Display Serif w/ tall letters

Duarte Pinto

Oh, I misunderstood. Yes, it was in response to Drawcard's comment.

Drawcard

Sorry @Duarte Pinto I should have been clearer in my original comment - @Adam Jagosz has illustrated the adjustment I was suggesting originally. The overshoot on /D, /P etc does look a little peculiar. 

Your numbers are looking wonderful I have to say. I'm not too adverse to the /4/, I like the experimentation behind it, though maybe the top of it could echo the /1/ slightly.

Also some lowercase numbers would be exciting to see too!

Duarte Pinto

Drawcard said:

Sorry @Duarte Pinto I should have been clearer in my original comment - @Adam Jagosz has illustrated the adjustment I was suggesting originally. The overshoot on /D, /P etc does look a little peculiar. 

You were clear enough, I am just not yet too familiar with some terms like flat, but it made sense after looking at @Adam Jagosz's comment.

Drawcard said:

Your numbers are looking wonderful I have to say. I'm not too adverse to the /4/, I like the experimentation behind it, though maybe the top of it could echo the /1/ slightly.

Also some lowercase numbers would be exciting to see too!

Thanks! Yeah, the previous /4/ wasn't working at all. Also, sorry about taking some time to answer. I've been busy with other stuff. 

Here are the oldstyle figures:

In the meantime, I started working on the symbols, punctuation & language support, but honestly, I don't know if it's worth sharing. You guys have helped me so much already.

I guess I'll share it in a spoiler just in case somebody's curious.

Adam Jagosz

The math symbols may be a bit too tiny (though hard to tell without context). In general, minus should be closer in length to the en-dash (not hyphen), and from there, plus etc. may follow. (Also, the hyphen probably needs some weight so that it doesn't produce too much of a white gap when inside a compound word).

Drawcard

Y'know @Duarte Pinto I normally regret viewing spoilers in forums, but this time around I'm glad I clicked on yours Well done. That punctuation set should be a promo poster on it's own.

The solution for /4 is great too.

Duarte Pinto

Quick update

I have been working on the lowercase letters:

I really tried to get good spacing on these. I'll attach a pdf with a long string of text spacing-focused, in case you want to check it (no kerning for now, and I'm still spacing the uppercase letters so they might feel off)

Also, I came back to the uppercase letters. Here's how they were looking before:

And how they're looking now:(Changelog)

• Changed /B/D/P/R back to normal
• Improved the stroke transition of /D since it was too flat
• Refined /S a bit because the spine weight seemed too inconsistent IMO
• Gave a bit of an angle on the /T serifs because I thought it fits better with the typeface, given that it resembles /C serifs and so on
• Lightened the middle joint of /B /R so that it 'breaths' the same contrast as the rest of the typeface

• Tried to improve the curves of the /Q tail and /R leg
• Made many weight refinements trying to achieve optical consistency

Thanks, Drawcard! I've made some adjustments on the symbols based on your feedback, Adam Jagosz; I might do a separate post focusing on symbols & punctuation once I think they're good. I'd really like to hear opinions on the lowercase letters if possible.

Jasper de Waard

I would say the left-most stem on mnpr (and all related stems) could go a little taller. Because there's such a long horizontal piece on the top serif it feels like it is quite a bit below the x-height. Another alternative could be to make that horizontal bit more diagonal.

The serifs (especially on the inside) of vwxy are way too small.

The point where thin strokes meet a stem is inconsistent. Compare for example the joint of p with that of n. I would try to model p's joint after the n. 

The thin strokes of x don't line up.

s is leaning backwards a little.

Flare terminal in r but especially y is too large.

The 'a' could use some work. It looks a little too quirky and not enough elegant.

I'm not convinced by the ear of the g. Maybe it should go more on top? The tail or bottom half of the g is also not quite there yet. It looks a little too squarish and symmetrical I think. Try to loosen it up a little.

Spacing is not bad at all, and I really like the c! Keep it up

Craig Eliason

In the lowercase, to me there's a contradiction between the very spiky head serifs and the very blunt terminals in letters like /a/c/f/r/y. 

Duarte Pinto

Hey! I'm making this post as the last update of this typeface.
Thank you once again for steering me on this long journey.

Changelog:

•Dropped the High-Waist Idea. Crazy, right? I did it for the same reasons quoted below. 

Alex Visi said:

Also, highly subjective, but I think the high waist here is one of those cases when you keep peeing against the wind just because “that’s the idea” which “makes it different”. 

•Made the point where thin strokes meet a stem more consistent
•Added some weight to the serifs (especially on the inside) of /v/w/x/y
•Lined up the thin strokes of /x
•Balanced /s a bit since it was leaning backward
•Changed the ear of the /g
•Tried to make the /a better
•Made upper serifs of capitals like /T a bit smaller so combinations like /Te fit better
•Made the left-most stem on /n (and all related stems) a little taller.
With this change, those stems now connect with letters like /x

Because there's such a long horizontal piece on the top serif it feels like it is quite a bit below the x-height. —  @Jasper de Waard

*not a ligature

Craig Eliason said:

In the lowercase, to me there's a contradiction between the very spiky head serifs and the very blunt terminals in letters like /a/c/f/r/y. 

You're right, it's inconsistent. Might be the worst flaw in this typeface. Maybe it's not so bad since this is a display typeface, and I did try those spiky terminals in lowercase but it just wasn't looking good imo

•Changed /j terminal
•Made spacing and kerning tighter since I want this typeface to be used in big sizes.

