112145527
Published: 3rd September, 2011
Last edited: 14th September, 2011
Created: 10th February, 2010
This fontstruction was started a long time ago. Yesterday, being bored (or something), I randomly clicked on page 7 of My FontStructions and found this. Being bored (or something), I clicked Edit.
Back in February 2010, I was able to take this fs only so far and came to a halt owing to geometry and FontStructor limitations. Those limitations, for the most part, seemed to have disappeared in the intervening time. I must've felt encouraged as I've been working on this fs all day today. As it turns out, when you work on something long enough, something will emerge. Et voilà. (I jest. ;)
Oh the soap box syndrome!
Visual aesthetics require two elements, namely, art and design. Let's examine each, shall we, the better to understand whence this came from and to what purpose.
Art has as many meanings as there are people giving them. For me, art is that visual that appeals to one, the stress being on 'one', and serves no practical purpose. Design, on the other hand, by definition*, must serve some purpose, must be reasonably attractive to those for who it is intended, and must stay within the limitation (whether explicit or implicit) of all that is (or will be) involved.
This and every other fontstruction, being visual in nature, has an element of art in it. Keeping the above art definition in mind, and as far as this fs is concerned, the art was my personal aspiration to try to do a diagonal stem of the A and the M and have the rest of the letters in such formation so that they fit like a glove with the A and M (without any effort on the user's part — but that jumps ahead to design). The February 2010 version of the FontStructor allowed me to achieve that very well. The art part was a start (yes, sorry, I couldn't resist the rhyme).
In my experience, any visual thing, no matter how simple or complex; no matter how involved or not; how unique or generic; how &c. and &c. may be termed art as if any one person appreciates it, it is art, albeit to that person only. So, I am satisfied how this fs looks, so the art is done. Also as per my personal experience, design is a much harder, difficult, involved element of getting something done right that also requires appropriate technical know-how to see it to fruition. The February 2010 version of the FontStructor did not allow the 'fit like a glove without user intervention' part. This morning when I started working on this fs, the September 2011 version of the FontStructor allowed me to do almost all that I wanted it to. (I say 'almost' because there were one or two custom bricks I required that I was unable to achieve, quite possibly due to my own inability).
The design confine [—if art gets a rhyme, so shall design—], with every letter overlapping just so, required quite a lot of geometric manipulation (not particularly apparent) to make sure any two letters fitted in properly. It got tedious quick fast in-a-hurry typing out manual kerning pairs (AM, ST, &c.). I had to type out all kerning pairs (AB, AC…RI, RJ, RK…SM, SN, SO…VS, VT, VY…ZZ…&c.) in Word (utilizing handy Replace functionality to speed kerning pair creation) and test every possible pair (even ones that are likely never to be used in reality—QK, for instance).
This being a design exercise, there had to be a purpose. My thinking was, staying within the limitations created by the art part, the font should work as an instant logo delivery system. Type a word in fs Instant—and, hey presto!, Logo (a gogo). It’s up to you to decide if I succeeded.
We (the place where I work) are attempting to brand ourselves because our field is getting a bit too crowded and we don't want to get lost in the clutter. In the process, we are exploring a lot of different styles. Not that we are unsure how we want to proceed or what our positioning will be, we want to ensure nothing obvious is overlooked. In the process, a lot of ideas are generated, some discarded outright while others —as long are they support the planned positioning— are pursued long enough to recognize if they are worth exploring further...or not.
Some letters from this font were developed as part of one of the proposed wordmark. Overall, it works without breaking any of our internally established rules. The problem is one of extensibility and adaptability for unforeseen future needs which this font is prone to cause owing to its personality. The logo work was done in Illustrator, of course. However, to see if the typeface has potential beyond the few glyphs of the wordmark (and not in small part due to its modular nature), I worked out the remainder of the letters here in the fontstructor. :-)
I'd appreciate it if I could have your constructive criticism on each or any of the glyphs and how they could be improved. Specifically, I am trying to avoid awkwardness in the coming together of any two letters. As you can see, it's very much a work-in-progress.
