font gothic

28 Project one Type essentials

Font creation software

Designing the Soho Gothic font

Monotype designer Sebastian Lester explains the thinking behind Soho Gothic, a typeface intended to perform as well being the backbone of a global brand as it would in an edgy fashion magazineThe Soho typeface project has been a huge personal undertaking: 54 fonts; over 3,500 hours of work over four years; and 43,924 individual characters. That’s obviously a lot of thinking, planning, drawing, spacing, kerning and Python coding. At times, I thought I’d never fi nish and really wondered what on earth possessed me to start a project like this in the fi rst place. It’s a major commitment by any standard, especially given that it was developed entirely outside of work hours. I obviously had to have a lot of faith in the type design to invest this amount of time and effort in developing it. I wouldn’t have started unless I believed I was designing something that would be extremely versatile and enduring. Over the following pages, you’ll get an insight into this long and labour-intensive process.

DesignerSebastian Lester is a senior type designer at Monotype Imaging. He’s developed custom typefaces for Barclays, The Daily Telegraph, Waitrose,

Skills Inspiration and sketches Different weights OpenType stylistic sets Font usage

Computer Arts Projects _June 2008 www.computerarts.co.uk

and many other companies and publications worldwide. See www.monotype-fonts.com.

Illus

trat

ion

Nel

son

Bal

aban

CAP111.tut_soho 28CAP111.tut_soho 28 1/5/08 19:05:391/5/08 19:05:39

29

www.computerarts.co.uk June 2008_ Computer Arts Projects

Designing the Soho Gothic font 29




HamburgefonstivlyHamburgefonstivlyHamburgefonstivlyHamburgefonstivly

STYLISTIC SET 1 Semi slab letterforms in upper & lowercase.

STYLISTIC SET 2 - Simplified forms in the lowercase - ‘a’, ‘u’ & ‘y’.

STYLISTIC SET 3 - Simplified forms in the lowercase ‘u’ & ‘y’ only.

STYLISTIC SET 4 - Semi slab letterforms in the lowercase only.

STYLISTIC SET 5 - Semi slab letterforms in the lowercase i & l only.

04 I’ll normally work with a test word like ‘Hamburgefonstiv’ because it’s got all the key characters in a typeface design – round, square and diagonal shapes, and proportions that set the tone for the rest of the typeface.

01 The Soho family consists of a slab serif (shown above) and a sans version. I love slab serifs – designs characterised primarily by thick blocky serifs – but for the purposes of this piece I’ll concentrate on the sans serif version, which has just been released.

SOHOGOTHIC™

02 I work as a type designer full-time for Monotype Imaging, where we develop a lot of typefaces for corporate clients. So, in terms of inspiration, I’m always thinking about which characteristics might work well for branding purposes and, more practically, what kinds of designs perform best in a wide variety of applications and environments on screen and in print. Soho Gothic is, in a sense, a distillation of that process of thinking about what I like aesthetically and functionally in an industrial and versatile typeface family, informed by my experience as a custom typeface designer.

03 I always start with a sketchbook when I’m designing a new typeface. I’ll start with very crude letterforms, fl eshing out the basic proportions and themes in the design until I feel ready to start thinking about the detailing.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMabcdefghijklmnop0123456789&012

ABCDEFGHIJKLMabcdefghijklmnop0123456789&012

ABCDEFGHIJKLMabcdefghijklmno0123456789&01

ABCDEFGHIJKLMabcdefghijklmno0123456789&01

ABCDEFGHIJKLabcdefghijklmn0123456789&0

ABCDEFGHIJKLabcdefghijklmn0123456789&0

REGULAR MEDIUM

BOLD EXTRA BOLD

ULTRA

05 I designed seven weights with their respective italics. So that’s 14 fonts in total. Seven weights is actually a good number – it offers lots of variety and fl exibility and the weights harmonise nicely with the slab serif versions of Soho.


07 In contrast, the Ultra version looks very robust, solid, and reliable.

My fiancéeA Brief History of Shopping

BRUISERaaa09 I also designed a semi-slab version of the font. Semi-slab fonts are not purely sans or serif; they’re a hybrid style that can be used to create stylish, distinctive characters and extend the versatility of a design. Soho Gothic’s semi-slabs are accessible via OpenType features in some applications.

