Students in the Department of Design Showcase their Unique Fonts and Intricate Posters in DESGD 394
How do you decide which font to type with? Some have tried-and-true favorite font faces, while others merely avoid the few that they adamantly despise. Still others simply could not care less which font they choose. The vast majority, however, seldom stop to think about how these fonts were created in the first place.
This winter semester in Experimental Typography, BYU design students were challenged to think about the fonts they used and even create their own typefaces. On May 16, the class held a reception for their experimental typography gallery, which ran from May 14–June 3. Their aim was to show off their hard work from the semester — and potentially help attendees think through their font choices.
Professor Kevin Cantrell said that “every student had to create a custom typeface, a lettering poster and an experimental type piece” throughout the semester. Cantrell strongly believes that these skills will benefit BYU design students greatly as they pursue jobs in that field: “Just having a basic understanding of the construction of letters is paramount to design and will give them an edge over many students.” He continued, “there are many professors I know who have been in industry for 20 years and still don't understand many basic principles of letter construction.”
Custom Typeface
Design students agreed that this class pushed them to learn beyond a surface-level understanding of design principles using Glyphs. “Making a font was a whole learning curve,” says student Lauren Ferney. She shared that learning a new program was challenging, but she enjoyed learning the science behind making a font.
Students relied on mediums ranging from Chinese characters to subway tiles to inspire their font faces. Chloe Jackson shared that her font “Ralph Avenue” was inspired by her time living in New York with six other girls. The group lived on “Ralph Avenue,” and Jackson was inspired by the liveliness of the city, her roommates and the urban subway she travelled in.
Lettering Poster
In his custom poster, student Stuart Justis shared his process behind making his poster. “Our professor showed us how to do custom lettering on a grid,” he said. Justis had never experimented with stretching lettering before, but he leaned fully into the challenge: “It took me a really long time, but it was definitely rewarding.”
Experimental Type Piece
One aspect of this class that was especially unique was the experimental type piece. Students made motion reels or interactive experiences. Design student Davis Dial explained that he compiled footage of his cohort in New York into a video on top of a spoken quotation. “It was fun to make and look at some of that old footage,” Dial said. This class provided a unique and unexpected opportunity for students to reminisce on previous experiences and pour that nostalgia into their creative work.
Developing New Perspectives
Dial was instrumental in compiling the typeface gallery. He created the font face for the number “394” that was on display around the room and on promotional posters. Dial spoke positively about his experience in the class: “Most of the days, we were working on something that we all — or at least I — would want to do in our free time.” While they worked largely independently, students also received feedback from peers and professor Cantrell. “The class dynamic was great,” Dial said.
Cantrell praised this group of students for their hard work this semester. “These students can do brand identity, custom logo type and tailored word marks for companies,” he said. “This understanding can differentiate between good typography and exceptional typography.” Hopefully this deeper understanding of the creation of typefaces will likewise help you differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘great’ fonts the next time you need to write an essay or design a flyer.