Le Sardino - Sans for text & display

tersaniko

Hi, a beginner type designer here.

I'm making a sans-serif typeface that I wish to work well on body text, but also to have enough interest as a display typeface. I'm aiming for some sort of "hand-lettered" feel. My starting point was /Q, that took its shape from a letter drawn on a chalkboard by one of my math teachers. After drawing a few more of the capital letters it started to look like something from an old tin can or something, at least in my mind.  That's why I gave it a name "Le Sardino".

I have two masters, thinner "regular" and heavy. I have been test driving it on screen for a while now, and I'm becoming quite blind to its flaws. What should be improved?

Screenshot from Wikipedia. (The slanted version is created by the browser, I have no slanted master.)

EDIT: I added "Type Design Critiques" tag to this post, but it's showing up in "Type Design Software". Any help?

Thomas Phinney

It is always fascinating to see people show up with a new typeface in development. I will take this opportunity to encourage other folks who are doing a first typeface to show their work long before they have a complete alphabet. It is a LOT less work to make improvements to a handful of glyphs rather than dozens.

Labels: Your regular is more of a Light weight, and your heavy more of a Semibold. This is not a big deal, but it is better to label your weights in line with typographic norms. It also gives you room to expand the range later if you wish.

There are two biggest optical issues about stroke weight at the moment. 

First, it seems like maybe you have made the horizontal and vertical stroke thicknesses mathematically the same. This is a problem because it LOOKS like your horizontals are heavier than your verticals as a result.

Second, you need to have at least a little thinning where a stroke splits off from another, otherwise it looks bolder at that intersection!

You will find these and some other issues covered in various places, but this video of mine covers these most obvious problems you are currently facing, plus some others you may find helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR-CG5eB3nQ

DiegoSouza

Trying to add to Phinney's comment, to me seems that the J doesn't fit with the overall texture and characteristics of the typeface, the terminal being above the baseline and so high certainly will provoke pockets of white space and dictating a dissonant rythm. 

D could be more wider but it can be a style preference specially for you 

8 needs to be wider specially at the thin size, ( not that much) 

and i would like to say that e, c and s looks really great (talking about curves and proportion but it's missing optical compensation for sure)

Hope that it helps, but take my comments with a grain of salt, i'm a novice in type design trying to become a professional 

Adam Ladd

From a zoomed-out perspective, perhaps the design intent needs focused a little more... in some glyphs it gives a natural or 'crude' free-hand-lettered look, in others they look more even and precise (aside from some shape, balance, proportion refinements). If going for hand-lettered like you mentioned, maybe lean more into the former in spots to be clearer of it's intent (or vice versa if wanting something a little cleaner)?

John Savard

My general take on this typeface is that it's a good display typeface - once the technical issues outlined by the other posters are dealt with. But while the text sample shows it can be used for extended text, I can't really think of it as a text typeface.