I read this great article the other day over on Smashing Magazine and it’s pushed me to work harder on some projects I’ve had in the pipes. Here’s a little update on what I’m making.
I’ve been picking at FontLab — learning the basics and starting on some advanced OpenType programming. I’m beginning with my very own handwriting, as I’m pretty familiar with it.
The idea is to end up with six to eight glyphs for each letter, three or four variation glyphs for numerals, and maybe two or three variation glyphs for punctuation marks. Along with some custom ligatures and nifty OpenType programming, the concept will be a very natural handwritten font with a lot of fluctuations and randomness to best mimic real handwriting. As you can see from the screenshot above, I’ve got a lot of work to do and holes to fill in.
The Other Thing I’m Making
My other awesome project that I’ve put into action is some fun buttons that I think are pretty cool and witty. I’ve put together a quick online shopping cart if you think they’re neat enough that you want to give me some of your hard earned money and get a set. *hint hint wink wink* There’s four regular pin-back buttons and four magnets to a set.
Right now, I’ve got the typography related set and a set with some skull designs. I think I’m going to work out a plan where I release new sets on a regular basis and build a bigger catalog. And of course, some more styling tweaks to the shopping cart for more cohesive branding.
“I’m a true believer in perfect is the enemy of good. I could perfect the design until every pixel is exactly how I want it, until every feature and filter is live on the site, but for what? My own personal satisfaction? That’s just silly. Launch now, provide value now, and sweat the details later.”