{"id":4052,"date":"2021-08-02T00:58:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T07:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/?p=4052"},"modified":"2021-08-11T09:37:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T16:37:47","slug":"gridfolk-interview-with-v-sarela-yautja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/2021\/08\/02\/gridfolk-interview-with-v-sarela-yautja\/","title":{"rendered":"Gridfolk: Interview with V. Sarela (Yautja)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post<\/strong> from Ata Syed<\/a> AKA thalamic<\/a> and minimum<\/a>, the second in a summer series, continuing the \u201cFocus on Fontstructors\u201d tradition of interviews with members of FontStruct\u2019s designer community. Ata has been FontStructing since 2008.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Psychologists may have a definitive answer to the question, \u201cwhy do we like anything?\u201d Or not. I do not know. It goes without saying I am no psychologist. Will that prevent me from answering the question\u2026without research? Absolutely not. Read on to find out how many ways I get that wrong. :-)<\/p>\n

In between spouting psychological hearsay, what I hope to get right in this second interview of Gridfolk 2021 is the work, life, and times of Mr. V. Sarela, better known\u2014to those of us who have been around FontStruct since the early days\u2014as Yautja<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Memogo<\/p>\n

Memogo<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Born in 1989, Mr. V. Sarela hails from Raahe, Finland but calls \u201cOulu, Finland<\/span>\u201d home, \u201cwhere I\u2019ve lived for most of my life.<\/span>\u201d This is why it is completely easy to accept when he says, \u201cI speak Finnish and English fluently, and a little bit of Swedish. My thoughts are half Finnish, half English. Been trying to learn Japanese lately.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

On his educational background, he explains, \u201cIn 2010, I graduated from Lybecker Institute of Crafts and Design, with a vocational qualification in audiovisual communication. That encompasses many kinds of multimedia fields, including graphic design.<\/span>\u201d As we all need to earn a living, for work, Yautja says, \u201cI have my own small business, through which I do music production and graphic design. It\u2019s the field that I most enjoy, but clients are scarce. Hopefully, I can also sell fonts in the future.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether now or later, to sell fonts you have to make them first. Yautja discovered FontStruct.com \u201csimply by looking for free font editors when I was itching to design my own fonts.<\/span>\u201d The need to create fonts was the driving force. Time flies and \u201crecently I passed my ten-year anniversary, as I started in 2011!<\/span>\u201d and yet after all this time \u201cI visit<\/span> [FontStruct.com] pretty much every day.<\/span>\u201d These daily visits must mean something. So why does he keep coming back to FontStruct? \u201cThe friendly community and the wide variety of interesting fonts are very welcoming! I like to see what new designs people have come up with.<\/span>\u201d And of those friendly people, does he admire any other FontStructors? \u201cThere are many very skilled FontStructors, who have made amazing designs that either fit neatly into the grid or push the limits of what\u2019s possible \u2013 beate for example has made many beautiful designs that I admire.<\/span>\u201d His reason for creating fonts is one that perhaps resonates with a lot of us as \u201cmaking fonts is a good way to express creativity. It\u2019s fun and relaxing. And seeing your idea take form is very rewarding.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Rewarding and fun it must have been as creating two hundred and twenty-five fonts is no easy task. Quantity aside, his 126 Staff Picks is a testament to the quality of his work as well. 225 fonts are not a casual activity even to scroll through\u2014imagine what it took to create, let alone visualize them! Impressive indeed.<\/p>\n

\n

While few of us would say they do not enjoy music, have you ever noticed how dependent any contemporary music is on the technology of the day? When you hear synth music or the saxophone in a song or the Gated Reverb audio effect which gave rise to the iconic snare drum sound, the 1980s come to mind; you think the 90s when you hear a particular kind of electronic music; hearing the Auto Tune sound effect calls to mind the music of the 2000s; etc. The examples are endless. The technology or technique used identifies the era to those who are paying attention.<\/p>\n

