ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY // Task 3 / Final Project
Week 10 - Week 13 (31/05/2021 - 21/06/2021)
Fann Man Ling - 0344623 (BDCM)
Advanced Typography // Mr. Vinod, Mr. Azrizal Razali
Task 3 / Final Project
LECTURE
Week 10: Brief of Final Project ( Type Exploration & Application)
Week 11: Review on Final Project's ideas (proposal)
Week 12: Review on Progress
Week 13: Review on Progress
Week 14: Review on E-Portfolio
- Lecture -
INSTRUCTION
Module Information Booklet
TASK 3 / FINAL PROJECT: Type Exploration & Application
In our final project, we were tasked to design a font that is intended to solve a larger problem or improve upon and explore possible solutions that may add value to the existing typeface, OR we can explore the use of typefaces in our area of interest.
Below is a simple ppt that I did to help myself and others understand my ideas.
Fig 1: Final Project / Task 3 ideas (06/06/2021)
PROGRESS
WEEK 11 // 07.06.2021
After presenting my ideas to Mr. Vinod, he suggested me to further explore IDEA #5 as it is a fresh idea that nobody seems to do that before. Hence, I started by studying the artworks by the Korean artist, Seonglib in the hope to understand how to ensure the font carries movement.
Fig 2: Seonglib artworks_reference (Source: Instagram)
Attempt #1
Then, I started to digitalize it based on an existing typeface, ITC Garamond. The reason I chose ITC Garamond is that it has the obvious thin and thick stroke and it allows better readability in a sense.
Fig 3.1: Digitalizing font in AI
After several experiments on different brushes, I have ended up using this brush as it represents the vision that is clean and tidy.
Fig 3.2: Wacom 6D Art Brush_light 9pt
Fig 4: Result of Attempt 1 (13/06/2021)
WEEK 12 // 14.06.2021
However, with the feedback I received, I got to redesign it so that it is authentic. Hence, I tried to review the font to think how to make it my font and how to make it match with my expectation which is a motion font. And then I realized the design of the font should not be so consistent and static, instead, irregular design might work better with the idea. Hence, I did not limit the font to be serif font, but semi-serif and irregular font.Research:
I did some research on the font that looks wiggly and moving to be taken as my reference before I started to design it.
Fig 5: References (Source: Google)
After that, I directly digitalized it in Adobe illustrator. I experimented with different sketches until I got a satisfactory result, this really took me a lot of time.
Fig 6: Digitalizing font in AI
Result:
Fig 7: Result of Attempt 2 (21/06/2021)
WEEK 13 // 21.06.2021
Then, I generated the font in FontLab. As my trial of it has expired on my laptop, I used my brother's laptop to do it. Sadly, my brother's laptop's Windows version is not supporting Adobe even though FontLab is successfully downloaded on his laptop, so I exported my font.ai to SVG files so that I can import the file into his FontLab and edit it.
Fig 8: Progress of AI (separated artboards) to be exported as separated SVG files
Fig 9.1: Generating font in FontLab
Fig 9.2: FontLab character input
Fig 9.3: Adjusting the kerning in FontLab
Fig 9.4: Testing my font in Adobe Illustrator
I faced an issue when exporting the font from FontLab. I could not export the font as TTF format after I have tried to look up several solutions. Hence, I ended up exported it as OTF format and I named it "String Wiggle" based on its characteristics.
Fig 9.5: Font Information_String Wiggle (26/06/2021)
Final Result:
TYPEFACE
Fig 10: Final Typeface Design (26/06/2021)
Fig 11: Typeface Design_Final PDF (26/06/2021)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nGhk7_pBg8-YNAKzGmckh_Ma43UJHoRy/view?usp=sharing
Then, I tried to animate the compositions/ layers imported from AI instead, and it works.
APPLICATION
As the nature of this font is the best fit with animation, so I've decided to animate it in Adobe After Effect.
I started off with animating the typed text, but it failed as the strokes look crumpled.
Fig 12.1: Animating in After Effect_First attempt
I doubled the effect (displacement map) to the letterforms to make more random movements (more wiggly).
WEEK 13 // 21.06.2021
Experience
Through this article in Medium, I came across this amazing illustrator, MariNaomi. MariNaomi painted a mural about Stop AAPI Hate in Garvey Park in Rosemead, a city in Southern California. It is very impressive to me as I never thought of a comic kind of art that can have the ability to make a difference to a specific issue going on in society.
Fig 12.2: Animating compositions in After Effect_Second attempt
Fig 13: Adding audio in Premiere Pro
Final animation result with audio:
Fig 14: Typeface Animation_Final Application (Youtube) (27/06/2021)
FEEDBACK
WEEK 11 // 07.06.2021
Specific Feedback:- Mr. Vinod said my Idea #5 (wiggly and curly lines font) seems interesting as compared to other ideas, and I was suggested to further work on it.
- He also agreed with the application of the font (IDEA #5) to be used in motion kind of animation, namely, drawing tutorial video, lyrics of the music video, etc.
WEEK 12 // 14.06.2021
Specific Feedback:Mr. Vinod advised me to redesign my font to make it authentic as I designed it based on an existing typeface (ITC Garamond).
No feedback received as I absent.
REFLECTION
As compared to other projects, I was not that struggle in coming up with ideas for this final project. In fact, I was able to come up with about five ideas. However, it is the hardest part when it comes to implementing it. I had no idea at first to design it, like is the font carries the feeling that I want, can it be animated in the final phase, should it be serif or sans-serif, etc. Thus, I keep on studying the lines, artworks, and videos created by this Korean artist, Seonglib, since my font is inspired by his work.
Some videos that I observed:
Observation
I observed Seonglib's lines is sometimes sharp at the curved side with different thickness to represents different parts of an object. With that in mind, I did my work with different thicknesses too. In contrast, I varied my work by making it like a string in a not consistent manner to bring out the shaking movements from side to side. It was quite tricky in balancing the casualness and permanence of the design of the font (do not want the strokes to be too messy, but also do not be too inflexible).
Findings
After I've got the feedback to make it authentic only I knew I shouldn't too focused on the perfect looking of the font. I basically need to redesign the font and do all the research again to make sure my font is working. This makes me quite stressed out as this really slowing things down as I saw most of my friends have already finished their font and some even finished their application. It makes me feel abit sick so I was not showing up in Week 13's class.
Glad that I am managed to catch up with them and done my application as well by Week 14. All in all, I am happy with my final font and animation although I saw some of my friends' work are quite interesting as well. I am satisfied with this final project as well because it motives me to actively ruminate, and develop something new which indeed allows me to gain so much new insight from it.
FURTHER READING
Fig 13: Stopping Anti-Asian Hate With a Comic Strip- and a Cat (Source: Medium)
Through this article in Medium, I came across this amazing illustrator, MariNaomi. MariNaomi painted a mural about Stop AAPI Hate in Garvey Park in Rosemead, a city in Southern California. It is very impressive to me as I never thought of a comic kind of art that can have the ability to make a difference to a specific issue going on in society.
Although the illustrator herself does not think she or the mural has any power to possibly stop the hate crimes or change society's mind, I truly agreed that at least the mural can incite some empathy, and tell fellow people who experience and experienced the same situation that "You're not alone".
This certainly enlightens me for the passion and purpose of art that I wanted to pursue.
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