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workshops, Helsinki Lahti 10 2002, 02





basic info
time, place, basic info
participants
themes, the groups
daily impression

the workshop-themes
01 layered type
02 screentype
03 bible type
04 shop lettering


05 carplate type
06 the fatter the better
07 the publication
order publication




screen type  basic info : presentation half way : final presentation


Assignment
Boring bitmaps for hardcore type nerds. Choose your platform: whether it is a mobile phone screen or scrolling message boards, find a best legible forms for this particular platform. Study all the aspects of legibility: curves, x-height, spacing and so on.

Arbeit
The famous Austrian typographer, baron Walter WeissmÄller once said: 'Typefaces are like women; you know when you meet a nice one. You also have to consider very carefully what you gonna do with it.' So, inspired by this distinguished gentleman, we decided to share the whole typographic pie. We worked hard to have screentype font which work and look good, like a real women. The result is more than excellent. The font flirts with the reader and gives the juiciest taste for any screen-based action. Enjoy, beba and nauti from our creation.

Facts
All of us started to put pixel after pixel at point size 48. That size is easily scalable to 24 and 12 point sizes. At one point one of us made upright italic h that was using 45 degrees angle of broad nib pen. 45 degrees gives a smooth line, so we decided to go on by doing other letters as well.
One of us concentrated to lowercase and the other to make those lowercase letters with outline. Outline version has different spacing, some parts are more fine tuned. Two of us went forward with the caps: our final solution has now both regular and fancy black letter caps.






14 comments so far: read comments , please do comment
Hrant H Papazian -- Friday, October 25 2002, 01:25 am
If a font is a woman, then what are the individual glyphs? All I know is, if that lc "g" were a woman, I would *beg* to be her slave... hhp

Tamye | SOTA -- Friday, October 25 2002, 08:22 am
The trend in creating these type of fonts has been so minimalistic; what is the smallest possible grid we can build a typeface on, while retaining legibility? I'm pleased to see this exploration of a display size type for the screen. The design of this face is slightly ornate and very appealing, and nicely structured overall. I'm a sucker for a well drawn outline typeface, and this one is fine work. One glyph that looks odd is the cap Z in Arbeit Regular. The stroke being so thin looks very weak, especially in conjunction with the also-thin lower arm. Normally, the cap Q is one of my favorite letters - here, I don't like the detached tail so much. It's distracting. The lowercase forms are the most attractive. And those "f" ligatures - they're really quite yummy.

anssi@screentype -- Friday, October 25 2002, 10:39 am
thanks for the detailed feedback! It's true that there are many details to be fixed *sigh*. For example, some uppercase letters need more attention... like the "Z" as you mentioned. Anyways, we're still working hard to get the biggest problems fixed before 4PM Finnish time, when the workshop closes. Keep your fingers crossed!

Stefan Hattenbach | MAC Rhino -- Friday, October 25 2002, 12:58 pm
This Arbeit font is cool! Interseting way of thinking to expand the vision from 5-6 points up to 48 points. Looks modern with a touch of Gothic. Some details have to fixed, but for sure a good start.

Joancarles Casasín [Typerware/2] -- Friday, October 25 2002, 01:47 pm
I'm not into the Black Letter. But the others are nice. You should show different sizes...

anssi@screentype -- Friday, October 25 2002, 02:24 pm
Different sizes? The Arbeit font designed to be used in 48pts. (well, actually 50pts, I'll explain it later) It is scalable quite nicely to – let's say – 12pts, but it is the headline use we are aiming for. So the examples you see on bottom line have not been anti-aliased, they are set in the exact point size they are meant to be used on screen. But hey, thanks again for comments, I'll make some samples in variable sizes also. Hold your horses!

anssi@screentype -- Friday, October 25 2002, 02:31 pm
So - the typeface is constructed so that it follows the 48-point grid, but the font itself - thx for Fontographer 4.1.4 - has been made in 50pts. The x-height is 20 units, ascenders and descendes usually 12 units. And of course, there are a bunch of exceptions. Woo-hoo!

hugo@visionandfactory.com -- Friday, October 25 2002, 03:45 pm
Very amusing to see that very old typefaces can be so renewing when redone. I don't want to give comments on pure typographical base. For me that is not an issue. However, I do like the process, the experiment to discover the edges of what's possible or still readable. Nevertheless congratulations with the interesting work! Hugo Puttaert http://visionandfactory.com

anssi@screentype -- Friday, October 25 2002, 05:01 pm
thanks for all comments! The uppercase "Z" has been fixed ;) with other small alterations also. The workshop is closing, so I think that's about it at the moment. If you feel like it, please send more comments, we'll be watching this space! Cheers!

anssi@scrtp -- Monday, October 28 2002, 01:04 pm
hey. we're still here. just a reminder. hehe:) and Bas, the new record in Snake2 is now 2546. my fingers are still bleeding...

tommi@sulake.com -- Thursday, October 31 2002, 11:27 am
How come it's so big? 48 pts really is enough to use antialiasing on screen without destroying the font as a wholeness. As a starting point for such screen font I'd more prefer smallest point size - character of the font can be brought from smaller sizes to bigger, but from bigger to smaller it's difficult… and in case of serifs and more detailed works often impossible. Anyway, good job: cuts finely and works well as headline… still, I would really like to see a 12 pts version just in comparison - can you really say it's the same font? Oh what the heck, who cares anyway… Take care.

anssi@skriintaip -- Thursday, October 31 2002, 09:01 pm
first, this was more of an experiment, so that's why we decided to start from a different point of view. besides, there are plenty well done small size pixel types available, so why make a new one? and if you think of cellphones, for example, the types usually suck (logos, screensavers, and so on). in cellphones there is no anti-aliasing (yet?) so our type could be used there? who said that a screen type is for computer screens only? :)

Hrant H Papazian -- Monday, November 4 2002, 06:38 pm
> 48 pts really is enough to use antialiasing I think it would indeed be nice to have a hand-anti-aliased version, but this is useful too. One reason is memory efficiency, especially for use in small devices. hhp

1stfloor -- Tuesday, March 2 2004, 06:23 pm
Where can i buy this font??? Its great Congratulations




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