ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY / TASK 3: TYPE EXPLORATION & APPLICATION

ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY / TASK 3: TYPE EXPLORATION & APPLICATION

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12.11.2025 -17.12.2025 (week 8 - week 13) 
Low Xin Er / 0374596 / Bachelor of creative media

Advance Typography / Task3 - Type Exploration & Application

1.Research & Progress
2.Digitalise Curtyane typeface
3.Font Presentation & Application
4.Final Font Design
5.Feedback
6.Reflection
7.Further Reading

Task 3: Type Exploration & Application

Advanced by xiner low - Task 3 ideas presentation (15/11/2025, week 8)

1.Research & Progress

Idea 1: Biscuit

Fig.1.1 references (14/11/2025, week 8)

Fig.1.2 typeface exploration (14/11/2025, week 8)

Intention:

• Most of the original cookie font was too realistic and 3D, making it difficult to use on digital products. Therefore, the focus was on improving the style, including the borders and colors.
• Use elements such as cookie textures, holes, and lace as design elements for the font. It can be in black and white or in cookie colors.
• It can be used in tea parties or any product related to baked cookies.

Idea 2: Curtain

Fig.1.3 references (14/11/2025, week 8)

Fig.1.4 typeface exploration (14/11/2025, week 8)

Intention:

• The drape and pleats of curtains change shape with force or fixation. The dynamic movement of their swaying ends can also serve as excellent design elements for text.
• This can be applied to products related to home and stage performances.

Idea 3: Paper cut

Fig.1.5 references (14/11/2025, week 8)

Fig.1.6 typeface exploration (14/11/2025, week 8)

Intention:

• The characteristic of paper-cutting art is that it involves subtracting numerous small shapes from an existing flat surface to create a graphic, revealing the graphic while simultaneously showing the content behind it—a semi-concealed design. Similar to paper-cutting, lace, and tailoring, these designs can be used in handicrafts and cultural products.
• Based on a tailor-like design, the font uses the characteristics of paper-cutting art, leaving space between each shape, like a font composed of a pattern.

Feedback (19/11/2025, week 9)

• For the "Curtain" font, could find a relevant curtain company to design the font for them.
• For the third font, "Paper Cut," a more angular, diamond-shaped design would be better.

2.Digitalise Final attempt: Curtayne Font

Sketching 

Fig.2.1 sketching uppercase alphabet (22/11/2025, week 9)

Digitalise - uppercase

Fig.2.2 digitalised draft (22/11/2025, week 9)

Fig.2.3 adjustment letter E,Z,Q (22/11/2025, week 9)

Fig.2.4 digitalised in Adobe Illustration (22/11/2025, week 9)

Fig.2.5 setting guide line (22/11/2025, week 9)

Fig.2.6 progress (26/11/2025, week 10)

Sketching - lowercase & numerals

Fig.2.7 sketching uppercase alphabet & numerals (27/11/2025, week 10)

Digitalise - lowercase

Fig.2.8 digitalised draft (28/11/2025, week 10)

Fig.2.9 digitalised in Adobe Illustration (28/11/2025, week 10)

Feedback

• The thickness of uppercase and lowercase letters should be the same. The size of numbers and punctuation marks should follow the same design as uppercase letters.

Fig.2.10adjustment of lowercase (3/12/2025, week 11)

Fig.2.11 adjustment of lowercase (3/12/2025, week 11)

Fig.2.12 adjustment of every alphabet & ready to export (12/12/2025, week 12)

3.Font Presentation & Application

References on Pinterest and past student's works. For the colour selection, I decided to use the same colour palette from Task 2.

 

Fig.3.1 references of font presentation  (13/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.2 font presentation draft  (13/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.3 klpac website for font application  (13/12/2025, week 12)

The font design is well-suited for performance-related organizations like KLPAC, so I used KLPAC as an example to design a series of products using this font.

Fig.3.4 font application- cap mockup (14/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.5 font application- keychain mockup (14/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.6 font application- tape mockup (14/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.7 font application- all mockup (14/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.8 5 font presentation  (14/12/2025, week 12)

Fig.3.9 finalise in adobe illustrator  (14/12/2025, week 12)

4.Final Font Design: Curtayne Font

Fig.4.1 Final Font Design

Downloadable font link: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18IXwticMa7YfDmRRzaxXIc72NMJC--ay/view?usp=sharing

Font Presentation

Fig.4.2 Font Presentation #1 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.3 Font Presentation #2 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.4 Font Presentation #3 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.5 Font Presentation #4 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.6 Font Presentation #5 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Font Application

Fig.4.7 Font Application #1 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.8 Font Application #2 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.9 Font Application #3 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.10 Font Application #4 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.11 Font Application #5 (15/12/2025, week 13)

Feedback (17/12/2025, week 13)

• Dont try to squeze all your letters into one artboard for your font presentation, the forn you designed needs to be displayed big. 
• The hat is out of place, wrong choice - rethink.

