[Tutorial Sharing] Font Design Experience

Font design occupies a very important position in the entire operation design work. Font design not only enhances the beauty of text, but also makes it easier, more accurate and more vivid to convey text information. There are also many books and articles on font design. This time, I will share with you the experience and practical experience in font design from ten years of work, and then explain it in an easy-to-understand way. This content is explained from four aspects: font design principles, font analysis, font design methods, and finally sharing a few font design experiences in daily work.

A set of fonts has different forms of expression, and different forms of expression convey different temperament and feelings, but no matter what form of expression it should follow certain design principles. These principles do not limit our freedom of design. Only by understanding these principles and knowledge can we better understand fonts, broaden our thinking, and make good font designs.

1.Guaranteed identification

When we design fonts, we need to change and innovate the strokes and styles of fonts to make the personality of fonts more distinct and appealing. But the most important value of the font itself is to convey information and express the meaning of the word. Therefore, when we design fonts, it is most important to ensure the recognition of fonts. It cannot be designed for design. If your fonts lose readability, then No matter how beautiful your font is, it is a failure.

2.Overall unity

When designing fonts, different strokes form a font, and multiple fonts form a phrase. Whether it is a word or a phrase of multiple words, we must regard it as a whole. The strokes and structure of the font should be consistent. Ensure the unity of the whole. But sometimes a certain feature is deliberately highlighted to form a sharp contrast, but it does not conflict with the overall unity.

3.Artistic expression

A good font design not only conveys information and meaning, but also gives people a beautiful visual experience visually. The strokes, structure, and overall visual experience of the font are also in line with the meaning of the font, which will be more effective. Convey font information. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the personality and unique temperament of the font, so that the characteristics of the font are more distinct.

4.Appropriately applicable

Before we do a set of font designs, we need to fully understand the meaning of the characters, think about the usage scenarios of the fonts, the theme of expression, the audience and other factors.

Characters are composed of different strokes, and the combination of different strokes will form different shapes of fonts, so that the shape, structure, and center of gravity will not be the same, and the same strokes will have different shapes in different fonts.

Chinese characters are divided into many types of fonts, and different temperaments of fonts have great differences in visual experience; in font design, fonts should be correctly expressed according to font information, meaning, etc.

1.Typeface

Glyph is the most intuitive expression of font shape. Different glyphs have different strokes, structures and centers of gravity.

Stroke: Stroke is the most basic element of font composition, and it is also the most direct expression of font temperament. We must master the characteristics of strokes in font design, so as to make fonts with different feelings.

Structure: According to the number of parts in Chinese characters, Chinese characters can be divided into single characters and combined characters. Single fonts have only one component. Combined characters have multiple parts. According to the orientation relationship between parts, the structure of single characters is also called single structure, and combined characters are divided into different structures.

Center of gravity: Each font has different strokes and structures, so the position of the center of gravity is also different. In font design, we must ensure the balance and stability of each font.

2.Typeface:

There are various types of Chinese characters, such as HeiTi, SongTi, FangSong, KaiTi, Lishu, etc. Different fonts have different temperament and visual experience. When designing fonts, we must fully understand the temperament of fonts in order to prepare fonts that match our content. .

3.Word meaning:

The font itself has meaning, so the visual experience of the font design should be unified and harmonious with the meaning of the font.

After we understand the principles of font design and font attributes, there are many different methods when doing font design. Mastering these methods will make you more handy in font design.

1.Block surface design method

The block surface method (also known as the rectangle method) is the most common design method, which is to form the shape of the font with geometric blocks, and then adjust the specific strokes to complete the font design.

2.Design method of fountain pen

The pen design method is to use the pen tool to outline the skeleton of the font, complete the basic glyph, and complete the desired font effect by changing the thickness of the line, connection relationship, etc.; the pen design method is flexible and easy to adjust.

3.Stitching Design Method

The mosaic design method is that we first make the basic strokes of the font, and then splice them together according to the structure and shape of the font, and finally adjust the font shape comprehensively to complete the font design (calligraphic characters, irregular fonts often use this method).

4.Handwriting design method

For handwritten fonts, you can use the hand-painted version, or you can handwrite directly on paper, write out the basic glyphs, and then input them into the computer to adjust the strokes to complete the font design.

5.Font library transformation method

The font transformation method is to adjust the strokes of the font, delete, add strokes and elements, etc. on the basis of the font to complete the font design.

Typography Approach Conclusion:

Five commonly used font design methods are summarized here. In actual work, the design methods are not limited to these five. We have to draw inferences from one instance, design different types of fonts, and find a more suitable and efficient design method. Sometimes designing a group of fonts requires a combination of several methods, so we need to be diligent in thinking, apply flexibly, and make better font designs.

The principles and methods of font design may be the same, but every designer has his own thinking and understanding of font design. In actual work, we need to be more flexible and innovative in order to make better works.

1.Remembrance

The Remembrance Project is an H5 project created by Weibo to commemorate the dead celebrity masters on the occasion of the Ching Ming Festival. When we designed the font, we determined the font style according to the content of the project. Based on Song typeface, retro temperament and nostalgia, memories Concept fit.

Design method: font transformation method, mosaic design method

2.Tour around the city

"City Tour" is a creative play of Weibo brand activity #带带微博去旅行#. In terms of font design, we use black body as the basic glyph, and use the rectangular method to establish the basic glyph, and then make specific changes to the strokes. The design, the soft stroke deformation processing, expresses the ease and joy of travel, and the addition of the lower lines makes the meaning of the font more clear and more interesting.

Design method: Rectangular character creation method, mosaic design method

3.Collect cards for good fortune

Jika Kaihongyun is a microblog brand event #让红包飞# Jikafen 100 million game play activity, in font design we use cursive script as the basic font, which fits the atmosphere of the traditional Chinese festival Spring Festival. The strokes are smooth and stretched, showing good luck , joyful concept.

Design method: font transformation method, mosaic design method

4.New Year's resolution

New Year’s Wish is a Weibo brand event #从红包飞# wishing game play activity. In terms of font design, we start with the meaning of the New Year’s Wish. The soft and elegant strokes clearly show the meaning of the font.

Design method: font transformation method, mosaic design method

5.Sports star forces

Sports Star Power is a selection activity for "Sports Character Influence" jointly organized by Weibo and Sina Sports. The design of the font is stable and powerful, so as to show the strength of the award-winning characters;

Design method: Rectangular character making method

Finally, I hope that some design ideas and design methods in this article can bring some help to you, and we can also exchange ideas on font design and grow together.