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FONT DESIGN Project

There are 3 main steps in this assignment to turn in:
  • HAND-DRAWN ALPHABET - You will hand-draw all the CAPITAL LETTERS in the alphabet and NUMBERS 0-9 with a pencil or pen (Drawing).  Take a picture of your sketches and submit to Schoology.  
  • DIGITIZE your FONT using Adobe ILLUSTRATOR.  Use your alphabet drawing to trace VECTORS in Adobe ILLUSTRATOR.
  • CREATE LOGO with GRAPHIC - Develop a LOGO using your new FONT and include a VECTOR BASED GRAPHIC to showcase your hand-designed FONT. ​
​This project is a challenge so take your time - work hard - and be creative!
FONT DESIGN
Professional font design takes years to master, but this shouldn’t dissuade you from learning the process. Once you understand the steps needed to create a new font you may be surprised how easily they can be replicated.
Font Fundamentals
It's important that you understand how typography is structured before you start designing characters. The design phase requires knowledge of terms like:
  • Baseline: Where all the letters sit. Think of this like a shelf where the bottom of each letter should rest.
  • Overhang: Rounded bottoms of letters like O and B which dip just below the baseline.
  • X-Height: A line delineating the height of most lowercase letters (notably the letter “x”).
  • Cap Height: A line delineating the height of most capital letters.
  • Ascender Height: Often resting above the cap height, the ascender height limits the very tip of lowercase letters such as “k”.
  • Descender Height: The length of descending marks from characters like “y” and “q”.
STEP 1 - Letterform  Sketching
Draw letters on a blank sheet of paper first. Don’t follow any particular grid – just doodle away to find shapes that you like.
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Once you like the way your letters are designed, then you can draw out the 26 characters in Uppercase and Numbers 0-9 following the grid to see how they should look.  It might help to have GRID PAPER to sketch out your letters.
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Take a picture or scan your Hand-Drawn letters to use as a template in Adobe ILLUSTRATOR

Name your file Hand-DrawnFONT_LastName and turn in to Schoology for STEP 1
STEP 2 - DIGITIZE your ALPHABET DESIGN (Vectors)
  • You will need to trace the ALPHABET & NUMBER sketches you created in STEP 1.
  • Using Adobe ILLUSTRATOR - carefully trace each letter and number to create your VECTOR letters and numbers.
  • You will want them to be as close to proportion as possible with continuity between letters - The should all have the same characteristics (Height, width, and thickness).
  • Take your time and make your tracing as neat as possible - use the DIRECT SELECT TOOL to make adjustments to each letter.
  • You can use copy and paste for similar letter parts to make the process easier and quicker.
Export your file as a jpeg
Turn in both your Illustrator file (.AI) and your Image  file (.JPG)
Name your files ALPHAdigital_LastName and turn in to Schoology for STEP 2
STEP 3 - FONT & GRAPHIC (Vector)
  • For this part of the project, you will be using your new FONT that you created to pair with a visual GRAPHIC
  • Think of a word, phrase, or letters to begin your design - (use a poetic word or phrase or perhaps your name or nickname or initials...)
  • Design a visual GRAPHIC to go with your word, letters or phrase.
You can see this design process in action in the article "How to Learn Letter-Perfect Design" from artist Jessica Hische

​CLICK the button below
Export your file as a jpeg
Turn in both your Illustrator file (.AI) and your Image  file (.JPG)
Name your files FONT&graphic_LastName and turn in to Schoology for STEP 3
When you are done...
Submit the work from the 3 STEPS to Schoology
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FILENAMES:
Hand-DrawnFONT__lastname
ALPHAdigital_lastname   (turn in both .JPG & .AI)
FONT&graphic_lastname (turn in both .JPG & .AI)
ALPHABET EXAMPLES
FONT & GRAPHIC EXAMPLES
Some of the text for this assignment was used from:
The Ultimate Guide on How to Create a Font 
By Jake Rocheleau – July 27, 2015 – In Design