Typography
Background/Context
I took a Design Fundamentals course at Bellevue College in Fall 2022. My professor had us pick 3 words from a list he provided and use only typography to write the word in a style and arrangement that best captures the definition, feeling, and themes behind the word. In other words, the design of the font itself needs to invoke the concept behind the word.
Action
I created 3 different fonts for 3 different types to show that the type style shows the meaning behind the words I chose. The assignment was due 2 weeks after it was assigned. However, the project got extended an extra week due to some confusion. I was able to finish the assignment by the original deadline.
MINIMALIST
I used Illustrator to create the MINIMALIST font. I turned snap to grid on and used a pen to create the letters, trying to omit the right side but still making it readable so the reader's mind could fill in the blanks. After they were created, I resized some letters so that each letter had about the same width and height. I also wanted to make it look like the font was "moving", so I put a grey font underneath to create an illusion that it's "sliding into place".
HORROR
When I was reading the assignment, I was under the impression that I had to use the type tool and type out each font. Since this was my first font, I thought I had to go into Adobe Fonts and find a horror looking font. I downloaded the Shlop font and typed out horror. I later discovered that I could use whatever tool I felt comfortable with as long as I manipulated the font in some way. What I decided to do was to turn HORROR red to represent blood and added a shadow as symbolism of there's always something hiding in the dark or with blood comes some kind of darkness.
PRIMITIVE
I started by making this font outline in Illustrator. Once I finished with the outline, I switched over to Photoshop where I found a photo on Google of some cracked tablets that look centuries old. I placed the photo where I thought the words would look best and created a layer mask for each letter. From there, I added a couple of adjustment layers and layer styles to get a more rocky/primitive looking fill.
Results
I'm really happy about how my fonts turned out. Though I think there's always room for improvement, I think I did well considering I don't often link my Illustrator file to Photoshop. I am extremely proud of how PRIMITIVE turned out by just adding some photoshop effects to it.