✩ 9/6/25 - 20/7/25 (Week 8 - Week 13)
✩ WONG MEI YEE 0367857
✩ Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
✩ Task 3 - Type Exploration and Application
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lectures
Instructions
Figure 2.1, MIB, Week 1 (21/4/2025).
Task 3 Type: Exploration and Application
3.1 PROPOSAL
3.2 PROCESS
This typeface task began with a strong conceptual foundation, the idea of building letterforms from modular hexagonal units, each rotated at a 30° angle. I was fascinated by the idea of applying strict geometric constraints to something as expressive and emotional as type. My process unfolded in several clear stages.
1. Exploring the Grid System in Illustrator
The first stage of development took place in Adobe Illustrator. I began by carefully constructing a hexagonal grid, ensuring each hexagon was tilted precisely at 30°. This grid became my core system — the "skeleton" for all letterform construction. Unlike traditional square or pixel-based modular fonts, the hexagonal tilt introduced unique challenges in alignment, balance, and directionality, but it also gave my typeface a distinct rhythmic feel. I experimented with how each character could be “built” by connecting these hexagonal modules, treating them almost like digital tiles or soft pixels. Every shape had to conform to this constraint, including rounded forms like “O” and angular letters like “K” or “X”. It was a time-consuming and highly iterative process, where every decision about shape and negative space mattered. I designed each letter manually, one by one.
3. Designing Uppercase, Lowercase & Symbols
Once the uppercase alphabet was complete, I proceeded to design the lowercase letters. Rather than simply scaling down the uppercase forms, I redesigned many of them for better readability and flow. Maintaining consistency across both sets was essential, but I also allowed myself flexibility to adjust proportions and spacing to better suit lowercase dynamics. In addition to alphabets, I also developed a full set of punctuation and symbols — from “@” to “%” to quotation marks — all following the same hexagonal logic. The goal was to ensure a unified visual language across the entire character set.
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Figure 3.2.1, Uppercase, Week 10 (24/6/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.2, Lowercase, Week 11 (1/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.3, Symbols, Week 11 (1/7/2025).
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3. Transition to FontLab
With all the individual vector letterforms ready, I imported them into FontLab. Here, I began the process of refining spacing, vertical metrics, and character alignment. I set up the baseline, x-height, cap height, and adjusted the ascendersand descenders where needed. My typeface didn’t follow traditional curves or strokes, so I had to be especially mindful about alignment and overshoot compensation — especially for letters like “O” or “A” which needed visual balance within the hexagon grid. In FontLab, I also generated kerning pairs and tested how the letters interacted in real text settings. I typed out sample phrases like "Don't panic, this font is fine" to check the legibility and tone.
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Figure 3.2.4, Process, Week 12 (8/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.5, Process, Week 12 (8/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.6, Process, Week 12 (8/7/2025).
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4. Typeface Testing & Preview
Once the font was functionally complete, I began testing it in mock layouts. I typed passages using both uppercase and lowercase combinations to identify spacing inconsistencies or awkward glyphs. I refined the tracking and hinting slightly to make sure it could be read well at smaller sizes, though this font is best suited for display purposes.
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Figure 3.2.7, Process, Week 12 (8/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.8, Process, Week 12 (8/7/2025). |
5. Font Presentation
In this font presentation, my design direction was to embrace a minimalist aesthetic. I focused on crafting a clean and structured visual experience by limiting my design elements to a monochromatic colour palette—black, white, and various tones of grey. This colour choice reflects simplicity, clarity, and neutrality, which aligns with the overall minimalist theme.
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Figure 3.2.9, Colour Palette, Week 13 (22/7/2025).
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My approach was to allow the font itself to be the hero of the composition, removing any unnecessary decoration that could distract from its form and rhythm. By applying generous negative space and strict alignment, I intended to highlight the typeface’s structure, stroke contrast, and character balance. This helps viewers appreciate the font’s design nuances in a controlled, modern, and visually calm environment.In this font presentation, my design direction was to embrace a minimalist aesthetic. I focused on crafting a clean and structured visual experience by limiting my design elements to a monochromatic colour palette—black, white, and various tones of grey. This colour choice reflects simplicity, clarity, and neutrality, which aligns with the overall minimalist theme.
