Sunday 13 May 2012

Design Practice II//Product/Range/Distribution//Specifying type.



Experimenting with various typefaces to use as body copy within my book/publication, which I hope to  complete and get sent off to print this evening in time for the module and project deadline, though, unfortunately, not in time for the final crit session (in which I will present a PDF version of the book).


Traditionally, sans serif typefaces are used as the text content within books as it is generally more legible and easier to read in dense blocks of text. However, in balance with the aesthetic outcome I want to achieve with both my illustrations and typeface design, and the contemporary publication I want to produce (as with some examples I have seen and researched), I am also open to the idea of using serif typefaces, if more appropriate, and, of course, still legible.


Looking at the various typefaces I could possibly use, from TImes New Roman, to Didiot, to Corbel, to Gill Sans, I found that a recently downloaded typeface, Sofia Pro Light, worked particularly well. Not too condensed, and not too tracked, the positioning of the words, and the kerning of each of the letterforms seemed to fit really well together for a comfortable read within the paragraph of text. 


For now, I would like to go on to experiment with applying this to my design within InDesign, and see how effective it is in terms of the entire publication, and whether or not it remains readable.


When comparing my rendered typeface, 'Paper Cut Sans' to Sofia Pro Light (with a 3pt outline to give the appearance of bold letterforms) there was an incredible likeness (see image above, with Paper Cut Sans on top, and with Sofia Pro... below), with my typeface generally just being a little more condensed, and less rounded than Sofia Pro.


Experimenting with enhancing text and making contents bold with 0.5pt and 0.25pt variants. Although Sofia Pro Bold is available to download as a typeface, due to it's craftsmanship and skill (it really is a beautiful series) it costs around $35 per download (Light/Oblique/Book, etc), which, unfortunately, I don't have to spend at this time (especially considering the price of print production for this project), though, if necessary, I will try and emulate this style as effectively as possible.

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