Advanced Typography / Task 3 / Type Exploration and Application

11.10.2023 - 1.12.2023 (Week 7 - Week 14)
Elysa Wee Qi En / 0355060 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Advanced Typography
Task 3 / Type Exploration and Application

LECTURES 

Lectures were done in Task 1.

INSTRUCTIONS

Fig. 1. Module Information Booklet

Task 3: Type Exploration and Application

For our final assignment, we were tasked with creating our own letterforms in a typeface. For this, we had three options. Either create a font to solve a larger problem, explore an existing letterform, or experiment with unique ways of creating letterforms.

I chose the third option. 

Fig. 2.1. Wall-based 3D illusion (1/12/2023)

I enjoy the concept of 3D illusions, where you have to be standing in a certain spot or looking from a certain angle to see the picture as intended. This was the approach I took to create my letterforms. 

First, opening my editing app, I experimented with this method. I chose an angle, then created white planes and arranged them to make the letter. These planes are of different sizes, but also at different points of the Z axis, so some are further front than others and vice versa. This creates an illusion where when the viewing angle changes, the planes appear to move as well. 

Fig. 2.2. Beginning exploration 1 (25/10/2023)

Fig. 2.3. Beginning exploration 2 (25/10/2023)

As I did this, I noticed two things. That different angles had the potential to show different letters/numbers despite the same arrangement of planes. And, one set of planes may have multiple angles to view the same letter/number.

Fig. 2.4. Further experimentation 1 (25/10/2023)

Fig. 2.5. Further experimentation 2 (1/11/2023)

I went on to create all capital letters and numbers, animating them to move as I went along. 

Fig. 2.6. Creating and animating (8/11/2023)

There is also an added challenge. Since this font has a pixel look, it can be difficult to differentiate between forms that are already similar, like the number '5' and letter 'S', and the number '2' and letter 'Z'. As such, I had to make edits to the number '5' to make it more clearly a '5' and less like an 'S'. 

What is good is that since I used varying angles for the forms, similar forms don't share the exact same angles, so that helps with differentiating them too.

Fig. 2.7. Differences between similar forms (8/11/2023 - 1/12/2023)

After finishing all the forms required of me, I compiled them all in one video, arranging them into one screen. This helped make it so exporting and rendering time would be shorter as I used this compilation in the videos, and it also helped make it easier for me to see all my forms, and pick and choose them easily to use them. 

Then, it was time to start creating the videos to present my creations. 

Fig. 2.8. Editing the presentation videos (15/11/2023 - 1/12/2023)

Following the advice of my teacher, I made two different videos. The first (the pictures on the top) serves more for application, where I use my font to create an engaging video. Especially since this first video has illustrations from a game called 'Undertale', added because the font fits well with the look of the game. The second video leans closer to presentation, (the pictures on the bottom) where it is shown in closer detail the way the forms are created and what makes them special. 

After visiting the VortexLab on campus, I discovered that it is possible to implement 3D fonts like this in VR. However, due to time constraints, I did not attempt this. But it could be possible in the future, and is something to consider and remember.

FINAL Font Forms

Fig. 3.1. Finished capital letters and numbers (15/11/2023)

Fig. 3.2. Font Video 1 (22/11/2023)

Fig. 3.3. Font Video 2 (1/12/2023)

FEEDBACK

Week 8
General Feedback:
- Don't create a font that's too general that anyone can use
- Try to aim for a 'purpose' or 'problem' that isn't already so tackled
- Don't necessarily try to expand on an existing font. You can take inspiration from it, like characteristics, but it may not end up looking like that existing font at all.

Week 9
Specific Feedback:
- Continue to work in the direction I've chosen and think of more add-ons along the way 

Week 10 
Specific Feedback: 
- First focus on all the letterforms and numbers, before figuring out how to portray and present them

Week 11
Specific Feedback: 
- Think about effects that you can add to the background and make the font interesting

Week 12
Specific Feedback:
- Consider going to the Vortex Lab to try and create an AR with my font, contact Mr Charles

Week 13
Specific Feedback:
- Create a second video that showcases the letterforms transforming

Week 14
Specific Feedback: 
- Make it speed up and then slow down, it will be cool 

REFLECTIONS

Experience
My teacher had already told me about this assignment last semester, and I was worried about it because in that semester I struggled so much with even just a few letters. Creating an entire typeface with both uppercase and lowercase and also punctuations would be much more time-consuming and difficult. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found out there was an option to be experimental with our type. I'm already into video editing, so I decided I'd give something along those lines a try. My teacher even suggested that I visit the Vortex Lab in campus and see if I can turn my ideas into something AR or VR, which is related to the specialisation I chose. 

Observations
For this project, I used Hitfilm. I'm more comfortable with this software than Adobe After Effects. I learnt that the 'active camera' view and the 'perspective' view are different. Somehow, the active camera view seems to tilt differently from the perspective view. Because of that, I had to adjust the forms further even after creating them, switching between the active camera view and the perspective view. Since I was using the active camera view to make the video, I had to make sure it looked right in that view rather than the perspective view.

Findings
Making a typeface normally can be tedious, but making letter and number forms in this format can be quite tedious as well. It's not easy in general to make sure the form looks how it should and retain its identity without losing the style of the font. In a format like this, a pixel style, it can be tricky to stylise the forms to be not boring or basic while making sure it's all readable. In the end however, I was able to separate the different forms and make sure they were easily digestable.

FURTHER READING

Week 14: Rob Carter, Philip B. Meggs, Ben Day, Sandra Maxa, Mark Sanders: Typographic Design: Form and Communication

Fig. 4.1. Typographic Design: Form and Communication (1/12/2023)

This book provides in-depth teachings and explanations on many aspects of Typography. There is a section about typography in time-based media, so I decided to check it out. 

In that section, it is mentioned that when it comes to typography in motion and time, even if the text does not change, the type can still change as it is affected by more variables since it is not static. Colour, position, size etc. can all be values that are changed overtime in the scene. 

There is even a section on camera angles and camera motion.

Fig. 4.2. Section on camera angles and movement (1/12/2023)

They talk about the influence of camera angles on text and how different viewing angles can provide different impressions, like appearing weaker or stronger. Different types of camera movement are also discussed, about how the camera can move and affect the viewing angle.