Of all the design disciplines, few have the elaborate history of typeface design. In fact, the terminology and techniques used in software today stem from processes that were refined over hundreds of years of practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These days, typeface design is a highly specialized field that impacts everything from corporate identity to your favorite movie\u2019s ending credits. Every letter you see, whether it\u2019s on the web or in print, was carefully crafted by a typeface designer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while typography is everywhere, the process of designing a typeface is far from simple. In this tutorial, we\u2019ll give you a step-by-step guide to font creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the highest level, typefaces are divided into a few different categories, with serif and sans serif being the most prominent. Serif typefaces are those with small lines or embellishments adorning each letter, while sans serif typefaces are clean and elegant<\/a>. Beyond this categorical split, there are countless subcategories of typefaces, such as slab serif<\/a>, script<\/a>, display, and monospace, to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite aesthetic differences across typeface categories, in practice, the same design concepts apply to all fonts. Understanding these concepts is crucial to designing beautiful and consistent typefaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the most important terms and concepts you\u2019ll need starting out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep in mind these are only the essentials. If you\u2019re new to these terms, it might all seem a little overwhelming. The best way to learn is to dive in and start creating, but you\u2019ll need a typeface design tool first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to digital design, the right software makes all the difference. You’ll need to consider several factors when choosing a font design tool, including the kinds of fonts you want to make, your budget, and your experience level. Fortunately, there\u2019s no shortage of options available on every front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Made for Mac and Windows, FontLab<\/a> is one of the most popular font creation tools available, and it works for simple type designs or complex typeface projects. It works with OpenType, TrueType, variable, and web fonts. It also works for any language, from Latin to Mandarin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Made specifically for macOS, Glyphs<\/a> is a sophisticated typeface design tool that enables you to create and fine-tune the largest typeface project in every format. You can even open fonts in a font editor and start crafting right away. While it\u2019s immensely powerful software, it\u2019s a bit pricey, although Glyphs Mini offers a trimmed-down version that\u2019s more affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For open-source software enthusiasts, FontForge<\/a> offers many of the capabilities of premium tools, sans price. With a vector glyph editor, font converter, and font validator, it provides all the essentials for typeface design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the tools mentioned above are standards in type design, there are several other tools available, many of which are free or open source. Fontself, FontStruct, and Birdfont are a few of those options. If you\u2019re simply exploring the concept of typeface design, start with one of these tools to get a feel for the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the fundamentals firmly in place and a new design tool in your arsenal, it\u2019s time to create your own font. Keep in mind, while the following steps are simple in concept, it takes a significant amount of time to design a great font. A high-quality typeface has well over 1,000 handcrafted glyphs, and that\u2019s not counting glyphs to support other languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, the most important part of designing your font comes in defining the reasons why you\u2019re designing it in the first place, which leads us to your design brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with any other design project, a brief is the most significant part of typeface design. It\u2019s essential to refine your ideas from the beginning. Doing so provides you with a guide for undertaking this lengthy process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from the individual glyphs they\u2019re comprised of, typefaces convey different meanings depending on your design decisions \u2014 a great font can set the tone for an entire project, whether it\u2019s a website or a simple document. Take this opportunity to answer questions about your design, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a good idea to collect fonts for inspiration. Perhaps there\u2019s a font you love, but you wish the weights were a little different or the serifs were a bit smaller. Many great typefaces projects began with the dissatisfied eye of a fledgling typographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve answered your questions and know the direction you\u2019re headed in with your font design, it\u2019s time to start sketching. Jumping directly into your new design tool might be tempting, especially if you\u2019re riding a wave of inspiration. But starting with pencil and paper and defining your style before you begin drawing each glyph can save you a lot of time in a process that\u2019s already lengthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graph or grid paper is the best choice for type design since you\u2019ll want to establish your baseline, cap height, x-height, and so on. Keep in mind, you don\u2019t have to sketch every glyph \u2014 you only need \u201ccontrol\u201d characters that establish your typeface\u2019s style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each designer is different in the characters they start with, but you can look at the fonts you collected for inspiration to see which