{"id":2341,"date":"2013-06-28T03:26:20","date_gmt":"2013-06-28T10:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2024-05-11T13:39:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T20:39:14","slug":"connected-script-competition-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/2013\/06\/28\/connected-script-competition-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Connected Script Competition Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month<\/a>, when we challenged you to emulate handwritten scripts using only the grid and bricks of FontStruct, it could be argued that we contradicted the very nature of modular type. But we\u2019ve learned through experience \u2014 and four other competitions \u2014 that this tool is limited only by the imagination of our FontStructors. As we expected, many of you rose to this difficult challenge. It was tricky for the judges, Rob Meek and myself, to pick winners from the 56 entries<\/a>, many of which were quite innovative, original, and appealing. But after comparing notes (and a bit of cheerleading here and there) we agreed on three clear champions in the Connected Script Competition.<\/p>\n

And the winners are\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Each of our three selections answered the \u201cConnected Script\u201d call in their own unique way, and they demonstrated skill and creativity above and beyond the other entries. Without further ado, let\u2019s look at each of these FontStructed scripts in more detail.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Stiff Script<\/a> by Upixel<\/a><\/h3>\n

Michel Troy (Upixel) strikes a self-deprecating note when he describes his entry as a \u201cvery rough script\u201d with glyphs that are \u201cvery unsightly\u201d. But he acknowledges that, when its letters are combined to form words, Stiff Script has an undeniable charm. The judges recognized that on very first glance. Its pieces are linked with a very simple 45-degree stroke, yet Stiff Script manages a very even, handwritten flow despite the inherent rigidity of its forms. The sprightly, angular effect is reminiscent of the lively lettering found in mid-century advertising, logos<\/a>, and signage<\/a>. Still, the overall feeling of this design isn\u2019t necessarily retro, as observed by four<\/a>, a fellow Scriptcomp champion. The character set is essentially lowercase only, which freed up the uppercase slots for alternate \u201cinitial\u201d forms that can be used to start words in a cleaner, more natural way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jalgas<\/a> by architaraz<\/a><\/h3>\n

Over his last couple of years on FontStruct, the Kazakhstan-born, Shanghai-based Zhalgas Kassymkulov (architaraz) has gained a reputation for creating inventive lettershapes and building fonts with an organic flow. So it\u2019s no surprise that he excelled in the Script Competition. From a purely typographic perspective, Jalgas is the most imaginative design in the competition, with many glyphs that, while still legible, are entirely new. Despite a slightly irregular rhythm, words cascade gracefully across the screen. Zhalgas even noted that his design can survive (maybe even thrive?) with a faux italic skew<\/a>. There is a lot to praise about Jalgas \u2014\u00a0more than we have space to detail here \u2014 so I\u2019ll just finish off with the astute comments of will.i.\u0ad0<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Wickedly stylish. I love your use of propeller bricks<\/a> in the connections and the implied dimensionality of the bridged loops. Script and stencil. Nice!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

lupo<\/a> by four<\/a><\/h3>\n

Among the handful of finalists under consideration by the judges, lupo generated the most discussion and controversy. If this font were to stand on its own, outside the context of the competition, no typographer would classify it as a \u201cscript\u201d typeface. Still, we cannot deny the sheer ingenuity displayed by Paul Bokslag (four) in his response to the core requirement of the challenge: connections. Each glyph is wider than its sidebearings and features a gap, like an open circuit, that is closed only when another letter follows and overlaps its neighbor. Every word creates a continuous line that runs over the top and bottom of letters, looping at their connections. But lupo isn’t just a gimmick. The shapes of the letters themselves are interesting \u2014 bulbous and bold, the kind of friendly, engaging design that could be put to good use on product packaging or a children\u2019s book.<\/p>\n

In my brief for the Connected Script Competition I was painfully vague about the definition of script<\/em>. So, as if in open defiance of that term, Bokslag focused on a connection<\/em> scheme so brilliant it simply must be rewarded. Well done, sir.<\/p>\n

lupo was incidentally\u00a0also the “People’s choice” with the most number of favorites when the deadline passed.<\/p>\n

Honorable mentions<\/h3>\n

There were so many strong and prizeworthy entries, we can’t mention them all, but FontStructions which were discussed in the latter stages of judging included:<\/p>\n

db Lineo<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0beate<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 interesting, useful and attractive. A winner on another day.<\/p>\n

Artificial Script<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a01saac<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 part of an impressive, coherent and growing family.<\/p>\n

The Ugly Script<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0cablecomputer<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 finely-crafted crudity. Not ugly at all.<\/p>\n

Neonic<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0CMunk<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 “The letters connect to each other, even though they are unconnected to themselves”. Profoundly metaphysical FontStructing!<\/p>\n

Djangogh Unpenned<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0will.i.\u0ad0<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the FontStructing pioneer exhibits his wonderful, unique style and astonishing attention to detail.<\/p>\n

Emblazoned<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0aphoria<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 A top-drawer “connected chrome<\/a>\u201d script. I can’t wait to see this one cast in metal.<\/p>\n

and\u00a0zelemin eYe\/FS<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0elmoyenique<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 entering four competitions at once. It’s an outline, a stencil, an italic, and a script font. And it works!<\/p>\n

Thanks!<\/h3>\n

Winners will be contacted by email to be faced with the choice of either a signed and numbered FontStruct poster<\/a>, or a signed copy of the book\u00a0The Geometry of Type<\/cite><\/a>. Thanks to all entrants and bantering bystanders for another great competition. FontStruct is in many ways a collaborative community and we were especially heartened by the way so many participants commented on the entries of others, lending technical support, design feedback, and sincere well wishes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Competition:<\/a>
The results are out for the latest FontStruct competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-competition-results","category-competitions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2341"}],"version-history":[{"count":67,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2799,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions\/2799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}