Task 3 | Type Exploration & Application
Task 3 | 17 June 2025 - 22 July 2025 [Week 5 - Week 14]
LIST OF CONTENTS:
- Collateral
MODULE BRIEF
Fig 1.1 Module Brief (Week 1, 23/05/2025)
LECTURE NOTES
Click here to view
Week 1 - 4 Lecture Notes and
Week 5 Lecture Notes
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PROCESS
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PROPOSAL & RESEARCH
For Task 3, we were instructed to develop a complete font (.ttf) along with its applications, selecting from three approaches: creating a new font, improving an existing letterform, or conducting a typographic experiment.
I chose the first option—designing an original typeface to address a specific need within my field. My focus was on creating a more widely usable neurodivergent-friendly font that balances accessibility with visual versatility, aiming to improve readability without compromising aesthetic appeal.
Fig 2.1.1 Proposal Slides (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
After deciding on my approach, I researched and found several existing neurodivergent-friendly typefaces. Below is a compilation of the websites I used in my research and ideation development.
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| Fig 2.1.2 Design Research (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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DESIGNING THE FONT
First Iteration
I started with digitising the letters "O" and "W". Then after, I started on the rest of the uppercase letters.
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| Fig 2.2.3 Initial Uppercase Testing (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
Adjustments
After recieving feedback on my initial design, I decided to add to the designs by editing the curvatures and the thickness of the letters. I also decided to round the corners more as during my research, I found that rounded corners are easier on the eyes for neurodivergent readers.
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Fig 2.3.1 Letter "W" Digitisation Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
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When I was satisfied with my uppercase letters, i moved on to designing the lowercase alphabets and the numerals. Moving on, I designed the punctuation symbols.
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| Fig 2.3.3 Lowercase & Numerals (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 2.3.4 Lowercase & Numerals Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 2.3..5 Punctuations (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 2.3.5 Punctuation Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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CREATING THE FONT
After I was done with the design portion, I imported the letterforms into FontLab. Then, I adjusted the sidebearings and manually adjusted the kerning of every possible pairing.
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| Fig 2.4.1 FontLab Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 2.4.2 Sidebearing & Kerning Adjustments (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
COLLATERAL
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PRESENTATIONS
I ended up with 7 different designs for the presentation of my font. I decided to go with different shades of blue and a more beige and dark grey colour for my design colour palette.
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Fig 3.1.1 Presentation & Application Design Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 3.1.2 Font Presentation Outcome (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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APPLICATIONS
This is the process of designing the font applications. I decided to go with things that we see often on the daily, like the staff name tag and public wayfinding signage. I also chose to caption a TED Talk video on Dyslexia and create a poster for Dyslexia Awareness Month.
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| Fig 3.2.1 Poster Design Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 3.2.2 TED Talk Video Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 3.2.3 Font Application Outcome (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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FINAL COMPILATION
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This final compilation showcases the complete development and application of my custom typeface created for Task 3. It includes a full set of characters—uppercase, lowercase, numerals, and punctuation—refined for both display and text usage. The presentation highlights key design decisions, such as the treatment of stroke contrast, x-height proportions, and the exaggeration of distinctive features to enhance uniqueness.
Accompanying the type specimen are five diverse applications that demonstrate the font's versatility in real-world contexts. Each application was carefully curated to reflect both functional clarity and visual identity. The layout follows a clean, consistent hierarchy to ensure easy navigation and readability, while keeping the focus on the typeface itself. This compilation aims to not only present the technical completion of the type but also its creative potential across different platforms.
Fig 4.1.1 Font Specimen (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
Fig 4.1.2 Font Preview (Week 13, 14/07/2025)Try the Dyslie FontPreview appears here | ||
Click here to download the font.
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| Fig 4.1.4 Font Presentation #2 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.5 Font Presentation #3 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.6 Font Presentation #4 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.7 Font Presentation #5 (Week 13, 14/07/2025 |
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| Fig 4.1.8 Font Application #1 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.9 Font Application #2 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.10 Font Application #3 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.11 Font Application #4 (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
Fig 4.1.12 Font Application #5 (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
Fig 4.1.13 Final PDF Compilation (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
HONOR COMPETITION
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DESIGN
As part of this assignment task, we had to create 4 designs for the HONOR Talents Global Design Awards Competition. I chose to do the Standby category with the theme : Youth Convergence - Integration. I first design all the artwork in Illustrator. After I was happy with my clock design, I brought it into After Effects to animate.
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| Fig 4.1.1 Honor Design Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 4.1.2 Clock Animation Process (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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OUTCOME
The final outcome is a design that represents the meeting of youths all around the world. It symbolises the connection they can keep no matter where they were in the world.