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Figure 3.2.10, Colour Palette, Week 13 (22/7/2025).
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FINAL OUTCOME OF FONT PRESENTATION
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Figure 3.2.11, Final Outcome of Font Presentation, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.12, Final Outcome of Font Presentation, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.13, Final Outcome of Font Presentation, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.14, Final Outcome of Font Presentation, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.15, Final Outcome of Font Presentation, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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6. Font Application
For the font Application, I decided to go with a minimalist black-and-white style. Before starting the design, I gathered inspiration from Pinterest, looking at various minimalist poster layouts to better understand the structure and visual rhythm I wanted to create. I chose a monochromatic colour palette—black, white, and grey—to reflect a clean, timeless feel that allows the typeform to stand out without distraction. The overall aim was to present the font in a clear and modern way, using visual simplicity to highlight the details and characteristics of the type design.
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Figure 3.2.16, Moodboard, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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I imagined this typeface being used in a conceptual art and design event called the Soft Pixel Festival. This fictional festival celebrates experimental digital art, blending pixel-based aesthetics with modern design. I designed several branding materials for the event, including a poster, tote bag, and billboard advertisement, to demonstrate how the font would function in real-world contexts.
The design goal was to create a consistent and strong visual identity across all applications, staying true to the minimalist black-grey-white palette and grid-based layout. The font's geometric qualities and digital feel pair well with the festival’s theme, evoking both precision and softness. The limited colour scheme ensures that the focus remains on typographic clarity, while also creating a bold visual statement in public settings.
Currently, I am constructing the foundational visuals in Adobe Illustrator, preparing the layout and typography, and will then integrate the designs into mock-ups to showcase how they would appear in real-life environments. This process allows me to evaluate the font's legibility, impact, and cohesion across different mediums.
#1
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Figure 3.2.17, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.18, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.19, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.20, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.21, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.22, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.23, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.24, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.25, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.26, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.27, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.28, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.29, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.30, Process, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.31, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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FINAL OUTCOME OF FONT APPLICATION
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Figure 3.2.32, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.33, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.34, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.35, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.2.36, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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3.3 Final Outcome
2. Font Presentation & Font Application (JPEG & PDF)
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Figure 3.3.2.1, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.2, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.3, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.4, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.5, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.6, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.7, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.8, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.9, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.10, Outcome, Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
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Figure 3.3.2.11 Outcome (PDF), Week 13 (22/7/2025). |
Feedback
Week 9
General Feedback:
I was absent this week and unable to participate in the session.
Week 10
General Feedback:
This week, we started focusing on the consistency between uppercase and lowercase letters. Mr. Vinod emphasized the importance of visual alignment and structure across the type family, especially as we progressed into designing lowercase characters, numerals, and symbols.
Specific Feedback:
Since I had missed the previous session, I hadn’t had the chance to show my proposal to Mr. Vinod. This week, I presented both the proposal and my uppercase letters. He mentioned that I was slightly behind due to my absence and suggested I revise my idea and take on a simpler typeface that would be more achievable within the remaining time.
Week 11
General Feedback:
We spent this week completing the lowercase set along with numerals and punctuation. Mr. Vinod provided useful visual references and suggestions to help us ensure that these components matched the rest of our typeface stylistically.
Specific Feedback:
He approved my progress and allowed me to continue developing the typeface.
Week 12
General Feedback:
Our main task this week was to transfer the finished typeface designs into FontLab for digital refinement. Mr. Vinod walked us through key technical aspects like precise measurements, proper alignment, and clean data transfer from Illustrator to preserve the design’s integrity.
Specific Feedback:
Mr. Vinod reviewed my work and said I could move forward with it.
Week 13
General Feedback:
As we entered the final stage of the project, we concentrated on applying our fonts and preparing for presentation. Mr. Vinod reminded us of the Task 3 blog submission deadline and emphasized that the final post should not only present our design process and outcomes but also include the work created for the Honor Standby Typeface Design Competition.
Specific Feedback:
He mentioned that my overall submission was fine, but recommended that I revise one of the typefaces used in my font application posters.
Week 14
General Feedback:
This week marked the final submission of all our project components.
