Over the Fall 2023 semester, I took a course on Typeface Design. Throughout the class, we designed our own typefaces letter by letter. I learned so much from this course, from the history of type to the structure of glyphs, and can't wait to implement my new typography skills in my graphic design work!
At the beginning of the course we were tasked with creating design briefs for the typefaces we would make. I decided that I wanted mine to be used in playful STEM education applications, as I had designed several of them in my previous work. From there, we each chose an overarching typeface style to guide our designs. The neo-humanist style stood out to me as easy to read (due to its lack of serifs), with enough flexibility in the contrast and weight of each glyph, leaving room to give it a playful feel.
By the end of the semester, I had complete upper and lower cases, punctuation and symbol glyphs, and a limited italic font. I hope to expand the typeface, which I named "Playdate," with a focus on accessibility. Scroll down to learn more about the design process!
Defining the Personal
ity
The first two glyphs I designed were /o and /n. These two set the feel of the rest of the typeface. For example, the stem of the /n became the template for /l and /i, while the contrast of the /o was carried through to rounded glyphs like /p, /b, /q, and /g. Most notably, the curve topping the stem of the /n added a subtle defining flair to the typeface, contributing to a playful feel.
Early Proto-types
My favorite part of the design process each time I finished a “prototype” of another glyph. With each glyph I designed, more words were available to “test” my typeface with. I would create a “specimen” of my typeface using any words I could each class as the typeface grew. Seeing the letters next to each other highlighted characteristics of each glyph that weren’t cohesive with my design brief or the other glyphs. From here, it was easier to know what steps to take to design new iterations of the typeface.
Number-ing with Intention
In typeface design, numerals can be designed in a variety of ways. Some typefaces have numerals that intentionally extend far past the baseline, or with varying X- and Cap-Heights. Often, they resemble letters in that the width is unique to each glyph, allowing them to fit together well when typed in a line.
However, none of these techniques seemed to fit my design brief. My typeface would likely be used for math applications considering its STEM focus. It needed to be easy for kids to read as well - I wanted the typeface design to add to their learning experience rather than distract from it.
With these constraints in mind, I chose to design “tabular” numerals and mathematic symbols. This means they line up in columns due to having the same widths and heights. With a tabular design, the typeface can accommodate equations with multiple rows and visually simplify equations for students.
