I do a lot of making up logos for imaginary ideas that I'll never actually do anything professional with, but I'd sort of like to pretend that I could. A lot of times the fonts that I have and/or can easily find online don't quite capture the mood I was going for and I end up trying to make something in photoshop or illustrator.
In general I'm good at art, but when I try to create a good, interesting typeface I usually end with a lot of ugly crap. I could spend forever practicing on my own, learning what works and what doesn't through trial and error, but it seems to me that somewhere out there someone should have already developed some basic principles for what makes a good font.
Googling "font design help" or similar phrases gives me lots of pages explaining how to use existing fonts intelligently, which isn't what I'm looking for. I was hoping someone here knew of a good resource for designing fonts from scratch.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
I belong to the Geeks! site, and there's a group called Fontaholics. On one thread, they discuss font creation. Here are the links:
One person said the best resource is pre-computer age books on lettering and font design. Another compared it to learning calligraphy, mentioning kerning, letter height, spacing, as important issues when creating a font.
And, there are various types of font software.
Also, I like About.com as a resource for many things.
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
Thanks!
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I don't know anything about designing fonts. But if you have Netflix, check out this documentary (available to watch instantly.)
Not only is the subject matter itself kind of interesting, but the interviews with professional font-designers will give you a surprising window into this nerdy, obsessive subculture.
Enter at your own risk. Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
My $0.02 as a Design TA:
If it's typographic design knowledge you're after, it'll be in good design books. Here are a couple of good places to start: Designing Type by Karen Cheng (2006) Counterpunch by Fred Smeijers (1997)
There's lots of other books out there about type (case studies of specific typefaces or typographers, using type properly in design, etc.), but you might also want to look at something that gives a good intro to graphic design in general. I heartily recommend The Elements of Graphic Design by Alexander W. White (2002) - short, clear, and accessible.
If you're looking for software to design digital typefaces, check out Fontforge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontforge), a pro-level BSD-licensed type-design environment.
It sounds like you may want to start by tweaking pre-existing typefaces instead of designing your own from scratch. Converting type to outline in Illustrator is a good way to start playing with the letter-forms without committing yourself to the entire glyph lineup.
Also, if you haven't already, check out DaFont (dafont.com) for tons of diverse free and quasi-free typefaces.
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