TDN Update 009
Socko returns!
Happy new year, y’all!
I feel like it’s going to be a good one because I’ve already crossed a major goal off my list — teaching! I know my class has been posted for a while but it filled up over the holidays and I am so excited! If you’re in my class, thank you and I’m excited to meet you! And if you’re looking for a class to take, check out Type Electives’ other classes! There’s still time to sign up and the instructors are all incredible! <3
The second thing I want to discuss is Socko. You remember it from week 43, yes? For reasons I can’t fully discuss yet, it has been yanked out of the 52 Fonts archive and added to my FIP pile. And honestly, thank god! Trying to be a Serious Type Designer™ was stressing me out. Working on Socko feels much less consequential.
Here’s a quick before and after! My first pass was adding some uniformity into the heights of the counters and the bottom strokes of C, E, T, and Y. I also removed all the straight segments. Socko started from lettering I found in a vintage knitting magazine but I am starting to move away from the original. The straight sides of some letters like F, H, I, and L did not feel right for me so they had to go! The stroke endings of L, K, R, X, and Z made me want to vom — bye bye!
Because I couldn’t stand the angled strokes of K, R, and X, I borrowed the bottom half of C and E. I’m not 100% convinced that this is the right solution as it feels a little *extra* at the moment. They look normal within a word but on their own they look a little whack. I think there’s a happy medium somewhere!
See what I mean? It’s a little too groovy — especially in the Z! X will need a similar solution but I wasn’t feeling brave enough to try it just yet.
Also I’m having a major SOS moment with the F. No matter what I do, it looks ugly or doesn’t work with the overlapping spacing. It is definitely Socko’s problem child. If you are a professional F designer, plz help!! I can’t have a little eyesore F. :(
Lastly, I wanted to add something to our productivity convo from a while ago. I recently learned (ironically on TikTok) that starting your day on your phone (specifically on IG or TikTok), you spend your daily dopamine right away. And it’s much harder to get motivated after that. I knew that it was bad but did it most of the time anyways. Given that I have a dopamine deficiency as it is (aka adhd), it’s detrimental for me to conserve those good brain juices. To remedy the situation, I have put app locks on and do not disturb automatically from 10pm-10am everyday. The only apps that work are texting, calling, and my email. Opening my Lock Screen to see all the apps turned off is so boring but ultimately crucial to my workload!
Due to the vacancy in my morning routine, I started working through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. As part of the Artist’s Way program, you have to journal in the morning and it has filled in that time quite nicely! They’re called morning pages if you’re into it. I never thought I’d choose journaling over TikTok but new year, new me. <3
5 Things I’m Into Right Now
Former Type West classmate and literal book nerd, Kevin Barrett Kane, is teaching a book cover design class via the Letterform Archive! I’m honestly considering taking it myself!!
Did any of you watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a kid? The theme song has been stuck in my head for like 2 weeks. I’ve finally accepted it and begrudgingly added it to my current playlist. Here’s a vid for your enjoyment or horror, idk.
On the subject of music, I’ve become one of those people that listens to classical music while working now! This is my playlist of upbeat classical music. I could probably workout to it!
Recently I switched back to Notion! Between TDN, teaching, and forthcoming Libbie’s Lab, I needed something customizable for each area of work. So far it’s been helpful but in a couple months I’ll probably switch to a new one like I always do!!
This tweet/meme that is really speaking to my January mindset!!
Talk soon,
Libbie