3D Typography: your thoughts?

Peter Davis

Sometimes a font is not 2D. Whether letterforms are cast in bronze from an EPS file, or extruded in 3D modelling software for rendering, the same issues come up. Sometimes those tiny (important) details are lost, sometimes the entire personality is changed.

These processes often involve adding a slight chamfered edge (either to aid the physical processes or to add realism in the rendering), which artificially changes the weight of the font. It's like trusting a web browser with faux bold.

• Should we be designing fonts that are equipped to take on a 3D form? Perhaps they already exist.
• Are there certain features to avoid in a font to reduce the problems with going 3D?
• Most interesting to me: how "thick" is a font anyway? Obviously it's whatever you want, but typographically speaking.. is there a formula for that? Do you ever imagine how thick your favourite font would be if it were sitting on your desk? Perhaps it should be no thicker than the stem or stroke?

I'd be really interested in your views.

Nick Shinn

In answer to your first question, I recall letterforms that were created from shadows cast by bits of wire that looked nothing like letters.

I designed a 2D extruded font once, and made a lot of optical adjustments; that leads me to believe that modulating the depth of the surface behind a 3D piece of lettering might achieve a similar improvement, but I suspect it would only work from a specific angle of view.

I don’t feel qualified to comment further on this, having no practical experience as a designer of environmental graphics, nor having been involved in projects in which my type has been rendered in 3D. I have seen some of my types in 3D, e.g. store front signage, but didn’t pay any attention to the issues you’ve raised.

Peter Davis

Thanks Nick, that's an intriguing thought. That angle of view does concern me. I have a feeling there might be a maximum depth beyond which legibility suffers, but I'm going to do some tests. I think I found the shadows you mentioned. I wonder what issues might come up from cast shadows and whether certain details in the design of a font can take them into consideration. Interesting stuff.

Lucas Leo Catalano

Back when I was in a graphic design studio I had to turn a logo into an animated 3D intro.

With the letters I found that the shading of each surface important for legibility. The main surface had to be the lightest. Also found that the shadow contrast on the letter shape and it's surfaces needed to be just right; too much and it would seem like a warped 2D letter with a black outline; too little and letters like A would turn into a diamond shaped blob. So, I don't think there is an Ideal depth provided there is optimal surface shading.

I also felt cylindrical or sausage like 3D type looked horrid, but a slight chamfered edge desirable provided it does not soften the 2D form too much. There are some 3D object stock letters out there that you can get, also some experimental 3D type, but because I was forced to work with a set typeface in a logo I had to do the quick and dirty just-add-Z-depth-to-your-vector-shape conversion to make a 3D shape out of the logo.

Also, the original typeface on the logo was a hairline sans. When it was seen directly forward it had it's usual 2D charm, but when it moved to an upward and slightly angled point the typeface turned into something closer to calligraphic. So, I had to swap the hairline weight with the regular to keep the same personality.

Jan Willem Wennekes

Interesting post, especially with the rise of 3D printing and DIY 3D printers. I think it would really depend on the use - lots of businesses have their logo or wordmark made into 3D on the outside of their buildings, which might be an obvious reference? Lots of those are badly done too though I wouldn't really know how to equip a typeface with 3D information though?

Those shadows are awesome by the way.

Peter Davis

Good advice Lucas, that's very useful. Jan Willem - I know exactly what you mean! Whenever I pass this sign (it should come up in streetview), I see that poor logo suffering from the huge chamfered edge. You don't even need to know the original Halfords logo to see the damage. Look at that lowercase R

Jan Willem Wennekes

Goodness me, ouch

I was thinking more along the lines of stuff like this: http://www.imageafter.com/dbase/images/scripts/b15scripts014.jpg, where the typeface is actually created in 3D by just making it a certain depth. Such a depth works well from certain angles but it always stops somewhere. In the image linked for example, the point of view angle is ok for me for the last letter, but the first is already suffering...

Or take a look at this one (which I feel works pretty well): 1.bp.blogspot.com/-17sRAXlwQkU/TbX1-UOi1QI/AAAAAAAAAhI/zuELGRf6Xr4/s1600/DSCN2744.JPG

But those kind of signs, like the one you posted, are quite bad as well

Jan Willem Wennekes

of course, duly noted, you were talking about 3D rendering in software and not 3D creation of actual typefaces in real life - I was only alluding to those because of the rise of 3D printers and the upcoming possibilities of printing text (logos) in 3D in the near future...

Peter Davis

Oh wow, I like your examples - particularly the second! Perhaps I need to reframe my research entirely: "what kind of font is most suitable for climbing?"