Download - Plau type workshop slides
Drawing letters for logos, lettering & fonts
Workshop goals
Learn/remember some type design fundamentals.
Improve the analysis of fonts/lettering and proportions
Best practices and time-saving tips when drawing digital letters.
This is my first attempt at drawing type circa 2002. Do not quit!
Content
1 Warm-up exercice
2 Key fundamentals
3 Planning
4 Drawing digital letters
5 Resources
1 Warm-up exercice
2 Key fundamentals
3 Planning
4 Drawing digital letters
5 Resources
Monogram (15-20 minutes).Draw 2-3 name initials in pencil or any kind of writing tool that suits your personality.Try different tools and see how the outcome differs.
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1 Warm-up exercice
2 Key fundamentals
3 Planning
4 Drawing digital letters
5 Resources
Fund
Amen
tAls
2Shapes that have the same absolute height…
Fund
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2…need to be adjusted so they look the same height. Forget math for a minute, type design is all about your eyes!
HOAHOAHOAFu
ndAm
entA
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2The same effect on letters.
Fund
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2Math centering A vs. optic centering b. Move objects up a little so they look centered (and not falling).
A B
A B
Horizontal stems look bigger than vertical. Which of these 2 look balanced?
A B
B is visually adjusted for this optical illusion. Shorter horizontal stems, middle bar moved up a little so it looks balanced.
A B
Which of these “io” looks better?
Increase curved areas so that they match straights. B curves are the same width as the straights, which doesn’t look right.
a: geometric vs optical construction.
These visual compensations are what makes letter more legible and pleasing to the eye. On the right is Futura.
Fund
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tAls
2Bolder fonts will look smaller if they have the same x-height. Increase the x-height of bolder letters to compensate this effect.
finessefinesse
Fund
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2The heavier the letters, the smaller the counters which calls for…
finesse
Fund
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2… an adjustment in spacing so form and counterforms look balanced.
finesse
Fund
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tAls
2This looks clumsy.
Fund
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tAls
2The white spaces are just as important as the letters themselves.
Fund
Amen
tAls
2Always smooth out the joins of straight to curved segments. Avoid the “bone effect”.
Fund
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tAls
2Do not fear the Bézier curve. Ever!
1 Warm-up exercice
2 Key fundamentals
3 Planning
4 Drawing digital letters
5 Resources
Some decisions to makeFinal useStyle/PersonalityFamily planning: weights, styles etc.ProportionsLegibility
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Final use
Wayfinding Sans: Ralf Herrmann. Signage.Bell Centennial: Mathew Carter. Type for newsprint.
Verdana: Mathew Carter. Optimized for screen display. Akceler Alt: Andrej Dieneš. For sports magazines.
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Personality/Family Planning
Primot
Guanabara Sans ‘13
Display Type (Primot/WIP) Lettering
Super family – multiple weights and styles.
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H VH V
Contrast and style.
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Ax Ax Ax
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3Altura de x
Guanabara Sans | Mrs. Eaves | Maple Black
AxPeles sernatur ad endis endae omnisti onemquatur?Atiatiis quodit, si sum re nus evel et quo temporeri dolessinvel molut exeraTur aut minus ulpa alitat.Voluptae senis ut laborem perumquibus.
AxPeles sernatur ad endis endae omnisti onemquatur?Atiatiis quodit, si sum re nus evel et quo temporeri dolessinvel molut exeraTur aut minus ulpa alitat.Voluptae senis ut laborem perumquibus.
AxPeles sernatur ad endis endae omnisti onemquatur?Atiatiis quodit, si sum re nus evel et quo temporeri dolessinvel molut exeraTur aut minus ulpa alitat.Voluptae senis ut laborem perumquibus.
x-Height affects word count. Same for condesed/expanded fonts.
Guanabara Sans | Mrs. Eaves | Maple Black | 30/36pt
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Proportions – top is not as well proportioned as bottom. Study time tested fonts and train your eyes for good proportions.
