Personality Type
Posted
Work by Abigail Souvannaphandu
Work by Grey Mullarkey
Work by Cassidy Sharp
Work by Halden Fraley
Work by Siera Fountain
| Educator/s: | Andrew Davies |
|---|---|
| Institution: | VCU—Richmond |
| Level: | Sophomore |
| Duration: | 2 weeks |
| Category: | Type Design |
| Filed Under: | Brainstorming, Handmade, Illustration, Non-design Majors |
| Bookmark Project | |
Project Brief
Students need to write a pangram by hand in a completely original font they\'ve created based on a personality they select in class. The phrase should use upper and lower case letters, filled in with black ink, and fit on a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper. Include a separate sheet with a short paragraph that explains:
- Which classifications the new font would fit under. They should pay close attention to typographic details that would make it part of any classifications (e.g. does it have a slightly angled stress like Old Style, hairline serifs, and extreme stroke contrast like Modern, or adheres to simple shapes like Geometric sans?)
- How the new font fits the chosen personality, using reference images where necessary.
Grading criteria:
- How well the typeface fits the personality (50%)
- How well the typeface fits the classification (50%)
Learning Objectives
- To reinforce type classification knowledge.
- To explore how expressive letter forms can be.
Deliverables
A digital image (Jpg, png or pdf) of the pangram along with an explanatory paragraph.
Readings/Resources
- This Smashing magazine’s post on serif type classifications
- This Smashing magazine’s post on sans serif type classifications
- This 99% Invisible episode 390: Fraktur
- This Ilovetypography.com series on Type History - Humanist, Old Style, Transitional, Modern, Slab
- This blog post on Grotesque fonts
- This post on Sans serif classifications through history
Reflections
When critiquing each submission for this assignment, I\'ve found it useful to have the rest of the class guess the personality traits of the subject based solely on the look of the font. This way I and the student designer can hear what visual aspects viewers are responding to and the whole class can judge the success of the work based on an object goal.
