Professor: Andrea Herstowski
Office: 353 Chalmers Hall
Office hours: by appointment

email: herstow@ku.edu

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Designing Figures
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How can you design a set of glyphs using "something" for design cues.
Using a favorite piece of architecture design the number address for the building. Dissect the building. Look the overall shape, windows, doors, find a grid, find a set of forms that you can use to help define what the figures of the address should look like. How do you create a set of figures to match, expand, exaggerate the feeling/form of the building.

You will be focusing on the numbers needed for the address. But you will have to create all 10 numbers from 0 - 9.

Like their architectural counterpart, a building’s street number, the numerals of more than a few typefaces are underdeveloped afterthoughts. However, numerals can strongly shape a font’s personality or make an otherwise reserved typeface distinctive. A well-designed set of numerals can be justification enough for a typographer to employ a font. Unlike letters, which must combine as words to have meaning, numbers have concrete definitions and significance on their own. A type designer can safely assume that a g will rarely be used outside the context of other letters, yet it is not uncommon to see a 6, 1, or 5 working solo as a page number, price tag, or street sign. Type designers must consider this expanded end use when developing numerals for their typefaces.
(ref: pdf)

Glyphs
Construct your letters as perfectly as you can. Pay attention to proportion: it can be exaggerated but you have to have have reasons or at least be aware of your letter proportion. Consistent thicks and thins. Set your overshoot, anchors are round where they need to be, handles are horizontal or vertical (there are exceptions but try then decide that they can't be) use fit curve to correct handles,...

Overview 4 types of figures: underware.nl/fonts/sauna/features/figures/
Old-style, non-aligning: fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-3/numbers/oldstyle-figures
Lining/Tabular: take a look fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-3/numbers/lining-figures
Design tips: when desiging lineing they should be designed just short of the cap height. they shoudl have overshoots just like your letters.

REFERENCE: Each number explained.