SIMULA SANS
A Case Study
SIMULA SANS
Some clients will have a specific requests for a design project. One example of such request would be to create a custom type. It is usually expected that a designer knows about typography.
The purpose of designing this typeface is to create a simple san serif font that will be legible and will pair beautifully with most typefaces. The inspiration behind it are geometric shapes and it was created based on a grid system.
THE CHALLENGE: CUSTOM TYPEFACE
The challenge is to create a type system of refined letters that will work together in endless combinations. A clear purpose or objective for the typeface is needed when creating the custom typeface. Sketches and visualizing what the solution would be also beneficial during the process.
THE OUTCOME: FINAL FONT FILE
A refined and digitized typeface is created. The characters includes the uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. This also includes spacing metrics and kerning.
THE PROCESS: RESEARCH & IDEATION
Existing typefaces and old manuscripts are a good starting point when looking for inspiration. The typeface took inspiration from various geometric and neo-grotesque san serif font.
THE PROCESS: ROUGHS
The initial stages during the creation of Simula sans were sketches and pencil concepts of the letters. After the refined sketches, it was brought into Adobe Illustrator for digitization. Finally, the type outlines was further refined and edited in the Glyphs 2 app.
THE DELIVERABLES: SIMULA SANS
CONCLUSION
Creating a custom typeface is a long process but the end product if done well is worth it. Further refinement and expansion of the type family is also possible in the future. Overall, this was a great learning experience on type designing and can be applied when creating custom typefaces in the future.