Adjustment

Fig.4.12 Font Presentation #1 adjustment (17/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.13 Font Application #1 adjustment  (17/12/2025, week 13)

Final Font Presentation & Application (PDF)

Fig.4.14 Final Font Presentation PDF  (17/12/2025, week 13)

Fig.4.15 Final Font Application PDF  (17/12/2025, week 13)

FEEDBACK

Week 9  (19/11/2025)

General Feedback

• Whether you are a student now or working in the future, you should follow the instructions in the brief instead of thinking that your design is unique but does not solve the customer's problem.

Specific Feedback

• For the "Curtain" font, could find a relevant curtain company to design the font for them.
• For the third font, "Paper Cut," a more angular, diamond-shaped design would be better.

Week 10  (26/11/2025)

General Feedback

• Remember to save the entire design process of your work.

Specific Feedback

• Good. Record the entire design process of your work.Continue with lowercase and punctuation design.

Week 11  (3/12/2025)

General Feedback

• Adjust the spacing between letters to avoid awkward blank spaces created by curved letters and achieve visual balance. 
• Review the YouTube tutorials on using Fontlab. 
• Adjust according to the letter spacing reference table.

Specific Feedback

• The thickness of uppercase and lowercase letters should be the same. The size of numbers and punctuation marks should follow the same design as uppercase letters.

Week 12  (10/12/2025)

General Feedback

• The thickness of uppercase and lowercase letters should be the same. The size of numbers and punctuation marks should follow the same design as uppercase letters.
• The weight of lowercase letters should be the same as that of uppercase letters.
• Regular letters should be larger than uppercase letters to avoid looking like a C.
• Commas should have the same diameter as the letters, including question marks, exclamation marks, and the dots around the letters i and j.
• Before adjusting spacing in FontLab, enable preferences. When copying, use AI technology to automatically aim and maintain the position. Refer to YouTube tutorials.

Specific Feedback

• The lowercase letters look much better after adjusting the thickness.
• The letter Q could be made thinner. 
• For font usage, can refer to the KLpact event, using similar themes as a reference.

Week 13 (17/12/2025)

General Feedback

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Specific Feedback

• Dont try to squeze all your letters into one artboard for your font presentation, the forn you designed needs to be displayed big. 
• The hat is out of place, wrong choice - rethink.

REFLECTION

Experience

This assignment is similar to the font design project from last semester, so I was more familiar with the process and methods from research to design this time. This assignment again used Adobe Illustrator to create the font and imported it into FontLab to complete the entire font set. Finally, the font was showcased and applied to suitable products to highlight its value.

Observations

I've found that I'm better suited to physical handwriting for design sketches than electronic devices. The familiar control over the grip, angle, and pressure of the pen allows me to quickly and steadily depict the ideas in my mind. Therefore, I'm quite certain that my design habit is to draw my work on paper; even simple sketches allow me to quickly confirm my design direction.

Findings

Designing a typeface for the second time gave me a great sense of accomplishment, but it also made me realize that designing a typeface isn't something only experienced professionals can do. This made me realize again that I tend to overthink unfamiliar areas and imagine them as difficult. In reality, as long as you spend time understanding others' design processes and learn through practice, you'll find that designing step by step isn't actually that hard.

FUTHER READING

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield

Just My Type is a fun and surprising book about fonts and how they shape the way we feel and see the world. The author doesn’t just list typefaces, he tells stories about them. I learned why some fonts like Comic Sans make people roll their eyes, and why Helvetica became so famous. The book talks about how fonts carry personality and meaning, like how a font can look serious, calm, playful, or old-fashioned without using words. It helped me see letters as more than shapes on a screen. Instead, they are expressive tools that change the mood of a design. The writing is easy to read, with real examples from everyday life that make the ideas stick. After reading this book, I feel like I can choose type with more purpose and understand why good typography matters in design. It made me more aware of the fonts around me.