This 3 day workshop inspires beginners with confidence in type design, using the libre font editor, FontForge.
The workshop is customized to meet the level of experience shared by the group, and all that is required is a laptop, a soft pencil, loose paper and a creative mind.
Day One
We start with drawing techniques specific to exploring type forms, and experiment with a new collaborative type design processes. We place type sketching in the context of the overall type design process.
The afternoon session is spent sketching, and installing FontForge and Scribus onto your laptop.
Day Two
Digital font creation is the focus of the second day. We will each start with the sketches of the previous day, and use them to build a functional typeface design and a font we can take home.
The afternoon session will include a discussion of the various kinds of font formats in use by graphic designers today, and the differences between fonts made for printed graphic design and for the web.
Day Three
Finally, we explore ‘advanced’ topics: designing italics, drawing lighter and bolder weights, extending a font with accents, and adding OpenType features.
useful links
http://understandinglimited.com/
http://understandingfonts.com/blog/2011/05/collaborative-type-design-workshop-without-computers/
http://understandingfonts.com/blog/2012/01/generic-poster-2/
http://www.google.com/webfonts