This study is written to accompany my final project for the Multimedia Design (BA) course at Huddersfield University. Since most of my study over the past two years has been about typography, I decided I would have to exercise my knowledge for a final project.
My
study began with an interest in basic typographic design. In 2002 I started
learning how to make my own typefaces, and learning different methods and
techniques for storing type design. My dissertation, ‘How
is Typographic Design Influenced by its Platforms?’ (5MB PDF,
2003), analysed the ways that fonts are produced and how the delivery platform
and restrictions in storage integrity can influence the way that a typeface
is designed.
After studying the way fonts are produced, I found that it was a very laborious task and the tools for making digital fonts were very standard and professionally straight. The idea for my project was sparked by the idea to produce alternative tools for the production of typefaces. Instead of lots of manuals and functions to perform ‘behind the scenes’ events like hinting° and kerning°, I wanted to remove these complications and make the process open to all kinds of people in an instantaneous way, therefore “I want my font with round edges” and “I want serifs only on the right hand side” are understood commands. Even If this is to simply mock up initial font sketches, or to just have fun, the idea can be as open and as creative as I want it to be.
I
began with thinking about the ways that type can be fun. Many people have
never come across font outlines°,
and techniques to manipulate them don’t always go the way you plan.
I found this to my advantage, adding unpredictable and random factors in
the design. So how could I deliver an interactive way of producing font
‘outlines?’ It takes a typographer many years to acquire the
skills to produce a typeface, so what if you could produce a typeface just
by ironing a shirt or putting the kettle on? How far removed from the actual
skills involved, can type design actually become? For example, what if the
fonts you make are restricted by your actual height and weight? This is
not about making tools to replace normal methods, or to make font production
look easy, it is about allowing people to explore, learn and have fun with
typography.
Development Platform
To begin with, I need a delivery platform. Because I see this as being a very visual project, I need a platform that can handle animation with bitmaps and vectors and also one that has very strong application coding capabilities. I started to look at the different platforms I had available.
C++ - An object-oriented programming language based on the C language.
Macromedia Director - Tool for building rich content and applications.
Proce55ing - A programming language and environment built for the electronic arts and visual design communities.
Java - Platform-independent object-oriented programming language.
Macromedia Flash – Vector based, rich internet application delivery platform.
Firstly I had to consider what these can offer. I have no experience with C++, and it does not have considerable built-in animation capabilities. It would be very difficult to learn this new language in the time I have set myself for this project. Java is another platform that I have had limited experience with. Proce55ing builds upon Java by simplifying its language into pre-written functions. This seems a very capable platform, but as it is a very new development, of which I haven’t seen any useful applications developed yet, I was a bit suspicious of its capabilities. Still I thought it would be worth a try, as it could hold some features other platforms may not deliver (I’ll talk about this later). Macromedia Director is a relatively foreign platform to me, but has many abilities that I am looking for in a development suite. Macromedia Flash is one of my main skills, as I have been working with it for 5 years. As flash is an internet delivery platform, it is not entirely made for application development, but new features in Flash MX 2004 provide a rich application development environment. Also the rise in 3rd party support programs like Flash Studio Pro (I'll talk about this later), has opened up many great capabilities.
Overall I am keen to use Flash. I know my own ability and boundaries with Flash; I know what I am dealing with and how I can build an application suitable for kiosk and internet delivery. But first I would try proce55ing to understand how it compares with flash.
I spend a lot of time on the typographic forum Typophile (www.typophile.com). There is a space there for people to critique other people’s fonts and give advice on their designs. To show a design, the designer has to mount their font on a GIF, or PDF and upload it to the forum. My first ideas were to build an internet application for designers to use their original font file (TTF), upload it and automatically display it in an environment where people can leave comments, edit, and chat about it. Also people’s edits can be downloaded by the original designer (but not by the public, for copyright issues). This is a great idea for me, but something that goes back to technicalities in font developments, it doesn’t simplify font design, just aids it. This idea may come as an after-project when I have built the structure of my project.
As I started my project, I was not 100% certain of what I am aiming for, which is understandable, but I kept a diary of my project as my developments progress and as my thoughts change the outcome of my project.
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