TYPOGRAPHY - Task 3:Type Design & Communication

LECTURES DURATION: Week 9 - Week 14

NAME: SITI NUR HASYIMAH ISMAIL

STUDENT ID: 0348369

PROGRAM: BACHELOR IN FASHION DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Instructions

2. Task

3. Feedback

4.. Reflection

5. Further Readings

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Select a preferred font from the 10 fonts provided. Using the following letters H,o,g,b, do a detaildissection of the letters (see attached) in Adobe Illustrator (artboard size: 1000pt x 1000pt). Write your observations in the eportfolio). 

2. Sketch the following letters HOGB & hogb (in both lowercase and uppercase). There are two methods you can use: 

a) You can write your letters using a marker pen on a graph paper (nib size 3.0). 

The broad-edge pen  (aka. flat nib)

The flexible pointed pen (aka. pointed nib / brush)

The pointed pen (aka. ball point pen, rounded felt-tip)

 

b) Which ever method you use, set a baseline, ascender, descender and cap line before creating your letters. You must eventually produce 3-5 design options of HOGB & hogb.

TASK

Type Design and Communication

1. Visual Reference/ Research

For the font design, I want to create a style that is futuristic and sci-fi inspired, with bold or semi-bold weight. So, here are a few key elements I was searching for when looking for my references:

Key Elements:

• Bold geometric  
• Futuristic  
• Ink traps  
• Minimal  
• Eurostile  

2. Deconstruction

Before we began designing our own typeface, we were instructed to look for typefaces that resemble the style we aim to create and deconstruct their anatomy to identify characteristics we can use or replicate in our own design.

X-Height (Red Line)

• Large x-height: The main body of lowercase letters is tall compared to ascenders and descenders.

• Flat ends: Stroke terminals are cut straight or at sharp angles, never rounded.

Overshoot (Yellow Line)

• Ramp-style overshoot: Instead of a rounded arc going slightly above the line, the top of letters like "S", "h", or the bowl of "u" ends with a short, straight diagonal slant.

Vertical Stems (Green Squares)

•  Vertical stems are consistent: All main upright parts (in "h", "i", "k", "l", "m", "n", etc.)
  have the exact same thickness — that's what the matching green squares prove.

• Horizontal strokes are thinner: Crossbars and horizontal segments (like the top bar in "k", the middle bar in "H", or parts of "g") are made slightly narrower than the verticals.

• This subtle difference creates a small amount of contrast — just enough to make the letters feel more balanced and readable, without breaking the geometric, mechanical look.

Ink Trap (Purple Lines)

`

• Ink Trap: In this typeface, the designer uses a different style: wide, rectangular (or square) gaps at junctions instead of pointed notches.

• These wider gaps serve the same purpose — they create extra negative space at stroke intersections so corners stay open and crisp, especially in bold weights.

• It also keeps the ultra-geometric, machine-built aesthetic: everything is flat and straight, so rectangular cuts fit better than angled notches.

What is Ink Trap?

An ink trap is a small notch or cut deliberately added to the inner corners where strokes meet in a bold typeface. It was originally designed to compensate for ink spread in traditional printing: the extra space "traps" the excess ink so tight corners don't fill in and become rounded or clogged.

Original purpose (functional)

• Classic ink traps (small angled notches) were created for letterpress and offset printing.
• They compensated for ink spread: the notch “traps” excess ink so tight corners stay sharp instead of filling in.

Modern use (mostly aesthetic)

In digital design and screen use, ink bleed doesn’t happen, so ink traps are no longer needed functionally. Designers now use them as a stylistic choice to:

• Give bold geometric fonts a sharp, technical, mechanical look.
• Add visual interest and rhythm.
• Create a retro-futuristic, industrial, or brutalist vibe.

Examples of Ink Traps

3. Sketches

Font Skecth - hogb 

I then continued developing four different designs for the chosen letters—h, o, g, and b. I also incorporated the design elements I discovered while deconstructing my typeface reference into my own work.

This is the first design.  

A hand-sketched chunky geometric wordmark with thick, rounded strokes and playful curves (especially that cheeky lowercase “g”). I wanted to keep it bold and futuristic but make it feel warm and friendly instead of cold and robotic.

