Not sure if this should be under critique since it is such a specific thing, but here goes....
When I was sketching this face, I
really wanted the metrics to be identical between the sans and serifed versions. I felt that would be a distinguishing feature, and handy for when a designer wanted to mix them together on a page. So far, I've developed them side by side to that end. However, I feel like I am at the point where I am playing tug-of-war trying to get them both to feel even, and not very well. The difficulty seems to be in the few letters that either don't have a serif on one or more sides (O, G, P, 2, 3, etc.) or vertical serifs (G, S, E, F, etc.)
Is keeping matching metrics worthwhile? Does it sound like a useful feature for end users? Is it even possible to pull off elegantly? If so, how might I get it to work: finer spacing, kerning pairs to the max, or another way?
Also, does the face feel too loose or too tight? Thank you all for taking a look at this.
Comments
You might reconsider how condensed the face is, since that is restricting some of the leeway that you have to "hide" the serifs in. In a less condensed setting, your tracking would also be a bit looser, and the injection of serifs would not as noticeably upset the balance of counter spaces.
You could also consider a different design for the serifs. Latin-style triangular serifs would be much easier to cheat into tricky places. Right now the crossbar of the T has to be large enough for the serifs, but ends up far too large in the sans. Non-square serifs could be squished into (e.g.) a smaller crossbar with less trouble than the design you're currently working with.
Lastly, you could embrace the inconsistencies and make them into a design feature, but realize that puts you into a nice of "naive" type that may not be what you're after.
Jack, I am going more for "rustic" than "naive". The design was inspired largely by a variety of letterpress poster type popular here with some this and that smooshed in. I'll take another look at the T.
/H /B /U /O looks narrow compared to /F /M
I agree the narrow design makes it harder
@Pablo, @Jack: I think the T looks huge and kind of.... hmm, in both styles. I came up with a solution I'm pretty happy with, however! I created a pile of ligatures for /T and /F pairings. As I did, the /T narrowed on whichever side mated its partner. It narrows the /T maybe 12%, and doesn't look bad to me.
I think I put an example /T lig on twit/face/tumb/insta ("exclamachine" on all of them).
@Dave, I think matching metrics on sans and serif is an idea I will return to, but on a project with much smaller, less slabby serifs. Maybe when I'm working with a Multiple Master.