Magnolia - a modern italic

mr
29.May.2008 4.38am
mr's picture

Hi all

I’d like to hear your comments on this typeface. I know it needs work, but I’m not exactly sure which quirks are “features” and which are “bugs”.

It’s opentype with a few ligatures (mostly ones needed to get this particular text looking OK) and a couple contextual alternates. It’s my first attempt at OT.

AttachmentSize
lathe.pdf18.59 KB
lathe.pdf (2 June 2007)18.71 KB


Chipman223
29.May.2008 6.10am
Chipman223's picture

To me, it almost seems as though the lowercase and uppercase are from two entirely different families. I really like the caps. They sort of have a feeling close to Filosofia Grand (albeit italic), looking classic and refined, while the lowwercase have this quirky, playful characteristic about them. I think the curved terminals and ball serifs are making the rest of the letterforms seem a little more whimsical, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The kerning on the lowercases seems a little tight in most cases too. Is the “gg” a ligature? It seems as though the overlap isn’t quite right. The width of the bottom loop may require it to be ligated. The bottom of the bottom loop also looks a little dark to me, along with the first vertical stroke on the lowercase w. The tittles and punctuation seem a little heavy to me as well.


Alessandro Segalini
29.May.2008 6.54am
Alessandro Segalini's picture

Hello Max, I like it very much, I hope you can work it out.
Yes, the spacing is too tight now.
Why did you call it “Magnolia” ?


mr
29.May.2008 11.42pm
mr's picture

Chipman223:

I see what you mean about the caps and lowercase. Maybe I’ll separate the caps out and do something different with them. Whimsy was my intention, though, so I’ll work on the lowercase for now.

I’m going to work on spacing now.

You’re right, the ’g’ and ’w’ do have weight issue. No, ’g’ is not ligated — that might change.

Thanks for your help.

Alessandro: I’m glad you like it. I’m not entirely sure why I called it Magnolia. Perhaps I was aiming for the combination of lightness, neatness and prettiness that magnolias have.


Bendy
30.May.2008 1.41pm
Bendy's picture

i like the contrast on the tail of g, it’s attractive (maybe too attractive for body text though?) The word ’higher’ looks lovely.
I might try making the t taller, k narrower on top arm (or waist more slanted), second arm of w starting a bit higher, and work on getting the shapes more even in colour and contrast.
there’s a lot of potential here i think, really nice.


mr
2.Jun.2008 8.25am
mr's picture

I’ve respaced, adjusted k, t, q, tittles, and added an alternative g to substitute for the second one in “gg”. I’m not sure if it’s the right altervative, though.