The FontStruct community has proven that its members can breathe life into the grid, make the organic from the static, and push modularity to its creative limits. That’s why we have no qualms in assigning you with a formidable challenge for the next FontStruct competition: scripts!

This, of course, raises the question: what is a script? It’s a fair query. Some define the classification much more broadly than others. Scripts are most commonly and fundamentally derived from writing, but that leaves a lot of room for variation and interpretation. A formal copperplate script is as worthy of the title as the freehand bounce of a sign painter’s brush.

Must the letters be connected? Not all handwriting is cursive, after all. Some folks lift their pen off the paper from time to time, or even between every letter, as in the case of “print” writing.

These professional typefaces from FontShop offer an idea of the variety of lettershapes and stroke connections that scripts can embody. From top to bottom: Tangier, FIG Script, Bickham Script, Cottingley, Handsome, Bery Script, BistroScript.

In the end, scripts always reach back to a common ancestory: handwriting. But must it look like it was made by hand? A typeface can be as geometric and constructed as FIG and rightfully be called a script. And we’ve already challenged you to explore the “handmade”. So, for this competition, the core requirement will be a connected script.

Design your FontStructions so letters connect in the most natural and/or innovative way. Keep in mind that connections don’t always need to be at the baseline, or share a common height, throughout the glyph set. And if a letter just doesn’t feel right with a connection, omit the link. (BistroScript, for example, flows naturally, even though it’s ‘s’ doesn’t meet neighbors to the right.) With this guideline in mind, you’re allowed up to 5 linkless lowercase glyphs. Your uppercase, numbers, and punctuation don’t need to connect — but they may catch the jury’s eye if they do!

Other than that, the brief is fairly open. For this competition, as long as your lowercase glyphs are independently distinguishable and connect to each other, it’s a script! Of course, the judges will be looking for original and well-executed entries overall, but they will focus on the most graceful or inventive connections. It’s all about the flow.

While it’s the most underrepresented category on FontStruct, there are several notable scripts in the Gallery. Here are some fine examples of what can be done. Top to bottom: High Voltage (shasta, featured in PCWorld), Bromance (em42), fs grayletter (thalamic), Dry Heat (CMunk, a set of three fonts for connection options).

Competition Time Period

May 23 – June 14, 2013

Competition Rules

1. You must be a registered FontStruct user.
2. Your submission must have a connecting lowercase, with up to 5 exempt (unlinked) glyphs.
3. Your submission(s) must be posted and made “public” between May 23 – June 14 2013. Although you are encouraged to share your submission(s) at any time between these dates, your FontStruction submission(s) must be public (marked “share with everyone”) no later then June 14 at 11pm PST. Additionally, your submission(s) must remain public until June 30 in order to give the judges enough time to review all qualifying entries.
4. Your submission(s) must be tagged with a “Scriptcomp” tag. (For fairness, during the competition time period, no FontStruction with the “Scriptcomp” tag will be awarded a Top Pick or be available for a Featured FontStruction pick.)
5. Your submission(s) must be downloadable. If your FontStruction cannot be downloaded, the submission will be disqualified.
6. Your submission must be a newly published FontStruction. Simply adding the “Scriptcomp” tag to an already published font is not allowed.
7. For each submission, you must post at least one sample image in the comments of the FontStruction.
8. No letters in each submission can be MORE THAN 48 bricks high.
9. FontStruct cloning is permitted but the judges will be looking for original work.
10. You may enter up to three FontStructions to the competition.
11. This is a friendly competition. Cheering, favoriting and fun banter is encouraged but cruel and uncivil behavior will not be tolerated.
12. No rules regarding licensing. You may choose any Creative Commons license you like for your FontStruction.

Tips

• The new Kites, Shards, and Fins bricks may come in handy for this genre.
• Connecting strokes can be part of each glyph, or they can be a separate character (such as the space) that elegantly binds letters together.
• Connecting strokes can be on either side of the glyph — or both!

Judging and announcing the winners

All qualifying FontStructions will by judged by the FontStruct staff and guest judges, June 15–30. Three prizewinners will be chosen. One of these will be the FontStructors’ Favorite. Winners will be announced in a FontStruct Blog post on July 2.

Prizes

Each winner will receive their choice of

• a signed and numbered copy of the FontStruct poster
• a signed copy of the book The Geometry of Type

In addition, all winners will have their winning FontStructions posted as Featured FontStructions for two weeks after the winners are announced.

FontStructors’ Favorite

The valid entry with the greatest number of legitimate favorites at 11pm PST on June 14 will be one of the three prizewinners.

Spread the Word

Tell your friends. The button floating above every FontStruction is a really quick and easy way to point your friends and followers to your work. Maybe you can drum up some more   s for your entry in that way, or entice some novice FontStructors into the game.

Questions?

If you have questions just add them as comments to this post.

Let’s get FontStructing!