For this assignment, we were asked to design a typeface using FontStruct, an online medium for producing typefaces. We were required to design an entire alphabet of letters and display them individually, as a group, in a poster, Facebook profile and cover page, and a Tumblr post.
FontSruct was limiting in what you could create because you worked off of a grid, and were able to color squares in. Looking back, I wish I had gotten more creative with my typeface and tried to bend the boundaries of FontStruct. I chose to create a very block-style typeface with one half negative space. I created all of my letters in FontStruct, and then created the other variations.
In regards to process, it took me a while to figure out how all my letters would fall under the same requirements I made. I knew I wanted the text to be bold, block, and architectural. I began using circles rather than squares to color in parts of the letters off the grid, and found I enjoyed the contrast of negative and positive space. I first created all the letters using small circles before I began playing around with the backgrounds. I determined I wanted half of the letter to be blocked out by white and contrast with the other side. It took a while to determine what that block would look like, but I decided I wanted it to take the shape of the letterform. Initially, the negative effect on the left side was a large white block that did not take the shape of the letter. It was difficult to read so I made the decision to cut it down.
As I mentioned, I wanted to go with an architectural style. My design, called Density, is very dense, very bold, and somewhat meticulous to read. The type embodies the architectural feel because it is heavy and dense.
In this particular project, the design is the content itself, so it is difficult to denote how the design enhances the content, but I think the charcoal background enhances the design.
