selected 2 different patterns (gothic architecture textures and window grills) and also proposed to expand my wordmark from task 2.

3.2 Ideation

Figure 3.2.1 Examples from Slide, Week 9 (19/6/2026)

From my proposals, Mr. Vinod selected the gothic architecture exploration idea, which was also my favourite proposal. To begin, I looked more carefully into the same images I used as examples in the slides to try to extract certain shapes and gain inspiration.

Figure 3.2.2 Grid Attempts, Week 10 (23/6/2026)

This part took very long as there were so many options, but I did eventually end up with a few grid options, most of them the same with just slight changes. I also extracted some letters out (with one of the first grids) as a test. I felt that they were too rectangular though, and I did also mention to Mr. Vinod that I wanted to incorporate the arches of gothic architecture, so I tried adjusting the grid a little more until I got the grid on the most right. Below are some rough letter extraction attempts from the final grid.

Figure 3.2.3 Extracted Letters, Week 10 (23/6/2026)

Figure 3.2.4 Process Work, Week 10 (23/6/2026)

From here, I brought it into Illustrator and started tracing out the grid and filling them in (to make the letters) using live paint.

Figure 3.2.4 Option, Week 10 (24/6/2026)

I tried out 3 different variations, 1 more rectangular, 1 arched on the top and bottom, and 1 arched only at the top. I liked the last one the most as it was the option that most resembled a gothic arch.

Figure 3.2.4 Fixing the Letters (Before and After), Week 10 (24/6/2026)

Halfway through refining the letters, I noticed I had missed out one tiny element when merging the shapes of the grid, so I fixed that up and continued refining my letters and making my punctuation.

Figure 3.2.5 Punctuation Sizing Before and After, Week 10 (24/6/2026)

Figure 3.2.6 Ampersand Attempts on Left, Feedback on Right, Week 10 (24/6/2026)

In the next class, Mr. Vinod told me to make the period and comma larger, which meant I also had to change some other symbols. He also told me that my ampersand didn't look like an ampersand and I should try making the bottom different from the top. He said I could use the same logic for my question mark and to also thin out my exclamation mark. I did try our 2 attempts, but both of them were ugly and still didn't really look like an ampersand so I just opted out of doing it completely.

Figure 3.2.7 Side Bearing Adjustments, Week 12 (7/7/2026)

Once done, I brought my letters one by one into FontLab and adjusted the side bearings. I started out with 50, then changed to 45, then finally changed to 30. My punctuation each had 45 to create some separation between the letters and punctuation.

Figure 3.2.8 Weird Spacing between Letters and Slashes, Week 12 (7/7/2026)

Figure 3.2.9 Kerning Process, Week 12 (7/7/2026)

While playing around with the letters to see if there were any issues, I noticed that the space between certain curved letters and the back and front slashes were very wide, so I adjusted the kerning to -35 and some -45.

Once I was satisfied, I selected a dark, neutral colour palette from Pinterest and started with my type presentation. I didn't really have a moodboard for this so I just figured it out as I went, ending up with the few options above.

I was told to make some changes, especially to the first one so I did just that and tried exploring more ways to present my font.

In the end, I ended up with these as my selected finals. Below are some other variations of the same things.

After this, I continued with the application. I decided to go with a theme of a gothic architecture exhibition, so I looked for mockups of posters, banners, tickets, brochures, and a tote bag.

*mockup element creating

These are what I ended up with. Looking back at the mockup of the banners, I felt they looked a little awkward so I tried changing up the layout of the design until I was satisfied.

3.3 Final Outcome

Link to Download Font:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B23zrFZK1IdNqUVZ0o7-vEdvY1WP8F9c/view

**brief font desc

Figure 3.3.21Uppercase Letters, Numbers, and Punctuation - PDF, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.2 FontLab Screen Grab, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.3 Font Presentation #1 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.4 Font Presentation #2 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.5 Font Presentation #3 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.6 Font Presentation #4 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.7 Font Presentation #5 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.8 Font Presentation Compilation - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.9 Font Presentation Compilation - PDF, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.10 Font Application #1 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.11 Font Application #2 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.12 Font Application #3 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.13 Font Application #4 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.14 Font Application #5 - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.15 Font Application Compilation - JPEG, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Figure 3.3.16 Font Application Compilation - PDF, Week 13 (14/7/2026)

Return to Table of Contents

4. FEEDBACK

Week 9
GENERAL FEEDBACK: -
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: Proceed with Idea #1, refer to the first example in the given file.

Week 10
GENERAL FEEDBACK: Make sure artboard size is 1000px x 1000px.
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: Pick the third variation (more elegant), and proceed with the punctuation.

Week 11
GENERAL FEEDBACK: Letters should have proof of process, and they should also all be merged together before importing into FontLab/FontForge.
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: Punctuation does not need to be too decorative. Change the bottom of the question mark and ampersand, and make the period and commas larger.

Week 12
GENERAL FEEDBACK: -
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: First font presentation is okay but no need to use so many colours and outlines, showing just the contrast is enough, and the letters look better laid out straight. Additionally, the contrast between the 0 and the other numbers against the background is not strong enough (1-9 is too light compared to 0).

Return to Table of Contents

5. REFLECTION

Experience

It was interesting to explore and develop a typeface inspired by Gothic architecture, especially because it was an idea I proposed myself. The process was very tedious and time-consuming, and with the last few weeks of the semester being so busy, I had to rush certain parts of the project. Despite that, I found this class more enjoyable than typography from semester 1 because I had much more creative freedom to experiment with different ideas and directions.

Observations

Throughout the project, I made many mistakes and had to revise my work several times before reaching a result I was satisfied with. Having so much creative freedom was exciting, but it also made the process more stressful because there were often too many possibilities to consider. I also observed that the intricate Gothic-inspired letterforms reduced readability, which led me to position the typeface as a display font rather than one intended for body text.

Findings

In the end, I was happy with the final outcome and felt that the time and effort invested were worthwhile. Although the typeface is not the most readable, I believe it successfully captures the Gothic architectural aesthetic while functioning well as a display typeface. This project taught me the importance of balancing concept, aesthetics, and functionality, while also reminding me that mistakes and revisions are a natural part of the design process.

Return to Table of Contents

6. FURTHER READING

Return to Table of Contents

Search This Blog

Cheyenne Liew Khye Yean · 0378330