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High Contrast Serif

stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
edited August 2012 in Type Design Critiques
Hi,

This is the first typeface I've designed and am using it as an opportunity to learn more about the craft. Your honest and constructive feedback would be welcome. Do your worst!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lywyqjiqkfz5cvc/Screen Shot 2012-08-31 at 9.19.18 AM.png

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g3qp1307g4kev8n/tj4VtLHnhE/PDF PROOF.pdf

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    James PuckettJames Puckett Posts: 1,970
    Please link some images into your post and add a PDF proof for people to look at.
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    stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
    I've edited the post with links to the images. Does that work?
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    James PuckettJames Puckett Posts: 1,970
    Good enough.
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    ThomasJockinThomasJockin Posts: 26
    Hey there,

    Would you mind posting up a PDF with word samples?
    We can give more constructive feedback if we see your font in words.
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    stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
    Thanks Thomas. Something like this?

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/gm4pa333lk10g06/ZIGGY.pdf
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
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    stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
    Done.
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    Craig EliasonCraig Eliason Posts: 1,398
    Review the widths of letters. Which ones look too narrow (compressed), which ones too wide (sprawling)? Get some control characters set to the width you want (e.g. H) and then use them as a guide for your eye when assessing the other letters.
    Are the curves and the stems the same width at their fattest? They actually shouldn't be: to appear optically equal, curves thicks will need to be mathematically wider than straight thicks.
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    PabloImpallariPabloImpallari Posts: 778
    Reminds me of Anlee, Didoni, Carrousel, Eloquent (also PirogiRoman, Galeree, Eloquent, Sahara Bodoni and a lot of different names).
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    stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
    Thanks for the constructive feedback Craig. Really much appreciated!
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    PabloImpallariPabloImpallari Posts: 778
    http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/nicksfonts/spiffily-nf/
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    Max PhillipsMax Phillips Posts: 474
    This is clearly a typeface of a well-established type. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's also less value in it than in a more original design. So, in addition to refining the proportions and the quality of the drawing, you might want to think about ways to evolve this into something that's more clearly your own. Right now the K's the most individual letter for me. Right now it's also pretty rough, though; the juncture is very heavy and dark. The angled leg and the straight stem probably shouldn't be overlapping. But that ball terminal could be the start of something festive and a bit different.

    You should look closely at your outlines, too. The transition from straight to curved is often very abrupt, especially in the counters, and not always consistent from letter to letter.

    The tails of the Q and the comma both seem a bit stubby.

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    stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
    Thanks Max. Yeah this really is just a vehicle for me to learn more about the process, technicalities and art of typography. I'm not planning to release it. This is exactly the specific type of input I'm looking for. Thank you. I'll definitely look at fixing these issues and also how the K could inform how the rest of the typeface can absorb some of its personality and therefore have it stand on its own more. I am very much aware that there ate other very similar faces out there but I'm trying not to look at them an see how close I can get on my own. Thanks again for the feedback. Much appreciated.
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    Nick ShinnNick Shinn Posts: 2,145
    edited September 2012
    What Max says. Rather than a technical/styling exercise, it would be better to build on a foundation of original design, and address technical and styling issues in relation to the design, as they occur. A good method is to resolve a design concept/brief based on two principles, which may conflict in execution. Resolving such conflicts exercises your taste in expressing the look and functionality of your idea, not refering to someone else's design. This is my method frequently, e.g. Bodoni Egyptian; the only faces I referred to when working on this were Bodoni, not slabs; this enabled my design decisions to be "pure" formalism, and not colored by what other designers had done in faces of the same genre.

    For instance (suggested by your K): in the extra bold didone style, what if all triangular serifs were replaced with balls?
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    stewartscstewartsc Posts: 7
    All good points Nickster and definitely and ongoing project. It'll be interesting to see how it develops. Thanks for the constructive feedback. Looking forward to pushing this one further. Also, had a look at your Bodini Egyptian. Very nice work Sir. Kudos.
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