77124627
Published: 23rd May, 2010
Last edited: 23rd May, 2010
Created: 23rd January, 2010
An unoriginal idea that's been sitting around for a while. Don't go by the January 2010 creation date, no; this is a clone of a clone of a different idea (which may see the light of day yet...or not, whichever comes first ;).This is a clone
124104828
Published: 28th September, 2009
Last edited: 22nd November, 2012
Created: 28th September, 2009
It's elemental.This is a clone of fs Bas Relief
6998316
Published: 29th August, 2009
Last edited: 29th August, 2009
Created: 27th January, 2009
For use at pixel level. Also works at 32pt×x, where x=1,2,4,8,etc. ----- This font has been a long time in the making. The dots are such that the curved shapes and squared-off letters just would not resolve to an equal height no matter what I tried. Then after the mixed x-height that came about in yesterday's la Cross, it occurred to me to just let the letters be as tall as they wanted to be. It seems to work for some odd reason. Can someone please explain why it works?This is a clone
71106016
Published: 25th August, 2009
Last edited: 10th December, 2022
Created: 24th August, 2009
This one started out quite different; a simple three-line font. While making an alternate B, the curlicue was introduced. A clone and many hours later, Etched was born. Later added borders and decorations when the sample called for it. Then cloned the clone and stripped it bare...because DJNippa was going to ask for it, wasn't he!. :-) ----- Works best at 64pt. Set leading to between 48pt and 56pt. No kerning required.
Top borders: [ \ ] Bottom borders: { | } Top border decoration: ~ Bottom border decoration: / Left border: ( Right border: ) Text decoration: _ Text decoration end (ambidextrous): `This is a clone of fs Etched
121176233
Published: 24th August, 2009
Last edited: 24th August, 2009
Created: 23rd August, 2009
This one started out quite different; a simple three-line font. While making an alternate B, the curlicue was introduced. A clone and many hours later, Etched was born. Later added borders and decorations when the sample called for it. ----- Works best at 64pt. Set leading to 48pt for a single dividing line in between, 52pt for a double dividing line, and 56pt for a clear break between lines. No kerning required.
Start a new line with < and end it with >.
Top borders: [ \ ] Bottom borders: { | } Top border decoration: ~ Bottom border decoration: / Left border: ( Right border: ) Text decoration: _ Text decoration end (ambidextrous): `This is a clone of fs Etched [Nyle]
9710988
Published: 15th August, 2009
Last edited: 23rd November, 2009
Created: 15th August, 2009
This started out as a 'why not'. When it showed potential, I added more glyphs to round out the character set.
— Alt. t at { for words beginning with it.
— ll (double l) lig. at } for a nicer fit.This is a clone of fs Fontsration
7612567187
Published: 25th May, 2009
Last edited: 24th August, 2012
Created: 23rd May, 2009
I filled it, kix. :) ----- It appears as a clone because that's where it started but every character is built from scratch. kix' brilliant original is an understatement of perfection, using the least amount of bricks for such a grand effect. However, it left not much space inside for any kind of meaningful rendering. Had to quadruple each glyph in order to get enough brick space inside to get some effect going. In the process I came to appreciate the true brilliance of the design and the awesomeness of certain characters. G, for instance. I have scaled everything up, but have not taken any liberties with the shapes—they are true to the original. If a certain glyph is off, it is due to my ineffective eye and not borne out of a desire to change the original. (Point it out, and I'll correct it). Hope you like it. ----- I live in the third-world; it is summer (well, it is here). Consequently, unannounced power outages 2, 5, 8 times a day are standard operating procedure. While/when we have power, my ISP may not. Consequently, unannounced internet outages 3, 4, 7 times a day are standard operating procedure. Out of 24 hours, I get 3, 4 hours of internet access on a good day. Everything everywhere is UPS'd up the wazoo. Still, UPSes need power to recharge. I never know when the computer might shut down or lose the internet connection. Consequently, I have become a master S-pusher. Sorry for the server load, admins. :-)This is a clone
9661417263
Published: 10th August, 2008
Last edited: 24th June, 2009
Created: 10th August, 2008
this electricity
injected into me
emotions running over me
and when you're getting close
you touch my innermost
a feeling deep inside me knows
—"circuit breaker", röyksopp