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Squidot (a.k.a. Questa)
Posted by Jos Buivenga in
20 Sep 2008 — 5:04am
20 Sep 2008 — 5:04am
For now it's just a little exercise:
I always wanted to draw a fairly simple squarish didone like font.
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Comments
20 Sep 2008 — 11:44am
It's a winner. Highly recommend adding alternate glyphs (such as 'a' and 's') with ball-terminals for the Kate Moss crowd.
20 Sep 2008 — 4:34pm
Stewf is right; finish this!
21 Sep 2008 — 2:10am
Ok! I will pursue it a litlle further and work out some more characters. In my first attempts I had ball terminals on the a and s, but I got dissy looking a sample text with all those balls. Adding them as calt is a good idea.
21 Sep 2008 — 7:07am
Some more ...
21 Sep 2008 — 10:24am
Looking delicious!
21 Sep 2008 — 3:00pm
Thanks mili! Not sure which shapes the calt's should have, but I'ld like to add some excessive curlin' that does't prevail at first glance.
21 Sep 2008 — 11:17pm
oh god, that's another great one !
22 Sep 2008 — 8:03am
Squidot... really?
It's a looker.
22 Sep 2008 — 8:18am
Nice idea. I don't think the 'foxtails' on c,a, and g work so well with the rest of the design. Did you consider some kind of split-in-half ball, for the a and s anyway?
22 Sep 2008 — 12:37pm
That st lig is killer!
The balance of the bowls of p and q seems off... Does anyone else mind them?
22 Sep 2008 — 3:02pm
The word "sparfuc" looks so high-end for such a gross sounding word.
22 Sep 2008 — 3:28pm
I love that "g". Congratulations. For what it's worth, the "H" seems a tiny bit too wide and the period is perfect.
22 Sep 2008 — 10:43pm
It looks gorgeous, Jos, especially the ligatures, but you really couldn't come up with a better name?
23 Sep 2008 — 12:37am
Thanks all for the kind feedback!
@ William – I could lessen the smoothening of the transition to the "split-in-half" balls...
@ Nick Job & DrDoc – Squidot is a working title. It's a conjunction of Square & didot. I will change the name later.
23 Sep 2008 — 6:24am
Jos, I think that's an improvement, more harmonious. Maybe the terminals on the a & s could have a bit more weight to match the weight of the terminals of the c and z, while having the different shape you've given them?
23 Sep 2008 — 7:44am
You're right about the weights, William. I still have to determin the right weight for all terminals, but first I have to make up my mind about which ones I should choose also in relation to the caps. I tried the half ball terminal on the capital C and S, but that didn't work, so they will have a more classic approach.
23 Sep 2008 — 8:59am
Interesting!
Looks like you've got a choice of whether to go more 'dazzling' with the ball terminals, or calmer with the half balls. If you go for half balls should the 'c' be the same as the a and s?
I may be wrong about this, but I suspect the way you've gone with the half-ball terminals is more of a distinctive design, compared to other Didones. --I actually had a different idea in mind, but I like what you've done; it's got a nice combination of grace with still some of the geometric quality.
23 Sep 2008 — 6:19pm
> you’ve got a choice of whether to go more ’dazzling’ with the ball terminals, or calmer with the half balls
Oh, but he doesn't have to choose — both can exist via stylistic alternates. Well, I guess he does have to decide on the default. But including both makes this a very versatile face.
I think the main decision to make is whether this should pretend to be a text face. I would avoid that. Didones only succeed in text if they have significantly less contrast, and extreme contrast (along with its stylized terminals) is key to Squidot's charm.
24 Sep 2008 — 10:34am
I've made up my mind and go for the half-balls because they are more distinctive. As for now I'll leave the lc c with a "full ball". I will also follow Stephens suggestion of making contextual alts for lc a & s. Squidot (or perhaps Sidone or Yasmin; I would like to give a femine name) will definitely be a display face as it was intended from the beginning.
24 Sep 2008 — 1:48pm
Here here! Good stuff! I could see this in headlines :D
Peace,
JT
24 Sep 2008 — 3:37pm
yey for ball terminals!
@Jos — I really, really like how you solved the st ligature. Crazy, but it seems to work. And I also like the subtle fl ligature.
26 Sep 2008 — 2:39am
Thanks!
2 Oct 2008 — 7:01am
Some more ... with half balls as standard.
2 Oct 2008 — 9:54am
Lovely Q and cheeky gi ligature!
2 Oct 2008 — 10:13am
Wow! i’m jealous, great concept!
2 Oct 2008 — 10:28am
Has anyone experimented with some way of bringing some black to the serif-ended thins in a high-contrast didone like this (e.g. bottom left of A, bottom left and top right of N, top right of y and V)? Terminals that end in curves (e.g. S, C) get a little "webbing" to blacken them a bit, but thin vertical or diagonal straights get no such help and really disappear.
3 Oct 2008 — 1:19am
Thanks Mili & Viktor.
Nice thought, Craig. If there are I hope someone comes up with some examples. I'll try and experiment with it a bit this weekend.
