04. /kəˈkuːn/

Introduction

This will be your final, based on your previous work in the class and based on previous exercises like the list of 10 ideas. It is an opportunity to display the facility you have gained and experiment with more bespoke tools within Glyphs or Fontra.

Objectives

  • Display facility that you have gained in type design throughout this class.
  • Use this facility to exteriorize a project related to your interests / research.

Final Deliverables

  • A .ttf or .otf file (or set thereof) of your typeface
  • A specimen book (see requirements below)
  • One piece of ephemera (see options below)

Requirements for Typeface file(s)

  • A .ttf or .otf file with at least the following glyphs

    • letters A - Z
    • letters a - z (see below)
    • numbers 0 - 9
    • punctuation . , ! ?
    • ( ) (left & right parenthesis)
    • { } (left & right curly brackets)
    • [] (left & right square brackets)
    • < > (left & right carets)

Requirements for Specimen book

  • Cover (your name, the class, project name, semester)
  • Introduction to your typeface and reference imagery
  • Complete glyph set
  • Information about any special features/extra weights/extra characters
  • 3 pages of different pangrams
  • "Waterfall" of display text at the following list of sizes: 96pt, 72pt, 60pt, 48pt, 36pt, 24pt, 18pt, 14pt, 12pt, 11pt, 10pt
  • Paragraph text (Lorem ipsum text is fine, you can choose the text) at 18pt, 14pt, 12pt
  • 5 pages of different text lockups of your choices (these should fit the theme or design of your font. For example if based on a taco stand's hand lettering it might be lockups featuring different menu items)

Options for Ephemera

(if you've already started something let me know)

  • A poster featuring your typeface in a meaningful way. It must be inkjet printed, at least 24 in. by 36 in. (longer is welcome) OR risograph printed at least 2 colors, and use multiple sheets in some interesting way.
  • A booklet or zine at least 16 pages featuring your typeface in a meaningfulway, any size or binding methodology.
  • A video or animation saved as an .mp4 that showcases your typeface in a meaningful way. It should be at least 30 seconds long.
  • If you have another idea here or already started something just let me know.

Note for Cases

For this project if you have one case it is fine (especially if you are working on a technical experiment of some kind ) however both typing a-z and A-Z should produce an ouptut.

How to do this in Glyphs

  • go to Font Info (lowercase i in the upper right corner)
  • go to the Features tab
  • on the left side of the panel click the plus sign (+)
  • search for/type "calt contextual alternates"
  • in that panel paste the text below (you may need to switch lowercase and uppercase characters depending on which ones you actually drew)
sub a by A;
sub b by B;
sub c by C;
sub d by D;
sub e by E;
sub f by F;
sub g by G;
sub h by H;
sub i by I;
sub j by J;
sub k by K;
sub l by L;
sub m by M;
sub n by N;
sub o by O;
sub p by P;
sub q by Q;
sub r by R;
sub s by S;
sub t by T;
sub u by U;
sub v by V;
sub w by W;
sub x by X;
sub y by Y;
sub z by Z;

How to do this in Fontra

  • go to Font → Font Info
  • on the left side, select Features
  • in the OpenType Feature Code panel, type the following:
@LC = [a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z];
@UC = [A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z];

feature calt
{
  sub @LC by @UC;
}calt;
  • (you may need to switch "@LC" and "@UC" depending on which characters you actually drew)
  • (you may also need to create the glyphs for the case you did not draw, you may get errors if they don't exist)

No Shuriken Mode Challenges

(This is where "no shuriken mode" comes from)

(These do not guarantee a better grade, they are merely suggestions for what might be a superlative project, or a jumping off point if you're not sure what to do technologically)

  • Create a variable typeface with at least one axis, then animate it via a video or webpage.
  • Use contextual alternates or ligatures for aesthetic or conceptual ends.

Grading Criteria

Criterion%
All requirements and deliverables are present30%
Aesthetic refinement ("digital craft") of individual letterforms30%
"analog" craft/execution of specimen book20%
craft/execution of ephemera20%

Relevant Dates

  • 05/12/2026 → Final review