This is the second design.  

Super-rounded, almost pill-shaped letters with very thick strokes and tiny counters. It ended up feeling too soft and safe, almost like a friendly kids’ logo instead of the bold futuristic vibe I was chasing. I ditched this direction because it lost all the sharp, mechanical energy I wanted.

This is the third design.  

Back to all caps with super-sharp corners and aggressive ink traps carved into every junction. I pushed the cuts deeper and made the letters feel almost brutal and robotic. It’s cold, industrial, and has that raw sci-fi energy I was after, way sharper than the first two tries.

This is the fourth design.  

Still all caps, but I refined the ink traps to be cleaner and more consistent, tightened the spacing, and made every cut feel precise and intentional. It’s basically the third design evolved: same brutal sci-fi attitude, but sharper, tighter, and way more polished. This one became my favorite.

This is the design I ended up choosing for my final design.

4. Digitising the Font Design

I began by digitising all of my sketch designs to see how they would translate in Illustrator. After reviewing them, I decided to move forward with the fourth design because it best represents my original intention: geometric, bold, and sci‑fi inspired. I also wanted to incorporate ink traps into the typeface, and the fourth design provided the perfect foundation for that.

Font Design I Decided to Proceed With After Digitising each design.

I continued developing the final designs for all the letters from A to Z. This is how they look when presented together. Below, I’ve also included information about my typeface metrics.

Typeface Metrics:

• Ascender height: 745pt
• Descender depth: -255pt
• X‑height: 500pt
• Overshoot: No overshoot

Close-up Views of Selected Letters

h / g

n / k

5. Transferring the Font Designs to FontLab

Transferring the letters and punctuation from Adobe Illustrator.

Before Kerning

After Kerning

I kerned each letter by adjusting the sidebearings on both sides of the glyph. For this design, I set the sidebearings to 50 pt on each side to maintain consistent spacing across the typeface.

Lastly, I tested the font by typing in the Preview window to see how the characters performed together. This is the final result, and the typeface is now ready for export.

6. Poster

After exporting the font, we were tasked with creating a simple poster using our newly designed typeface. I showed my poster to Miss Vitiya, and it was approved.

CONSTRUCTA : A Minimal Futuristic Display Typeface

I wanted to create a clean, bold, and futuristic typeface that feels strong but simple. The final design, CONSTRUCTA, uses thick geometric letters with small sharp gaps cut out wherever two lines meet. These gaps make the letters look super crisp and mechanical, like something from a sci-fi movie or a high-tech machine. I put them in almost every corner and junction to give the whole alphabet a tough, modern, and slightly brutal look while still keeping it minimal and easy to read.

PDF File

FEEDBACK

Week 12

General Feedback: Briefing on Task 4 - Compilation and reflection.

Specific Feedback: We were advised to refer to previous students’ e-blogs as guidance for our final compilation. The compilation must include all tasks completed throughout the course, and a download link for the font we designed must also be included. I also showed Miss Vitiya my final font outcome and the poster designed using the font, both of which were approved.

Week 13

General Feedback: Continue working on final compilation & received Task 3 feedback.

Specific Feedback: This week, there was no lecture. We continued working on our final compilation for the blog post. I also received advice on my blog post, and Miss Vitiya selected the final poster.

REFLECTION

Experience

Creating my own typeface for Task 3 was a new but exciting challenge. Designing the letters in Illustrator felt familiar, but turning them into a functional font in FontLab was something I had never done before. Learning how to import glyphs, adjust spacing, and export a usable font made the whole process feel surprisingly achievable. By the end, I had created a real working typeface, which was a big milestone for me.

Observation

This task made me notice how much precision goes into type design. Small details like curve consistency, stroke weight, and spacing have a huge impact on how a font feels. Working in FontLab also showed me the technical side of typography — especially how metrics and alignment affect readability. Seeing my letters come together inside a proper font editor helped me understand why professional fonts look so polished.

Finding

I discovered that creating a typeface is much more accessible than I expected. The workflow between Illustrator and FontLab is clear and repeatable, and it’s something I can see myself using for future projects. This task strengthened my interest in typography and showed me that type design is not just creative but also systematic. Now that I know the basics, I feel confident about designing more fonts on my own.