HamburgefonsHamburgefons
Myriad: Robert Slimbach/Carol Twombly
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Calligraphic origin
Garamond
Didot
Scala Sans
Helvetica
eaea ea
ea
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Niels Shoe Meulman Tony DiSpigna
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3Calligraphic origin
milliliter milliliter
milliliter milliliter
Guanabara Sans lowercas l is adjusted to be more readable.
Helvetica: l can be confused for an uppercase i.
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2Legibility Erik Spiekermann
Ok, nice.
But where to begin?
1 Warm-up exercice2 Key fundamentals3 Planning4 Drawing digital letters
TipsMethod 1: ModularMethod 2: From ScansMethod 3: StrokesMethod 4: Straight upMasters
5 Resources
Sketch and define things early on.
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HamburgefonsAdhesiontext
First words
Will help define the personality and features of the other glyphs.
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Points at extrema
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4Points at extrema
HO no
Kickstart your font start with one straight and one rounded letter.
You can define many letters from these basic shapes, and it will give you a good starting point for spacing.
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HOHOHOhohoho
Spacing
Para decidir o espaçejamento entre as letras, comece pelas duplas HO maiúscula e minúscula. Assim você já tem muitos
espaçamentos resolvidos (lados circulares e retos).
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HDFELOQCD
MN WYX ZS
Groups of shapes (construction)4
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oec pdbq fjg nmu il kzs vwyz
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drAw
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ABC0123
For text fonts, numerals are a little shorter than Capital Height so as not to overpower them in text.
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Minion Pro
0123456789001234567890
01234567890
Some types of numerals4
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Copy paste?
n n»nu
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No sir (ma’am)!
n n»nu
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Start to love the blend tool (Interpolation)
AAALight BlackBook
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Use interpolation to test letter variations.
AAAdr
Awin
g
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MODULAR
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4Modular
Wim Crouwel
SCAN
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4Scan
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4Vectorizing the scan
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4Refining the scan
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4Final result
Clube de roupas infantisbabycub
STROKES
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4Width tool (Illustrator – Shift + W)
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4Width Tool
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4Width Tool
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4Width Tool
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4From strokes, you can also start simple monoline letters like this S for example. But remember, it will need lots of tweaking for you to call it a letter.
STRAIGHT UP…JUST GO FOR IT😈
MASTERS
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Hoefler & Frere Jones
House Industries
Adrian Frutiger
Doyald Young
Herb Lubalin
Alex Trochut
Louise Fili
1 Warm-up exercice
2 Key fundamentals
3 Planning
4 Drawing digital letters
5 Resources
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5Learn more!Briem.net: http://briem.net
Hoefler & Frere-Jones: http://www.typography.com/
Letritas: http://letritas.blogspot.com
Type Drawers: http://typedrawers.com
Typophile: http://typophile.com
Typotheque: https://www.typotheque.com/articles
Unos Tipos Duros: http://www.unostiposduros.com/
Type Workshop (Underware): http://www.typeworkshop.com/
BooksLogo, Font & Lettering Bible. http://goo.gl/4djGZt
The stroke, Theory of Writing. http://goo.gl/Xr9rR
Counterpunch. http://goo.gl/hcQVDo
Letterletter. http://goo.gl/PcGyjF
Designing Type. http://goo.gl/HZ7TL
Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age. http://goo.gl/qCqyb
Elementos do estilo tipográfico. http://goo.gl/sAAxZ
Stop Stealing Sheep. http://goo.gl/8YKUK1
Metro Letters. http://goo.gl/5CWs5e
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THANK YOU! email [email protected] link plau.co behance behance.net/plau twitter PlauStudio facebook facebook.com/plaudesigna big thanks to: Vanessa Padua, Cristiano Junqueira, Betina Cupello and everybody at Saravah, Cida, Eddy e Martha, Gu, Nina, Família Padua, Mark Mullin, Eduardo Varela, Lucas Azevedo, Daniel Campos, Matheus Fragoso, all the designers and coders from Niramekko and Plau and everyone who inspired and taught me so much!
fonts: Guanabara Sans, SS Social, Futura, Myriad, Minion Pro, Motiva Sans, Bordonia, Primot.