Project One - Bitmap Type Design

For the first project in beginning typography I was suppose to create my own typeface using a grid. The letters that we were suppose to create were D,G,S,W, and X also the numbers 1,4,5,6, and 7 these are suppose to be the most challenging numbers and letters when creating a typeface. In the beginning of my process all of my typefaces looked just as any other typeface that I have seen before. Either that or they all just looked exactly how I would think a type face would look when it was made on a 12x12 grid system. It wasn't until I made the typeface that I called morris that I felt good about one of them. I knew once I felt good about it I had to give it a shot in making some refinements to make it the final one. At first I made it so there were dots going vertically and dashes going horizontally. This showed me that the type had potential but it wasn't quite right. Once I reversed it to make the dashes vertically and the dots horizontally it all came together.

Yes, the bitmap typeface that I created is simple, but it is a design that I created and a design that I like. It is thin and in some parts broken, but it withholds its form for a clear sense of what the characters are saying.

As I was creating this type my main focus was making all the dimensions and X heights the same. While still making each letter look how the letter is suppose to look. And by making it a little different than others, yet simple all at the same time. With the Morris typeface I believe I achieved everything I set out to do while making this bitmap type design.

The reason I named this type morris is simple. I named it after Morse code, because that's what it looks like. It is created with dots and dashes. The reason that I ended up with the name Morris instead of Morse is because although it looks like it should be Morse code after what it was designed after I wanted the type to have its own name. A name of a man, a human name because for some reason when giving something the name of a person I think is really funny. And the name also still suggests its inspiration enough for people to understand it.

This was the first project in this class, it was also the first assignment that we created something from scratch. For this being my first typeface I ever created, well created some of the letters. I think it turned out pretty well. I am very happy with where my type ended up when completing the project. At my first couple attempts I was almost convinced that I was not going to be able to come up with a design that I liked. I'm glad I kept going with different ideas and did not just settle for one of the first typefaces I created.