Typefaces are more than just letters

Right now, an exhibition of typefaces is taking place with students from graphic design, year 2.
“It has been a pleasure to be part of this exhibition. We have all made such different typefaces”, says Amanda Ahlström.

Normally, a typeface is thought of as a two-dimensional figure printed on paper or rendered on a monitor. But by exhibiting their typefaces, the students have been forced to take the spatial dimension into account as well.

A typeface is more than just a letter, number or other character. Its design is carefully crafted to be appropriate in a certain context. A certain typeface can work well as an interesting headline to be read from a distance, for example on an advertising pillar, but less well if it is to be used in running text.

Fonts create associations

A typefaces´ design also creates associations in the reader. For example, the Stencil typeface is often associated with the military or shipping because the typeface was developed from stencils used to paint text on shipping crates. When the Swedish Armed Forces used a variant of Stencil in their recruitment campaign, it was thus a way of using the typeface to signal what the advertisement was about. Of course, as with any artistic expression, it is possible to create a contrasting effect by using a typeface that signals something completely different from the rest of the content. By, for example, using the soft, slightly childish typeface Comic sans in the title of a testosterone-fueled action film, a clash of styles is achieved that can produce a humorous effect, if that's what you want.

Felicia Pettersson has chosen to make a typeface that brings to mind nature.

“I have started from a typeface that describes the feeling of being stuck in the squirrel wheel, but which at the same time wants to free itself from the static and repetitive. Therefore, I have started from a fairly static squirrel wheel that I have given a softness to. By placing it inside a wooden frame and through my choices of colours, I want to create associations with nature. The steel wire wrapped around my letter symbolises the squirrel wheel.”

To arrive at the final result, she used a so-called mood board. A mood board is a form of collage and inspiration method. You fill a surface with, for example, colours, images, texts, material samples and references to music that capture a certain feeling. With the mood board as a starting point or basis for discussion with a customer, the designer (of, for example, a squirrel wheel, an object or a film) continues his work.

Likes italics

Amanda Ahlström is weak for italics, partly because her handwriting is italic, which she thinks may have to do with the fact that she is probably actually left-handed but has learned to use her right hand.

“Many italic fonts are calligraphic. I have chosen to make a small twiggy typeface without floweriness. It's a typeface that wants to grow up and have curves. I have a fascination for darkness, that's why I have hidden my typeface under the sofa, like a little kinder egg, says Amanda Ahlström, whose typeface is attached to the inside of a small lantern.”

The student group has worked both digitally and analogically during the project.

“It has been instructive to engage in the technical part, how to go from a sketch on paper to the finished typeface. You can get different results with digital and analog. Digital can be very time-efficient. It is necessary to make a decision about what is suitable at a certain time. The digital and the analog world can meet”, says Felicia Pettersson.

Amanda Ahlström thinks she has become more confident in the creative process. She has realised that the road is part of the goal.

“Previously, I was more stressed and goal-oriented. I wanted to finish as quickly as possible. It is as one of our teachers, Fredrik Johansson, says: ´Trust the process´.”

The exhibition runs a bit into December and can be found in the study niche between the Unika box and the culvert.

The captions are taken from the students' own texts about their works.