glyphs have similar elements. For example, the \u201cF\u201d and \u201cT\u201d glyphs are quite similar in most fonts, so you don\u2019t need both on paper to define your style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a definitive set of control characters, it\u2019s time to start designing the rest of your typeface. Depending on the tool you chose, you can start with a baseline typeface and work from there, or you can scan your sketches with your iPhone and start from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve translated the control characters from your sketches into digital form, you can use them to form the basis for the rest of your glyphs. Remember, handcrafting a typeface takes time, especially if you\u2019re learning a new tool. Take your time and enjoy the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a palpable sense of excitement once you\u2019re nearing the last few glyphs of your first font. Whether you\u2019ve designed dozens or hundreds of glyphs, you\u2019ve achieved something few others do, but you aren\u2019t quite finished yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When designing individual geometrical shapes, it\u2019s impossible to get a sense of how they fit together in sentences, paragraphs, or on pages. Once you\u2019ve finished designing your glyphs, you\u2019ll need to export your font and put it to use to check the composition for legibility<\/a>. And then you\u2019ll need to add a little polish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you might have to adjust glyph positioning for more kerning consistency or adjust glyph spacing. If you have a printer, seeing your new typeface on physical paper can help you spot inconsistencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve applied the finishing touches to your new typeface, you\u2019re ready to export your font file and share your new font with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Designing entire typefaces is no small feat. Seriously dedicated typographers might spend months or more on a single font. Fortunately, if you\u2019re designing a typeface for simpler applications, these easy-to-use templates can jump-start your creative process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For creatives with tablets and digital drawing tools, this template has everything you need to guide your processes from beginning to end. It has a complete set of template letters in eight weights and a complete grid, so you can dive right into the design process.<\/p>\n\n\n If you\u2019re looking for an easy start with hand-lettering without all the overhead of crafting a typeface, this kit has all the essentials for drawing gorgeous letter illustrations on your iPad Pro. With three brush sets for a total of 26 brushes and a guide to teach you the author\u2019s hand-lettering process, you can start crafting typographic assets in no time at all.<\/p>\n\n\n This lettering kit for Procreate includes a set of 25 chalk brushes, 28 letter brushes, and detailed grids for serifs and sans serifs alike. It\u2019s the perfect starting point for adding a little chalky hand-lettering to your next design project.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n Budding typographers who insist on pixel perfection will love this grid builder set. It’s perfect for planning your next type project, whether it\u2019s a full typeface or hand-lettering for a poster. The set includes 50 elaborate word grids, six letter grids, composition grids, guide sheets, and letter brushes, so you can plan your project down to the tiniest detail.<\/p>\n\n\n Designing a complete typeface is a lengthy process that requires deep creative and technical expertise. While it\u2019s not for the faint of heart, the process and payoff can be immensely rewarding. Whether you\u2019re dreaming of a traditional serif<\/a> to write prose with or imagining a sans serif<\/a> Helvetica replacement, the possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, if you\u2019re more interested in designing a custom font for a logo or as assets for a broader graphic design project, lettering or a grid template is an excellent way to start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Of all the design disciplines, few have the elaborate history of typeface design. In fact, the terminology and techniques used in software today stem from processes that were refined over hundreds of years of practice. These days, typeface design is a highly specialized field that impacts everything from corporate identity to your favorite movie\u2019s ending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[37,166],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-60310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design-basics","tag-typography","tag-fonts"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/span>The Best Tools for Font Creation<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>FontLab<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Glyphs<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>FontForge<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Other Tools<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Make Your Own Font<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Step 1: Start With a Design Brief<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Step 2: Sketch Your Glyphs on Paper<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Step 3: Start Designing<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Step 4: Refine Your Typeface<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Use a Font Template To Get Started<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Letter Builder Template<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Hand-Lettering Toolkit\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Procreate Letter Builder Chalk Brush<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Procreate Lettering Grid Builder Set <\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>The Pursuit of Typographical Excellence<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n