\"Meco<\/p>\n

Meco<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

This long preamble does have a point. Going through all of Yautja\u2019s FontStructions\u2014all 7 pages of them\u2014some fonts stand out as being striking in their appearance such as Chrominca<\/a> (2015), or Evogativ<\/a> (2017), or Meco<\/a> (2013), or Siberiada<\/a> (2013) to name but a few. Some have contemporary feel to them, others are retro-futuristic in appearance. Some fonts break the mold, but some fonts are distinctly FontStruct. It is the distinctly FontStruct fonts that are evocative of the technology behind them. The reason for this might be as Yautja says, \u201cgenerally, when I have an idea, I just jump directly into the FontStructor, as it\u2019s an efficient way to put my ideas down.<\/span>\u201d While we are affecting the FontStructor to do our bidding, the FontStructor is pulling its own strings. The synergy between the designer and the FontStructor is important to get the desired result. Sometimes you get what you want. Yet, \u201coccasionally I\u2019ll sketch something on paper, or if I have ideas for fonts that aren\u2019t possible to make in FS, I\u2019ll draw them in Inkscape.<\/span>\u201d It takes a skilled designer to know which tool is needed for the job at hand.<\/p>\n

The better the tool, the more you want to engage with it. \u201cFontStruct\u2019s intuitive interface and ease of use makes me want to keep going.<\/span>\u201d The thought that occurs to him is, \u201cI\u2019ve done the letters here, might as well make the numbers now, why not the punctuation as well\u2026.<\/span>\u201d Speaking of the act of FontStructing, Yautja admits, \u201cIt\u2019s very addictive!<\/span>\u201d I think most of us would agree.<\/p>\n

\"Chromadeus<\/p>\n

Chromadeus<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

FontStruct addiction aside, as nothing is perfect, FontStructor has its limitation too. FontStruct was specifically designed for modular, grid-based fonts. Thanks to the continuous dedication and effort of its creator\u2014Rob Meek\u2014it has evolved considerably since its inception, but one limitation persists, \u201cgenerally regarding curves, which can be hard to get around.<\/span>\u201d As Yautja says, \u201cI\u2019ll keep<\/span> [those limitations] in mind when I start designing, and I\u2019ll try to keep the designs easily FontStructable.<\/span>\u201d To counter those limitations, Yautja says that \u201ccomposites, nudging and 2\u00d72 filters are the best tools for me.<\/span>\u201d Couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n

Speaking of limitations, a thought occurs: are limitations really a bad thing? When asked if he finds the grid-based brick setup of FontStruct limiting, he said, \u201cNo,<\/span> [FontStruct] just clicked with me and seemed like an easy way to start making the kind of fonts I like. And limitations often feed creativity.<\/span>\u201d That limitations are not something to be upset by is a lesson we all need to understand\u2026especially in design. When possibilities are infinite, making a decision can be daunting. With limited choices, the field of solutions come down to a manageable level. Output happens.<\/p>\n

\"Rephyze<\/p>\n

Rephyze<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Limitations notwithstanding, on what things would help improve FontStruct, Yautja thinks, \u201cI have many ideas for the FontStructor that I\u2019d like to see, most useful would probably be 3\u00d73 circles. For the site itself, perhaps more ways to have active interactions, like more frequent competitions. I did help develop the unofficial forum and FontOuts!<\/span>\u201d Despite all the limitations of FontStruct, Yautja says, \u201cI\u2019d like to expand to other font editors, but I have yet to find one that feels as intuitive to me as FS.<\/span>\u201d Now that is an endorsement!<\/p>\n

\n

This brings us back to the question, \u201cwhy do we like anything?\u201d Perhaps the environment one grows up in influences it, or maybe it is genetic in nature, or our personality traits may tilt our likes towards one thing or another. When asked why he chooses to continue making fonts, Yautja says, \u201cit\u2019s something that I enjoy doing\u2014I like to practice my designing skills, and it\u2019s nice to create something that might be useful to people.<\/span>\u201d All of which makes sense, because why engage in an activity of your own volition if it is not pleasurable; and why not try and improve in ability whether theoretical or practical while you are at it; and then knowing that what you create (fonts!) is something others will use to produce yet other things is definitely a positive factor. The element of enjoyment and satisfaction are present in all three. I suspect we will see other FontStructors give similar reasons to this question.<\/p>\n