Reflections
Experience
This typeface project has been one of the most challenging yet fulfilling tasks I've taken on so far. Starting from just a concept, I pushed myself to develop an entire uppercase and lowercase alphabet system based on a 30° rotated hexagonal grid — a structure that initially felt rigid but ultimately gave me freedom to explore. The process started with inspiration gathering and shape experimentation. I knew early on that I wanted to create something visually bold and system-driven, yet also playful and unexpected. The pixelated honeycomb structure became my foundation, and from there, I sketched letterforms directly into the grid, allowing constraints to guide the outcomes. Many letters needed multiple rounds of refinement, especially when it came to balancing legibility with the aesthetic I was aiming for. Some forms — like "L", "X", or "S" — were deceptively difficult, and I had to experiment with different approaches to avoid stiffness or imbalance. I also had to carefully consider baseline alignment, overshoots, and the cap height to ensure the system remained functional as a font. Exporting the glyphs into FontLab made me more aware of the vertical metrics like ascender height, line gap, and safe zones — areas that I previously overlooked but now realize are crucial to how type behaves digitally. Designing the punctuation was another learning curve. I initially underestimated its importance, but later understood how essential it is to unify punctuation with the font’s tone. Finally, bringing the type into mockups — tote bags, Billboards, Poster, — allowed me to see how it could live in the real world. This made the design feel alive and complete.
Observations
Throughout the process, I learned how small formal decisions could completely change the tone of a typeface. A subtle diagonal line, the choice to let a shape "drop" slightly below the baseline, or the placement of a hexagon — each detail had weight. I also became more aware of how emotional and narrative typography can be. Even in a system-based grid, the way certain letters lean, breathe, or feel "chunky" vs "airy" can imply personality traits like confidence, playfulness, or precision. Seeing my font applied on different objects helped me recognize the power of consistency and brand adaptability. It was satisfying to see that a grid-based, geometric display font could still evoke softness and quirkiness — qualities I wanted to embed into the identity.
Findings
What I took away most from this project is that type design is an intricate blend of structure and emotion. It requires patience, iteration, and the courage to discard ideas when they don’t work. I also learned how technical details — like x-height ratios, descender depths, and kerning zones — directly impact readability and tone. Font creation isn’t just drawing nice letters; it’s about building a system that functions across different environments, sizes, and mediums. Lastly, this task reminded me that meaningful design often starts from personal interests — in my case, a fascination with patterns, grids, and experimental legibility. When you bring part of yourself into the design, it resonates more deeply. This project has strengthened both my technical skills and my creative confidence, and it gave me a glimpse into how even a single alphabet system can tell a story.
Further Reading
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Figure 4.1, Typography Referenced. |
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✩ WEEK 9
This week focused on free placement systems, as discussed on p.219. I was introduced to more intuitive, expressive compositions that do not rely on strict grids. Designers like Kevin Paolozzi embrace visual tension and layering instead of structure, which inspired me to experiment beyond symmetry. This approach encouraged me to explore irregular alignments and overlapping elements to communicate emotion and energy more freely.
✩ WEEK 10
I wrapped up with symmetry and asymmetry (p.226), discovering that both strategies evoke specific emotional tones. Symmetry offers stability and formality, while asymmetry brings contrast, energy, and emphasis. The reading helped me understand that asymmetrical design isn't chaotic—it’s purposeful. I started applying this thinking to posters and digital layouts to add movement and visual intrigue while still guiding the viewer’s eye.
✩ WEEK 11
This week’s focus was on rhythm and spacing in typography. According to p.229, rhythm is created through consistent letterspacing, line spacing, and alignment. I became more conscious of negative space and how it influences readability and emotional tone. The example of typographic poetry made me think differently about how even silence (empty space) communicates, just like a pause in speech.
✩ WEEK 12
I explored scale and proportion and how changes in type size can evoke different levels of attention or hierarchy. On p.228, the reading shows how designers play with scale not only for impact but for pacing. A particular example used extreme size contrast between headlines and body text to create rhythm and structure. This week helped me be bolder in experimenting with type size for emotional and narrative effect.
✩ WEEK 13
This week introduced color as a typographic tool. On p.239–241, color is not treated as decorative but as functional and expressive. I was especially drawn to Paula Scher’s work, where color helped define structure and voice in the absence of traditional hierarchy. I tested muted vs saturated tones and observed how color affects contrast, mood, and even legibility, depending on the background
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