00123456789 01234567890123456789 01234567890123456789(¢,$-.)0123456789(¢,$-.)0123456789(¢,$-.)0123456789(¢,$-.)¼½¾⅓⅔⅛⅜⅝⅞

€$ƒ£¤¥¢₡₣₤₧%‰ %‰$¢$¢ €₣₤ƒ₡₧¤≤<=¬+±×÷−≈≠>≥

[(|¦¡¿¡¿\/⁄∕‼!?)]¶&&@@ abdehilmnorst«»‹›##ΩΩ∆∏∑µμ∂π√∫∞‒—.,-:;․‥∙◊«»‹›[(—–-_¯)]^

10 Soho Gothic is an OpenType font. In fact, it has 25 OpenType features, some of which aren’t active yet in software such as InDesign. I wanted to future-proof the typeface as much as possible. It’s got a dozen or so ligatures, four sets of numerals, fractions, inferior and superior numerals, and much more.

www.computerarts.co.uk June 2008_ Computer Arts Projects

EFFORTLESS 06 The Thin version is super-chic looking and I think would work well in a fashion context. I think it evokes exclusivity, luxury, and refi nement.

STATES

08 The default italics are fairly straightforward. They are what’s known as ‘semi-cursive’, which means they allude to the cursive style of italic (in the ‘a’ and ‘f’ particularly) without being full-on italics. I think this style is most appropriate for a design like this. Cursive italics can be really beautiful, but can have a softness that I don’t think works well in industrial-style typefaces like this. There are actually six sets of italics in each font – see step 11.

Designing the Soho Gothic font 31




Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before

SOHO GOTHIC THIN & THIN ITALIC 14/17

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary dem-onstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour.

SOHO GOTHIC LIGHT & LIGHT ITALIC 14/17

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vin-tage for this imaginary dem-onstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour.

SOHO GOTHIC REGULAR & ITALIC 14/17

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson

SOHO GOTHIC MEDIUM & MEDIUM ITALIC 14/17

12 Soho Gothic has only just become available, but the early feedback is very positive. I have a group of knowledgeable designer friends who I know will give me honest opinions about my typefaces as they evolve, and that’s very useful.

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant meta-phor; for you will find that almost all the virtues of the perfect wine-glass have a parallel in typography. There is the long, thin stem that obviates fingerprints on the bowl. Why? Because no cloud must come between your eyes and the fiery hearth of the liquid. Are not the margins on book pages similarly meant to obviate the necessity of fingering the type-pages?


Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant metaphor; for you will find that almost all the virtues of the perfect wine-glass have a parallel in typography. There is the long, thin stem that obviates fingerprints on the bowl. Why? Because no cloud must come between your eyes and the fiery hearth of the liquid. Are not the margins on book pages similarly meant to obviate the necessity of


Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets be-fore you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transpar-ent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. you will find Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant metaphor; for you will find that almost all the virtues of the perfect wine-glass have a parallel in typography. There is the long, thin stem that obviates fin-gerprints on the bowl. Why? Because no cloud must come between your eyes and the fiery hearth of the liquid. Are not the margins on


Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstra-tion, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to yourchoice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connois-seur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant metaphor; for you will find that almost all the virtues of the per-fect wine-glass have a parallel in typography. There is the long, thin stem that obviates fingerprints on the bowl. Why? Because no cloud must come between your eyes and the fiery hearth of

SOHO GOTHIC BOLD & BOLD ITALIC 6/9

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant metaphor; for you will find that almost all the virtues of the perfect

SOHO GOTHIC THIN & THIN ITALIC 8/11

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imagi-nary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant metaphor; for you will find that almost all


Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shim-mering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisitepatterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and ac-cording to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded and fragrant metaphor; for you will


Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vintage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a con-noisseur of wine. Bear with me in this long-winded


Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vin-tage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold,wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The oth-er is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. Bear with

SOHO GOTHIC BOLD & BOLD ITALIC 8/11

Imagine that you have before you a flagon of wine. You may choose your own favourite vin-tage for this imaginary demonstration, so that it be a deep shimmering crimson in colour. You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of

SOHO GOTHIC EXTRA BOLD & EXTRA BOLD ITALIC 8/11

11 One of the special features I designed is the extensive range of OpenType feature stylistic sets. These are not accessible in all design software but they enable the user to choose from alternative styles of the same design, ranging from sans serif to a semi-slab design. This makes the design more useful and versatile, and I’m really pleased with how well some of these work. It’s like having six designs in one font.

13 Soho is used in a few lifestyle magazines at the moment and it’s used skilfully in Total Guitar. I have to say, though, no matter how badly one of my typefaces is used, it’s always pleasing to me. There are plenty of typefaces available these days and it’s a compliment that someone has picked your typeface in the fi rst place. I have seen some examples of my type being used that have amused me, but I’ve never been angry or upset. If the typeface is licensed properly from a legal perspective then how people use it is up to them.


font gothic

Documents