\"Proma<\/p>\n

Proma Rei<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Making fonts is not the only creative outlet for Yautja. \u201cI have been making music for 17 years now, mostly working on a computer, but I also play keyboard and drums. Music is important to me, and I listen to a lot of different kinds. Mostly electronic, but also disco, funk, rock, metal, and soundtrack music. I have almost constantly something playing, if not out loud then in my head. It keeps me going.<\/span>\u201d Same, brother. Same. Furthermore, \u201cI\u2019ve been dabbling with photography, and I\u2019ve been drawing since I was little\u2014not much these days\u2014but I have some ideas for comics that would be nice to actualize.<\/span>\u201d Which begs the question, which does he prefer, Marvel or DC? \u201cNeither actually. I\u2019m more interested in Japanese and European comics.<\/span>\u201d And of those, which aspect is more enticing, stories or the artwork? \u201cBoth are a big part. There\u2019s a lot of variety in stories and art styles.<\/span>\u201d Speaking of his favorite artists, he says, \u201cI really love Don Rosa\u2019s Donald Duck comics, and Junji Ito\u2019s horror manga.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"80s<\/p>\n

80s inspired illustration<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Does what we like, or even why we like it, somehow form the basis of our creative inspiration? Yautja says, \u201cI take a lot of inspiration from the 80s and from sci-fi, in both fonts and music. It\u2019s also apparent in my taste in fashion I guess.<\/span>\u201d And do those inspirations make it into his fonts? \u201cMy fonts and music definitely have a lot of retro-futuristic aesthetics from 80s sci-fi and such, which I love.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Video<\/p>\n

Video Font System<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Looking at the artwork for Yautja\u2019s albums on Bandcamp<\/a> and the stuff on his Behance<\/a> page, a lot of it seems to have\u00a0 a clear 80s influence, even though he did not live through that era. Speaking of what attracts him to that aesthetic style, he says, \u201cA lot of 80s stuff was still around when I was a kid, so it\u2019s partly nostalgia. I used plenty of cassette tapes, VHS, and floppy disks, and I watched many 80s movies. I started to listen to more 80s music and just fell in love with the style. Things were still analog, and not digitally perfect. The recent outrun\/retrowave scene has further fueled the interest.<\/span>\u201d On an unrelated-yet-related note, we have probably all wondered if \u201cYautja\u201d means anything\u2026to which he says, \u201cIt is the name of the Predator* alien species.<\/span>\u201d The consistent thematic continuation is certainly an inspirational quality.<\/p>\n

*Predator, the movie, 1987<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Album<\/p>\n

Album covers of Starast<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking of personal preferences, which of his own fonts does he like the most, he said, \u201cLooking at my favorites of my own fonts: <\/span>Modern Vision<\/a> is one of the earliest ones I made, a revival of an older font that hasn\u2019t been digitized. The first versions were pretty bad, but after updates it\u2019s become one I\u2019m proud of. Same with<\/span> Future Earth<\/a>\u2014both were inspired by The Terminator, one of my favorite movies. I became kinda obsessed with the typography used in it, and I started researching those typefaces, which haven\u2019t been properly digitized. That fueled my interest in making my own fonts. Other favorite fonts include<\/span> Karakteristika<\/a>,<\/span> Rephyze<\/a>, and<\/span> Stratus<\/a>, which are just designs that I really like.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Karakteristika<\/p>\n

