Linea Avantgarde - a single-line unique-looking typeface idea

Daniel Bumbalov

Hello, everybody!

About a month ago while I was practicing my handwriting when inspiration struck, and I decided to make some steps towards creating a typeface. I want it to break typeface traditions and still be legible and consistent. I have thought of the name Linea Avantgarde because it nicely describes the nature of this typeface. Capitals are made of single lines and their elements are exaggerated in artistic ways (at least I hope to achieve that effect). What you see is what I reached so far, I still have a ton of work to do, I haven't designed all letters yet and I am still inexperienced with using font creating software (I'd be grateful if someone offers some advice about starting with FontCreator for Windows).

Most importantly, I'd love to get some feedback, does it look appealing, what is problematic with the design, what can be done to improve it, anything will be helpful now!

What do you think about it?

P.S. If this is not the right place for this discussion, please tell me where the suitable place for it is. Sorry

Joshua Langman

I think the caps are a lot of fun (if not terribly legible). I wish the lowercase had more of the same spirit.

Daniel Bumbalov

I thought about that, too. My main concern is about the legibility, though. The capitals are already packed with unusual loops here and there and the addition of the same charm to the lowercase may make it "too loopy" to read. I should say, though, that I created the lowercase letters because I wanted to see if the capitals were able to fit anywhere or were too "independent". Also, it is noticeably clear that capital-only words won't be a suitable choice for a man to use this typeface.

Georg Seifert

The upper and lowercase don’t match at all. If that is your first typeface, I usually suggest to pick a more regular design to learn and understand rhythm and proportions. 

When you are looking for lowercase for your uppercase, I would stick to the handwriting model. You can worry about legibility later. 

Daniel Bumbalov

I appreciate you comment, I am worried about making a regular typeface, because if I try to do it, I might end up with something already made and worse. I don't have the skills to stray from other creators yet. The last few days I tried hard to build the other letters for this typeface but I couldn't manage to keep the consistency so I might give it a break. I have zero experience in font making software and I am using Windows so no Glyphs and 99% of tutorials for beginners are made for it. *sigh*

Georg Seifert

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with your first typeface. You don’t start with Rachmaninov when you start learning to play piano. 

Claudio Piccinini

Georg Seifert said:

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with your first typeface. You don’t start with Rachmaninov when you start learning to play piano. 

On the other hand, with such consideration you can also stifle creativity. That’s not the kind of lettering experimentation that requires a degree in type design.

Georg Seifert

I’m only speaking about getting a basic idea about proportions and rhythm. It is easier to break the rules if you know them.