This typeface is called Glück and it's definitely going to be available through dm or something since I don't have a website yet.

Feedback still is and always will be welcome, of course

Marc Oxborrow

Lovely!

Thomas Phinney

This really matured nicely from your earliest versions!
Congratulations!

Duarte Pinto

Thank you! 

Christian Thalmann

This looks very pretty now. Only the /four/ sticks out to me, it looks like somebody bit off the tip...

Duarte Pinto

Thx @Christian Thalmann! That's true, a bit out of character. I'll keep that in mind and try some other solutions

Jasper de Waard

Very nice! I like what you did with it

I think the (bowl of) 'a' is a bit too big, and the eye of g a bit too small.

Any new projects in the making?

Duarte Pinto

Thank you, Jasper, I have to say your feedback was very helpful throughout this project

About the /a, are you meaning big as in its weight or the length of it? If it is the length, wouldn't making it shorter hurt the white space?
The /g still felt a little weird to me, maybe that's the issue.
I'll make some adjustments to the /4/a/g and update you soon, got no plans for the week

No projects right now, although I'm definitely going to do more type in the future.
For the moment though, I'd like to sort of "close" this chapter before getting into another. I am currently studying graphic design too, so there are a lot of balls to juggle

Duarte Pinto

Hello once again! Hope you had a good week

Here goes another quick update of some changes based on your feedback:

/4 was redesigned
/a bowl is a little smaller
/g eye is a little bigger

Christian Thalmann

The new /four/ is a step back, IMHO. The corners are quite at odds with how you otherwise handle corners in the typeface. I would just give the original design a pointy apex (to match the pointy bowsprit) and call it a day.

Jasper de Waard

Glad I could be of help!

Regarding 'a', I meant the width of the bowl. Making that a bit narrower would actually help whitespace, because the bottom would align closer to the top. I guess my main problem with it is that the 'a' just looks a bit too wide as a whole.

I agree with @Craig Eliason on the 4. And it would be nice to see updates you make in context, as opposed to single letters

K Pease

I think that all of the possible choices for corners and terminals in 4 are valid; the problem with it is you have a heavy vertical intersecting with a heavy horizontal, giving it the look of an unfinished grotesk. I know it's what the pen angle gives you, and it's tricky, but it takes some nuance to preserve the feel of contrast. I would try flaring the crossbar from left to right, flat on bottom and upslope on top, and add some selective weight low on the diagonal to make it visible, maybe even curved inside, pinch at the corners, do something interesting.

Duarte Pinto

Ty for the replies! 

Jasper de Waard said:
Regarding 'a', I meant the width of the bowl. Making that a bit narrower would actually help whitespace, because the bottom would align closer to the top. I guess my main problem with it is that the 'a' just looks a bit too wide as a whole.

Really? Huh, I actually assumed it was the length of it.
I agree, aligning the bottom with the top does improve whitespace. 

/a & /4 updated in context, respectively:


I'm liking this /4 a lot more. What do you think?

Christian Thalmann

The new /four/ is much better. You might still want to give K Pease's suggestion a try to avoid that double-heavy intersection.

I'm not sure whether I'm just imagining it, but the new /a/ feels a bit sadder? droopier? than the old one. Possibly just a matter of realigning the apex with the new letter width.

Thomas Phinney

/one /four & /five could be a bit taller. Their thin spikes need more overshoot than the rounds.

K Pease

Yeah, I'm surprised but it is much better. You can put this 4 to bed and move on. If you need to scale it for more overshoot, be sure to preserve this angle and keep the crossbar low where it is.

Hadn't said anything yet, but the only thing remaining in this face I would call out of balance is /Y.

Duarte Pinto

K Pease, can you be a bit more specific about the /Y, please? It looks okay to me. 
Christian Thalmann, I also didn't understand what you meant with /a feeling sadder?
I aligned the terminal with the rest, though. Overshooted the spiky numbers.

Here are /a & /four in the same context:

Jasper de Waard

Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like you just made the bowl of 'a' thinner, too thin in my opinion. What I meant, and what would still help I think, is for it to be narrower, so that the whitespace inside the bowl becomes smaller. Usually the whitespace inside the bottom of 'a' and the top of e are more or less balanced, maybe the 'a' can be a little bigger, but yours is quite a lot bigger.

I also think the eye of g could still go bigger (but maybe also a bit lighter), and the tail smaller.

Duarte Pinto

I made it a bit narrower, 95% to be exact. I'll try it a bit more narrow and adjust the weight. 
More updates coming soon

Craig Eliason

I think it's possible that nearly all your thick curves are optically a little light compared to the thick straights. So /o or /e look a touch light compared to /i or /n, /d looks a little "right-heavy," etc. 

K Pease

Because the middle of your Y is unusually high (and there's nothing wrong with that), the inherent difficulties of balancing a contrasted Y are more noticeable. There are two different equalities at play, which I will illustrate here rather than try to put into words:You've gone all-in on (1). It looks best to compromise between them and get something like (3).

Duarte Pinto

Thanks for clarifying, K Pease!

/a, /g & /Y updated in context:

today:
yesterday:

I also made /e/c a bit heavier, based on Craig's opinion. I'm not sure wether I'll change the other rounds or not.

I'll attach a PDF in case you want to compare both versions.