Karakteristika<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Others have liked his fonts too. Going through his own fonts, is he amazed at all that he has accomplished? \u201cYeah, I\u2019m surprised how much I\u2019ve actually done, and I\u2019m glad they\u2019ve been received well. And there are even more unpublished ones. I guess when I discovered FS it opened-up new possibilities for creative expression that I hadn\u2019t even considered before.<\/span>\u201d Favorites aside, does he now find some of his own fonts that haven\u2019t stood the test of time? \u201cThere are some that aren\u2019t as good as they could be, especially older ones. I\u2019ve updated some, hidden some, and left some just as a product of their time. I don\u2019t really hate any. Some would need to be redesigned outside FS to get to their full potential.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Of all Yautja\u2019s work, the one that stands out the most for me is the album art font he created for his X.O.X.<\/a> album. Speaking of the creative idea behind it, he said, \u201cYes, that one is pretty different since it\u2019s not really a font. Originally it was inspired by an earlier illustration I had made just for fun, using a font called Recognition. I took that idea further and made the cover with that. Originally the album was released under the name Van Saarland, with a custom logo, but I renamed my music project to Starast and updated the cover with a logo based on my font<\/span> Kiova Captura<\/a>.\u201d He was kind enough to provide the animation below which illustrates the layers of glyphs it took to create the final artwork. What\u2019s most remarkable is the vision it took to imagine what each glyph should be like and what function it will play in the final output. Incredible achievement indeed.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The intricate process of creating the album cover of X.O.X. by Starast, originally published under the name Van Saarland by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Having discovered his music in 2013, his track Fractal Flow<\/a> became an instant favorite of mine and I\u2019ve listened to it at least a couple of hundred times. Upon learning this, Yautja said, \u201cThanks for listening. I didn\u2019t really think much of that track, it\u2019s funny how an artist and the audience often like different aspects of their work.<\/span>\u201d This brings up another related curiosity: Sometimes, the fonts I work really hard on and think I\u2019ve done a good job on\u2026generally gets ignored, and some fonts that I do out of boredom without much effort, people like a lot. Why is that, Yautja? \u201cYeah, that happens. But it\u2019s good to know that anything you make can find its audience,<\/span>\u201d which is a comforting thought. \u201cIf you build it, they will come\u201d* sorta thing.<\/p>\n

*from the movie Field of Dreams, 1989<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking of building, does Yautja create samples for his FontStructions and what is that process like? \u201cI make samples sometimes, if I have an idea or if it\u2019s something I specifically want to show off. Generally, I like to keep to a square shape and try to fit text in a pleasing way, maybe add some simple shapes or illustrations. I have a bunch of color combinations that I like to use, mostly retro inspired.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

The word \u201cretro\u201d has a built-in element of the present. Any time of now has the added benefit of updated, improved, and new technology. Does this enhancement affect his creative output? \u201cTechnology is definitely important to what I do. I couldn\u2019t live without it. I\u2019m glad we have what we have now. But you can still do much with just pen and paper.<\/span> [As for music] I use FL Studio as my main DAW [Digital Audio Workstation software]<\/span>, which I\u2019ve been using since 2005. Occasionally I use Garageband for additional work. I also have a few hardware synths, which are fun to play with, but mostly I\u2019m using software as it\u2019s just faster to get the work done. I can do pretty much what I want with what I have now, though I\u2019d like to use more guitars in my tracks. I don\u2019t play guitar, which is the biggest limitation\u2014I\u2019ve been getting by with virtual guitars, but they\u2019re not as good. Putting down ideas is fast but making them into complete tracks is harder and can take years. I have hundreds of unfinished tracks that I\u2019m not sure what to do with. For fonts, it\u2019s just FontStruct and Inkscape for now. Creating fonts by hand without precise digital tools would have at least annoyed the perfectionist in me, and would have been much more time-consuming. I like the freedom of creating vector shapes with Inkscape, but I still have to figure out how to make them into proper fonts.<\/span>\u201d Technology wins. Though that idea brings up this point of technology being mere tools. What we do with them is\u2014still\u2014user\/craftsman\/artist dependent. Intelligence is yet a human domain.<\/p>\n

