Brab - a Sans Typeface

Vasil Stanev

Hello, I have pretty much finished everything about this font but would still love to read your opinion about it before I set it up for sale. It started from the lc /c and is intended for bold display and short passages of text.
Bonus: I have attached a PDF sample but I have also added to it pangrams in about 50 languages. Some text like Cherokee, Hindi, Malayalam and others may not display in the proof, for obvious reasons, but Latin-based pangrams should work as they do on my end.

Vasil Stanev

Other people go out on Saturday night, here's how I party

Ray Larabie

I appreciate the 70s aesthetic you're aiming for, and for the most part, it comes across effectively. However, there are a few glyphs that require further attention. The gap in the "a" is not consistent with the rest of the typeface, so it might be worth exploring alternative solutions or incorporating gaps in other characters. While this style of typeface has a certain "so ugly it's cute" charm, the lowercase "w" seems to cross that threshold. Additionally, the thick crossbar on the "B" appears unintentional, particularly when compared to the "R." The notch under the "Q" is too subtle and could benefit from enhancement. Lastly, it would be beneficial to conduct further tests and make optical adjustments to the remaining glyphs.

Vasil Stanev

Ray Larabie said:

 While this style of typeface has a certain "so ugly it's cute" charm, the lowercase "w" seems to cross that threshold.

I'm sorry, I wasn't able to understand that. Do you mean the black metal version? It's just a joke, the "clean" one is the one that I'll work some more on - weights, matching italics etc.

PabloImpallari

Vasil Stanev said:

Ray Larabie said:

 While this style of typeface has a certain "so ugly it's cute" charm, the lowercase "w" seems to croshttps://fonts.google.com/specimen/New+Rocker s that threshold.

I'm sorry, I wasn't able to understand that. Do you mean the black metal version? It's just a joke, the "clean" one is the one that I'll work some more on - weights, matching italics etc.

Why a Joke? Make it real!
There is a huge market of Heavy Metal's fans out there, and not many fonts for them.

Despite all my other fonts, the one I get most emails of people super-super-crazy-happy is New Rocker, that I digitized for Brenda Gallo, a tattoo artist friend of mine.

All the people in the emails tell me (long 3 paragraphs) stories about that they where always looking for heavy metal fonts for sooo long times and how hard it was for them to find it, and how happy they are now... almost as if the font saved their lives... it's pretty crazy.

It get used a lot, not only for rock bands, but also for small artesanal breweries, motorcycle clubs, people that print t-shirts and pins for their black leather jackets, and all things underground like that. And that sort of people in that niche market is also -super- passionate about it.

I think it's quite possible that the one with spikes gets more popular than the original
Go extreme with it!

Ray Larabie

Do you mean the black metal version? 

Apologies for the confusion, I meant to refer to the regular version and not the black metal variant. I hope I didn't misunderstand the theme of this typeface; I perceived it as a 1970s-style corporate logo font. If that's not the case, please accept my apologies. Regarding the lowercase "w", here are some more specific suggestions: widen the bottom gap by spreading the base apart, which will enhance the overall squareness. Also, consider making the point in the lower gap taller. While it doesn't need to perfectly mirror the top gaps, some similarity could be beneficial. Once these adjustments are made, fine-tune the weight of each stroke to achieve a balanced appearance. 

PabloImpallari

Hi Ray... yes I saw your other thread... I reply you there.

Vasil Stanev

PabloImpallari said:

There is a huge market of Heavy Metal's fans out there, and not many fonts for them.

That's news to me! I always thought it's a small niche.

Here is the updated design with diagonals edited.

Ray Larabie

Good progress! There's a unique rhythm to the font, but I'd love to learn more about the inspiration and objectives behind it before providing further suggestions. It's important to maintain the essence of the design you're aiming for, as excessive refinement could potentially detract from the desired effect. Would you be open to sharing the backstory and vision for this typeface? 

Vasil Stanev

@Ray Larabie
There is rarely a huge backstory and research phase before any of my fonts. I feel too much sharpening of the blade destracts the knight from the actual swordfight, as the saying goes. I just draw some alphabet on paper in my spare time or when I'm bored.  Usually the style of the letters changes until I get to the Z, so one such doodle gives me the DNA for 2-3 regular fonts. Art pour l'art.
I was somewhat inspired by the Star Wars logo and wanted something clean and similar, a mix of clean, effective technology and a warm, organic feeling. That will look well typed in white letters over a busier background. But this is unrelated to what Disney is currently pumping out in that universe. I was never too big of a fan of SW even in the 80's. But the clean lines of the logo are really something.

Ray Larabie

In that case, I believe the width irregularities actually enhance the theme, so there's no need to refine them excessively. I don't want to lead you astray, but you might find some inspiration for the final touches on your typeface by exploring the source material that inspired Suzy Rice's iconic Star Wars logo. George Lucas requested a fascist aesthetic, prompting Rice to draw from German WWII sources. With some research, you can uncover images of industrial lettering from that era, including the classic Star Wars "S" and "R" letterforms. Interestingly, I've also discovered this style on American farm equipment from the same time period.

One aspect I'd suggest adjusting in your typeface is the consistency of the optical compensation. For instance, your "V" exhibits a significant "pinch," whereas the "K" does not. To maintain the fascist industrial style, I'd recommend reducing the compensation to a subtler level. If you need to decrease the weight, consider making the strokes slightly thinner instead of pinching. The optical compensation is particularly noticeable in the lowercase "y"; although appropriate for another typeface, when placed next to the "K," it appears to belong to a different font altogether.

Vasil Stanev

Made some changes and uploaded it to MyFonts with the presentation, now I'm waiting

Nick Shinn

Nice!—but the nadir of the M bothers me. Could you make it a bit sharper, maybe thin the diagonals slightly, narrow the glyph a tad? (Compare how nuanced/thinned the curved joint of B is.)

Vasil Stanev

@Nick Shinn
It's already off to the MyFonts review team. I also notice that the 2 and 3 aren't of the same width, but it's off.

Vasil Stanev

available for purchase
https://www.myfonts.com/collections/brab-font-vsf