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| Fig 5.2.1 Personalized Signature Design (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 5.2.2 Clock Design (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
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| Fig 5.2.3 Overall Visual Design (Week 13, 14/07/2025) |
Fig 5.2.4 Animation (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
Fig 5.2.5 Honor Compilation (Week 13, 14/07/2025)
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FEEDBACKS
WEEK 9
General Feedback:
Mr Vinod reminded the class
to ensure consistent formatting throughout the final submission, emphasizing that clean and neat visual hierarchy is essential for clarity. He advised making the final submission images larger so the details of the work are more visible and impactful. He pointed out that designing a text font is generally more difficult and tedious compared to creating a display font, due to the need for higher readability and consistency across multiple characters. When working on a unicase font, he stressed the importance of properly populating key letterforms to maintain balance. Mr. Vinod also encouraged us not to take away what makes the font unique, but instead to exaggerate those distinctive features to strengthen the design. He specified that the artboard size for font design should be set to 1000pts in height, and noted that while a larger x-height is ideal for legibility, it’s not always necessary depending on the context of the typeface.
Specific Feedback:
Specifically for my work, Mr. Vinod commented that it looks very typical and closely resembles existing fonts, and advised me to push the design further by emphasizing its unique elements.
WEEK 10
General Feedback:
We weren't given any general feedback.
Specific Feedback:
Mr Vinod said that my font was okay and to proceed with the rest of the task. He also reminded me to keep my process visible in Illustrator.
WEEK 11
General Feedback:
Mr Vinod emphasized the importance of designing punctuation with intention, rather than simply drawing them in without research. For instance, the parenthesis ( ) usually sits below the baseline but stays above the descender line. However, in bold typefaces, it may occasionally extend to the descender line. These subtle differences make it essential to study how punctuation behaves across different styles before designing your own. Mr. Vinod also advised against using unusual or distracting colours in your presentation, as it can take attention away from the type design itself and make the overall work appear less professional.
Specific Feedback:
I didn't recieve any specific feedback.
WEEK 12
General Feedback:
There was no general feedback.
Specific Feedback:
I didn't recieve any specific feedback.
WEEK 13
General Feedback:
In the final submission, include a brief introduction for each font presentation and its application. This helps viewers understand the context and purpose of your design without needing to scroll through the entire page. Keep it concise but informative.
Specific Feedback:
Mr Vinod said that the font presentations and application were okay. He also checked my Honor Competition submission and reminded me to proceed and upload the proof of submission to the blog.
REFLECTION
EXPERIENCE
Working on Task 3 deepened my understanding of the entire font design process—from initial concept and sketching to digitizing in Illustrator and finalizing in FontLab. It was challenging to build lowercase letters, punctuation, and numerals from scratch, but rewarding to see the font evolve week by week. The task also pushed me to manage technical details and presentation layout thoughtfully, especially in applying consistent formatting and visual hierarchy across my boards.
OBSERVATIONS
Throughout the exploration and application stages, I noticed how crucial even small typographic decisions are to the overall design. Subtle adjustments to kerning, stroke weight, and alignment significantly affected the perceived clarity and professionalism of the font. I also realized how punctuation details—like parentheses in bold weights—require study rather than approximation. Presentation choices such as color and layout impact how easily viewers can engage with the typeface.
FINDINGS
I learned that a successful typeface bridges aesthetics and function: a visually appealing design isn't effective unless it performs well in real-world usage scenarios. For instance, designing for different weights required careful study of how bold punctuation interacts with baseline and descender lines. The practical task of creating five clear font applications (excluding the HONOR competition piece) taught me that consistency and originality are key—in particular, to avoid typical-looking solutions and push the unique traits of the design further. Overall, maintaining a strong concept and tying it into application contexts makes typography more purposeful and impactful.
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FURTHER READINGS
1. "Neurodiversity in the Classroom"
by Thomas Armstrong
This book helped me shift my mindset from “designing for disability” to
designing for cognitive variation
. Armstrong argues that neurodivergent conditions — like dyslexia, ADHD, and autism — are not deficits, but part of the natural diversity of the human brain. That idea made me rethink how typography plays a role in learning environments.
Key takeaways:
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Neurodivergent students benefit from structure, predictability, and clarity — design should reduce cognitive load, not just visual noise.
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Strength-based approach: Instead of compensating for “weaknesses,” design should support how neurodivergent readers process information.
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Environmental impact matters — font is part of the learning setting, not just the content.
This guided my font decisions — especially in spacing, rhythm, and stroke weight — to create a reading experience that feels stable, calming, and supportive, rather than overwhelming or overly stylized.
2. "The Stroke : Theory of Writing"
by Gerrit Noordzij
Noordzij's work focuses on the stroke as the core of letter construction, treating writing as a visible trail of motion. He breaks down how different tools (broad-nib vs. pointed pen) influence the structure and logic of letterforms.
Important concepts:
- Letters are not shapes, but movements - understanding this helped me give more natural flow to each character in my font.
- The Contrast Triangle : translation, expansion, and rotation - these models of stroke contrast infromed how I placed stress and weight within each letter.
- Consistency of rhythm in stroke helps guide the eye - crucial for readers who rely on pattern recognition, especially those with dyslexia or ADHD.
This book pushed me to think less about how letters look in isolation, and more about how they
behave as a system — how they move, align, and support the reader’s visual path through a block of text.