Rosehalt Serif
I was hoping to get some critique on the direction of my first serious attempt at a typeface. I'm 17 years old and have no training in type design other than what I've gathered from books and whatnot.
My character set is still really small but I'm trying to move slowly so I can make things right the first time around. Specifically I'm looking for come comments on the a, t, and bowls of d, b, p, q. But feel free (and please do!) comment on everything.
I'm uploading a pdf and an image, in case one or the other fails.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| rosehalt.pdf | 6.51 KB |
| rosehaltscreenshot.png | 29.95 KB |




17.Feb.2010 1.38pm
At first glance, the things I notice are:
d: There seems to be a lump on the bottom left of the outside curve that should be sanded off. The b looks good, so base your proportions for the d on it. It looks like the counter of the b is a little bit wider than the d, too.
f: The crossbar is too square.
t: The crossbar is too rounded. Something more like a rounded rectangle would be less obviously computer generated, but you may want to do it by hand. Look at a closeup of Garamond or Arno or anything based on metal type. They are generally rounded, but not necessarily evenly.
p: Looks well proportioned.
q: Looks less well proportioned. I would take the b, flip it, and change the serif because you got it right on the b.
Overall it looks nice. I think the c, b, r, and k look really good. I think the bottom serifs look a bit fat—I'd rather see them toned down a bit—but that's just my personal preference.
Nice work.
19.Feb.2010 12.18am
How committed are you to the open bowls? b and q are pretty, but readers will stumble over the slight h-ness and y-ness of them. They would be easier to read if you closed them, or closed that end of the curve and opened the other end. Actually, I would recommend b completely closed, q open on the bottom, and p and d as they are (but fixed as Bill said). a, on the other hand, would not be hurt by an open bowl, so you could experiment with that.
a has some of the same weight problem as d. The top terminal of f might be a little heavy.