Roman – Fragments of Beauty https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com Typeface Works and Essays Fri, 02 Apr 2021 10:36:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.5 https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cropped-Homescree_icon-32x32.png Roman – Fragments of Beauty https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com 32 32 Is it symmetrical? https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/2020/01/is-it-symmetrical/ https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/2020/01/is-it-symmetrical/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2020 08:09:33 +0000 http://www.seifertfragments.de/?p=2866

In the design of a typeface typically there are letters more interesting to do than others. The ones we use to determine a typeface’s style, look or feel and the ones which we might want to neglect for some time. Inevitably yet, sooner or later we have to spend some time drawing also the less interesting ones. And at this point someone may ask, as well: are they really so uninteresting? One of these candidates surely is the minor letter ‘o’. While creating a Sans Serif typeface we may be tempted to construct a circle. At least, even in the serif fonts where stroke widths swell in horizontal we hope that by drawing a quarter part and duplicating it four times we might get the job done. But human eye follow its own rules! Doing so the result is a letter seemingly out of balance, some kind of weird element among others. This depends in part on the direction of reading, as well as on other habits of watching in general.
What makes it so hard creating a well done ‘o’ is exactly that subtlety: making it seem symmetrical while taking care of these optical balance effects.
Even in typefaces which have a non inclined character, on the contrary to the antique Roman characters as Jenson and others, we might find that the inner circle, for example, needs to be inclined nonetheless a little bit. So that the eye while reading is not stopped in the flow of a line. In addition, the bottom curves of the apparently symmetrical ‘o’ behave differently to the upper ones. So, what makes it so hard creating a well done ‘o’ is exactly that subtlety: making it seem symmetrical while taking care of these optical balance effects. And let me assure you: it is a hard one! In part we are relieved of this task in the italic typefaces where by nature we have only a flipped vertical symmetry. And in general the eye is inclined to pardon small divergences more easily. In this typeface called Reflection Italic (later Urbino) I implemented more concise pen characteristics such as tiny edges on its outer curves. This not only helped to make it a more harmonious partner to its quite edgy Roman pendant but makes it more liberal in the choice of how to handle symmetries. In order to get inspired for what regards its reading flow I used Sandro Botticelli’s paintings for he is a true master of movement and lines’ dynamic. Read also [German and Italian language] Painting: Sandro Botticelli | Primavera (detail)]]>

In the design of a typeface typically there are letters more interesting to do than others. The ones we use to determine a typeface’s style, look or feel and the ones which we might want to neglect for some time. Inevitably yet, sooner or later we have to spend some time drawing also the less interesting ones. And at this point someone may ask, as well: are they really so uninteresting? One of these candidates surely is the minor letter ‘o’. While creating a Sans Serif typeface we may be tempted to construct a circle. At least, even in the serif fonts where stroke widths swell in horizontal we hope that by drawing a quarter part and duplicating it four times we might get the job done. But human eye follow its own rules! Doing so the result is a letter seemingly out of balance, some kind of weird element among others. This depends in part on the direction of reading, as well as on other habits of watching in general.
What makes it so hard creating a well done ‘o’ is exactly that subtlety: making it seem symmetrical while taking care of these optical balance effects.
Even in typefaces which have a non inclined character, on the contrary to the antique Roman characters as Jenson and others, we might find that the inner circle, for example, needs to be inclined nonetheless a little bit. So that the eye while reading is not stopped in the flow of a line. In addition, the bottom curves of the apparently symmetrical ‘o’ behave differently to the upper ones. So, what makes it so hard creating a well done ‘o’ is exactly that subtlety: making it seem symmetrical while taking care of these optical balance effects. And let me assure you: it is a hard one! In part we are relieved of this task in the italic typefaces where by nature we have only a flipped vertical symmetry. And in general the eye is inclined to pardon small divergences more easily. In this typeface called Reflection Italic (later Urbino) I implemented more concise pen characteristics such as tiny edges on its outer curves. This not only helped to make it a more harmonious partner to its quite edgy Roman pendant but makes it more liberal in the choice of how to handle symmetries. In order to get inspired for what regards its reading flow I used Sandro Botticelli’s paintings for he is a true master of movement and lines’ dynamic. Read also [German and Italian language] Painting: Sandro Botticelli | Primavera (detail)]]> https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/2020/01/is-it-symmetrical/feed/ 0 ‘TRU’ Trussardi Lettering https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/2017/04/tru-trussardi-lettering/ https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/2017/04/tru-trussardi-lettering/#respond Sat, 22 Apr 2017 16:21:36 +0000 http://www.seifertfragments.de/?p=1856 TRU Trussardi Lettering

During the drawing process of Urbino Typeface I enjoyed doing some lettering researches for the classic Trussardi fashion griffe. This is a detail from FontLab Metrics window during the elaboration of the letters ‘R’ and ‘U’. The latter one is a particular challenge in serif typefaces. It has a delicate balance and symmetry between stems. The right one that has to have the part of hairline, yet, cannot be a slim as in other letters specially when not equipped with a full serif. Urbino Typeface is dealing a lot with these subtle contradictions which arise by being a serif typeface on the one hand, yet, having definitely some of the characteristics of a Sans Serif character on the other. Uppercase letters also show something of almost ancient Roman alphabets carved into stone. Urbino which I derived as an Italic variant of Reflection typeface has a particular long story within my type creations. Much time has been dedicated to it over the years and I still love it a lot.]]> TRU Trussardi Lettering

During the drawing process of Urbino Typeface I enjoyed doing some lettering researches for the classic Trussardi fashion griffe. This is a detail from FontLab Metrics window during the elaboration of the letters ‘R’ and ‘U’. The latter one is a particular challenge in serif typefaces. It has a delicate balance and symmetry between stems. The right one that has to have the part of hairline, yet, cannot be a slim as in other letters specially when not equipped with a full serif. Urbino Typeface is dealing a lot with these subtle contradictions which arise by being a serif typeface on the one hand, yet, having definitely some of the characteristics of a Sans Serif character on the other. Uppercase letters also show something of almost ancient Roman alphabets carved into stone. Urbino which I derived as an Italic variant of Reflection typeface has a particular long story within my type creations. Much time has been dedicated to it over the years and I still love it a lot.]]> https://frammenti.stefanseifert.com/2017/04/tru-trussardi-lettering/feed/ 0