3 Oct 2008 — 8:39am
@ Craig –> Torino (found here).
3 Oct 2008 — 10:29am
Good find! What do you think of the combination of unbracketed thicks and bracketed thins?
3 Oct 2008 — 10:47am
Maybe it could work, but I'll have to try. The Torino ones are too fat for my linking.
3 Oct 2008 — 12:45pm
Still thinking the nice 'half balls' need to be fatter for balance, except for maybe in the g, where it is ok ... Should they relate to the weight of the stoke they are opposite in the glyph?
12 Oct 2008 — 7:51am
I am totally in love with this! Any idea when it will be finished?
12 Oct 2008 — 7:55am
Worked out the rest of the UC & lc. Still lots and lots of refinements to make.
+++
Should they relate to the weight of the stoke they are opposite in the glyph?
Maybe, but the weight should also relate to the terminals of UC C & S. lc s is ok I think. Maybe the terminals of lc a & c can have a little more.
12 Oct 2008 — 8:00am
Cross post :-)
Nina, I hope to release it next year. First I have to finish this.
12 Oct 2008 — 12:11pm
Three in a row...
My wife has come up with a name for Squidot: Quirine. I kinda like it. Do you?
12 Oct 2008 — 12:21pm
Hmm, not sure. It sounds scientific and medical to me – something between Chinine (which is also known as Quinine) and Quarantine. I also wouldn't know how to pronounce it ;-).
Also, the word looks kind of stiff and blocky. And I don't think it shows off the best / sexiest letters you've got in there.
Just my $.02. Sorry – I can't think of a different name to suggest…
12 Oct 2008 — 12:46pm
:-(
Thanks for the ¢2! This could be the first time that I find it hard to come up with a name for a font/typeface. We/I still have some time :-)
12 Oct 2008 — 1:33pm
I think it was Matthew Carter who said a name should be chosen for how good it looks when set in the typeface. With that in mind, I think your name needs more balls. Try to get an 'r' , 'g', and 'c' in there.
12 Oct 2008 — 1:47pm
I think your name needs more balls
Sure right ... but ... oh man ... How am I gonna explain that at home ;-)
12 Oct 2008 — 2:05pm
I guess I'm hoping your wife's name is Engracia.
12 Oct 2008 — 2:11pm
Nice find! It's Anske but I'm sure she doesn't mind.
12 Oct 2008 — 2:20pm
Matthew Carter did "Postoni" for the Washington Post headlines. How about quadrangle + Bodoni = "Quadroni"?
Nice observation about how the s, like the g, works with the smaller 'half balls'. Personally, I don't think you have to worry about the matching of the upper and lower case c. In a lot of fonts they are quite different, including Bodoni and Didot.
12 Oct 2008 — 3:06pm
Escargot? :-)
13 Oct 2008 — 2:25am
It would be good if the name started with Q, as it's very attractive in this font. Unfortunately I have to agree with the others that Quirine sound somewhat medical and lacks balls ;^)
13 Oct 2008 — 5:24am
I actually like Quirine - I think the "antiseptic" flavor is appropriate for an unbracketed serif, and the "quinine" association (the first to come to my mind) gives it more of an old-fashioned apothecary feel (rather than a high-tech pharmaceutical).
That said, it'd also be great to be able to use the st or sp lig in the name.
14 Oct 2008 — 12:30am
Thanks for the suggestions. I've made a little list with also some new names.
btw ... Quirine is a (apparently not so familiar) woman's name.
14 Oct 2008 — 12:54am
Wow, nice stuff.
FWIW, out of these, to me Questa and Escargot probably look / feel the best. Engracia, to me, sounds more scripty and decidedly elegant (in a non-sturdy way) than the font is, if you know what I mean.
Also, I keep thinking of the following, FWIW:
Quadriga
Constance
Ernestine / Ernestina
Justine / Justina
Celeste / Celestine
Augusta
… and as an alternative to Claudine, you could try Christine to get the st lig in, although you'd then lose the a (maybe Christina? or Cristina?).
Speaking of the a: Is is possible that it is a tiny bit narrow? I didn't think this before, but in ca and ga combinations it looks a bit small to my half trained eye.
14 Oct 2008 — 1:43am
wow! another nice effort Jos!
not sure if the 'st' ligatures are doing it for me, feel a bit too light, but maybe thats just on screen. I really love the 'Q'. Half-ball terminals give it a pleasant character!
Well done!
14 Oct 2008 — 2:46am
Quirinus is a Nebiolo typeface with a distinct modern / square feel to it, I suggest it might be a good idea to steer clear of the Quirine name to avoid confusion, even if there’s no digital version of the former.
14 Oct 2008 — 3:04am
Nina – Thanks for your input! Constance, Justine, Celeste, Augusta and Christina are nice names, but unfortunately already taken. I like Questa myself most so far. The a might be a bit narrow. It is more noticeble at smaller sizes I think. I'll have a look at it.
Victor – I still need to balance the st ligature a bit more (because a half ball is "missing"). Glad you like it overall!
Antonio – Thanks for pointing that out.