Needy Italics on a Friday Night

Michael Vokits
Michael Vokits Posts: 214
in Type Design Critiques
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Hello, all. Nothing else to do (kids and fiancée are asleep), so I thought I'd post and beg for advice. I've been trying to make an italic to match this oldstyle roman, but I just can't get it right. To my admittedly untrained eyes, this italic is too stiff, formal, restrained and yet too... ornate? It has the mechanical rigidity of a Didone but lacks the grace and details. It seems more pedantic parody than living design.

Comments

  • Martin Silvertant
    Martin Silvertant Posts: 166
    edited November 2014
    Could I see this in context? The first thing I do notice is the unusually large gap in Q. I'm not sure if an open Q like that is the best option anyway. /C seems particularly stiff.
  • Jacques Le Bailly
    Jacques Le Bailly Posts: 93
    Maybe try to make it a little bit less narrow. This will also allow you to make the forms more round, which might fit the roman better.
  • Michael Vokits
    Michael Vokits Posts: 214
    Hello. Did some serious redesign, and the (lengthy) specimen shows the roman then the italic. The family's name ("MignonV") is strictly temporary -- please don't judge my lack of naming skills.
  • Martin Silvertant
    Martin Silvertant Posts: 166
    I think h/m/n/y and particularly /r could be more condensed. The spacing after /t could also be tighter. The /e is slightly falling backwards.

    I also think the letters with ascenders are probably too vertical. I feel there is too much tension between the angles.
  • Michael Vokits
    Michael Vokits Posts: 214
    New forms. Still not sure about the "too vertical" -- you're right, but I'm not sure how to fix it... I'm trying to follow the rules and have less of an angle for taller/longer glyphs than for shorter, but I'm probably overdoing the difference!

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