\"Tech<\/p>\n

Tech Noir<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

Of his three creative outlets of font making, music making, and graphic designing, which does he enjoy the most? \u201cI enjoy making fonts and music equally much. Font design is easier and could be more suited to make as a job, if I had to choose one.<\/span>\u201d Making fonts for commercial use will require a more full-featured font creation software such as Glyphs or FontLab Studio. Has he experimented with them? \u201cI\u2019d like to make fonts outside of FontStruct, but I\u2019ve yet to find a font editor that suits my workflow as well as FS. I\u2019ve briefly tried a few free ones (on Windows), but they just don\u2019t seem as intuitive, and would take some getting used to.<\/span>\u201d What about collaborating with someone to make fonts commercially? \u201cHaven\u2019t really thought about that, I think making fonts is well suited for solitary work, but I would be happy to try collaborating with someone.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Font making is certainly a solitary work. I am, but does he think most FontStructors are introverts? \u201cSame here. Don\u2019t know if most people are, but I guess this sort of work suits introverts well.<\/span>\u201d Introverts are fine on their own most of the time, but even they need some social interactions. Should there be a fs WhatsApp group (or something similar) for occasional interactions? \u201cThat could be nice if people are interested. You could ask the other people you\u2019re interviewing.<\/span>\u201d I suppose I just did. :-) Any name suggestion for this hypothetical group?<\/p>\n

Regarding naming things, how does Yautja decides what to call his fonts? \u201cI actually find naming the fonts the hardest part of the process, or the most time consuming. A lot of good names are already taken so you have to get creative. I keep a list of interesting words and names that I\u2019ve come across or come up with and look at that for inspiration. Most of the names end up being something pretty unique, they almost make up their own language now. That has actually gotten me more interested in languages,<\/span>\u201d thereby learning Japanese, for instance. \u305d\u3046\u3067\u3059\u306d. So, is creating song titles easier than naming fonts? \u201cSong names are easier, as they can have a wider variety and I already have a list of several ready to use names that I want to use, and it\u2019s not as bad if they\u2019re already taken.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of song, what music does he currently listen to? Top three songs from his current playlist? \u201c[How about] three songs that have influenced my font names: Edouard Artemiev\u2019s La mort du h\u00e9ros (from Siberiade<\/a>, which I named a font after), Ladytron\u2019s High Rise<\/a>, and Cerrone\u2019s Supernature<\/a>.<\/span>\u201d Not to forget Front Line Assembly\u2019s Modus Operandi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Waltraud<\/p>\n

Waltraud<\/a> by Yautja<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Answering where he sees himself in the future, Yautja says, \u201cHopefully doing the same things as now, but as a full-time job.<\/span>\u201d And for the things he created, does he want to be recognized for them? \u201cI don\u2019t care to be famous, but I\u2019d like for my works (my music and fonts) to be remembered.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s that word \u2018like\u2019 again. As a final speculation to the question, \u201cwhy do we like anything?\u201d, let\u2019s let Yautja have the last word. \u201cMy philosophy in life is that no matter what you do, there are people who like it and people who don\u2019t.<\/span>\u201d So, it seems I have been asking the wrong question all along. Maybe it doesn\u2019t matter why or how we have acquired our likes. What matters is what they are. There is no point in debating why we like anything as long as we are aware of what they are\u2026and pursue the ethical ones. Progress will happen. Well done, Yautja. Carry on!<\/p>\n

\n

Yautja can be contacted through his website, Vignette Studio<\/a> for music production or graphic design needs.<\/p>\n

\n

Thank you once more, Ata!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post from Ata Syed AKA thalamic and minimum, the second in a summer series, continuing the \u201cFocus on Fontstructors\u201d tradition of interviews with members of FontStruct\u2019s designer community. Ata has been FontStructing since 2008. Psychologists may have a definitive answer to the question, \u201cwhy do we like anything?\u201d Or not. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13,15],"class_list":["post-4052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focus-on-fontstructors","tag-focus-on-fontstructors","tag-yautja"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4052","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\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4052"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4144,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4052\/revisions\/4144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fontstruct.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}