Yesterday we went through the basic terminology for the anatomy of type. We were learning about crossbars, tails, ears, bowls etc. We had excercises to do that would make us think about how there is a massive potential to manipulate letterforms, and what these changes would ultimately signify.
What we've done here is alter the characteristics of the 'a' of Bodoni, we were challenged to try and transform it into a San Serif type, by removing the flourished serifs in a subtle way. I find it quite difficult, because often the serifs aren't the only differences between a Sans Serif & Serif font, often the latter will incorporate a variable difference in line weight, where as Sans Serifs are generally more uniform.
One particualr excercise I did was changing the 'R' of Arial, I personally don't like it, the variation of weights on the leg put me off. So I tried to make it more uniform by thickening the leg, and in my opinion it's better, it's almost identical to other San Serif types like Akzidenz Grotesk and Avenir which both sport a straight uniform leg.
I've also made a little sketch in my magazine, dipicting the distinct differences between Helvetica and other San Serif typefaces, the point I'm trying to make is the parallel terminals. That's what generally give it away, they have a more aesthetically pleasing quality to them, as though the negative space has been cut away from a previous shape. You'll find this in the e, c, s, C, S and so on.
These excercise have opened my eyes to more options when it comes to designing my themed typeface.
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