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1

Bodoni std. . ‘-

Bodoni std.

Bodoni std.

Bbodoni std.2

bodoni std.

Designed & Edited by: Andrea Blanco

Text from: “This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven- If the Devil is Six

then God is Seven. Against Anti-foundationalism”

By: Elliot Earls

3

Bbhigh contrast between thicks and thins

very tall x- height

horizontal and vertical intersections are perpendicular

noticable serifs

lowercase4

uniq

ue c

hara

cter

isit

cs

uppercaserounded edgeshang below base line

5

Fontographer (the computer)

is a great tool for some,

but a terrible tool for the tenderfoot,

the greenhorn, the neophyte,

novice, rookie, or initiate.

How do ou design letterforms? Kick it old skool style.

Draw them big, with a ruling pen and Plaka, and some Pro White.

Focus on the serifs or the termination of the character.

Don’t so much understand how a letter is drawn:

experience how a letter is drawn.

Then refine the letterforms through successive redrawing.

Sit back, evaluate them optically (with your retina).

Then draw them again. Making them thinner here and thicker there.

Become

intimatelysimilar with the

French curve. It is possible to

achieve all of the above using

only the computer? Of course...

Walter Gropius was famous for his exhortationto his students in Weimar to

“start from zero.”poster compressed

15/13

book

11/25

book

14/50

roman

12/20

Students who begin drawing typfaces must

first learn to look at typefaces. I am often

shocked and amazed at my students first

attempts to construct, for instance, the

termination of a stroke. It usually involves

a student using Fontographer. And when

looking closely at the letterform, one often

notices a complete lack of rigor, couple

with a hyper-kinetic line quality, which

almost always leaves me with the impression

that I’m teaching type design to a class of

methamphetamine addicts. (Which I have

found is usually not the case.) One need

look no further than the plenitudinous

offerings of foundries such as T-26 or

Garage Fonts to find textbook examples of

this undisciplined methamphetamine line.

italic

6/12

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postercompressed

book poster italic bookitalic

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6

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bold roman posteritalic

bolditalic

bold condensed

7

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P O I N T

The gap between language and experience becomes a gaping hole as

one begins to discuss issues of craft. At this point, it would be prudent

to have a lengthy discussion about technical considerations. We shoulddiscuss what lead hardness to use in your drawing pencil or the benefit

of vellum over plate bristol. The gap between language and experience

becomes a gaping hole as one begins to discuss issues of craft.

It’s all about craft. And craftsmanship demands

practice. It is through the practiceof type design that one will

develop mastery and

8.point9.point10.point11.point

12.point

14.point

18.point

24.point

30.point

36.point

8

S I Z E S

come to a deep understanding

of all of the technicalissues. How doyou design letterforms?

40.point

48.point

55.point

60.point

9

I am not suggesting that the type design process necessarily adheres to a strict taxonomic progression. And I’m certainly not an advocate of a rigid categorical approach to design of any form. Quite the contrary. Its my contention that the edge condition, the tension that exists in the gap, is where the action is. But for the designer interested in beginning to come to grips with letterform design, locating ones work within the three categories...is often helpful. Sudents who begin drawing typfaces

b a r k i n g u p t h e w r o n g t r e emust first learn to look at typefaces. I am often shocked and amazed at my students first attempts to construct, for instance, the termination of a stroke. It usually involves a student using Fontographer. And when looking closely at the letter form, on often notices a complete lack of rigor, coupled with a hyper-kinetic line qulaity, which almost always leaves me with the impression that I’m teaching type design to a class of methamphetamine addicts. (Which I have found is usually not the case.)

Access to Fontographer enabled the designer, for better or worse, to cut the development time and cost of creating an alphabet to almost nothing. The “Blend” menu in Fontographer would take two fonts and mathematically extrapolate, to produce a third new font. This process took seconds, and the results were fluid, kinetic, and seemed, from an historical perspective,

If at this point you feel the need to accuse me of anti-intellectualism, you’d be

bold condensed 13/ 15

r e f r e s h i n g .

10

b a r k i n g u p t h e w r o n g t r e eIf at this point you feel the need to accuse me of anti-intellectualism, you’d be

“Where do you

begin?How do you get an

ideaor a concept for a

typeface?”My answer is twofold.

roman 23/28

roman 51/42

roman 23/38

roman 51/50

roman 23/28

roman 51/42

roman 23/29r e f r e s h i n g .

11

bodoniv. didot

optical endeavoroptical endeavor

optical endeavor

optical endeavor

roman-15 pt.

italic-15 pt.bold-15 pt.

regular-15 pt.

12

similar typface

optical endeavor

optical endeavoroptical endeavor

italic-15 pt.

bold-15 pt.

13

Typfaces are not

they are formal

...mosthaven’tlooked,th

e bi

gges

t cha

lleng

e fa

cing

type

des

igne

rs

poster compressed 140/168

14

...mosthaven’tlooked, 15

THE ABILITY TO SEE, (NO,

TO FEEL) THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE

RULING PEN, NIB, CHISEL

AND/OR BRUSH AND THE FINAL

LETTERFORM IS ESSENTIAL...THE

GREAT ARTIST OR DESIGNER

IS S/HE WHO IS NO LONGER CONSTRICTED

BY THE RULES. BUT ANTI-MISERY

COMES AFTER

St. Edward’s University3001 S. Congress Ave.Austin Tx, 78704Printed on:HP ColorLaseret 5550Trustee Hall #108Created in Adobe IndesignBy: Andrea Blanco in 2009Typeface created by:Giambattista Bodoni in 1798

16

there is simply no correlation between time and quality, and that all things historical are not necessarily bad. The geezers didn’t get everything wrong. Although Modernism has become shorthand for dogmatic, imperious, doctrinaire, dry and anal, it is also rigorous, studied, quintessentially optomistic and highly formal.

I AM

RESOLUTE

IN MY

BELIEF

THAT

s t d .