Week 34: Frostie
Did she make a text font this week???
Happy Friday!!
Is it just me or is everyone feeling mentally and emotionally checked out until 2022? Because that’s where I’m at. I just want to cuddle up with knitting and warm bevs. I suppose that’s not much different than normal.
Anyways, this week I asked in my stories what I should make and I got so many fun responses. “Pairs well with a stick of butter” and “elbow pasta” were two of my faves. Can you tell that I like food type?? The one I ended up going with was “something micro.” It might sound boring but I’ve had this little hand painted pricing sign sitting next to my desk forever. I’ve always wondered if I could recreate it for reading at small sizes. I like the idea of translating the brushyness to be legible while teeny tiny.
I’m not totally sure if I brought it all the way to micro but it works for standard text weights. It works larger as well but it is a little distilled down for a display weight. If I made a larger version, I would incorporate more of the brush details from the original and definitely open up a lot of the counters (like the D in the original).
There are a couple key things to designing a text weight font. The first is generous spacing: check! Another is distilling down design details (given that you have a display to start from). For this scenario, that means that subtle tapering and rounded stroke endings will do most of the detail work. After that, it’s primarily checking weight, proportions, and making sure all your counters are nice and open. I had to aggressively thin out/taper A, M, N, and W to an obscene degree to get them to not feel heavy in paragraphs. It’s crucial to test print these things as well! You can learn so much by simply printing a paragraph of text in the desired size.
I am pretty happy with this one! It pairs well with some more expressive display weights without being a boring sans companion. I would use this on posters, frost shield signage, or cake mix packaging. The possibilities are truly and always endless. For the last two weeks of 2021, I am going to be keeping it chilllll. I’m not sure what I’m going to make yet — maybe lowercase for Drench? or more dingbats? We will see!! Have the best weekend you’ve ever had. <3
5 Things I’m Into This Week:
I started Love Island (UK) last weekend and omgggggg. At first I hated it but now I’m addicted.
The song Luna by Smashing Pumpkins. It brings back all the teenage angst for me. <3
The show Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much but it was so good! Can you tell I’ve only been watching tv lately??
Making gnocchi with sweet potato and parmesan sauce that tasted like it literally came from a Michelin star restaurant.
The Type West class of 2021 ended on Monday and it was so amazing to see all the students’ final projects. It was such a strong class this year! There will be a public graduation for the students in the beginning of 2022 and I’ll make sure to share that!
HAGW,
Libbie