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For a recent logo development project, a beloved client loved a particular sketch. After culling through thousands of fonts in the database memory it became clear that a custom typeface would be the only way to proceed. So the lettering sketches began.

Frequently when crafting the perfect logo it makes sense to start with a pre-existing font and then alter a few of the letterforms to make sure all the letterforms flow together nicely. Conversely, the following font is completely built from scratch starting with a single line being drawn in Illustrator and incrementally building and manipulating the curves.

For those who’ve embarked on custom font development, you know it can be a joyous discovery of voluptuous curves and intersections. However, as Christian Robertson said, “the ‘s’ is the most difficult letter to design in the [english/latin] alphabet.” I agree — there were a few profanities released during the building of this set. Here’s a few tips to sculpting an ‘s’ of steel.

› Make sure that the upper and lower counterspaces aren’t equal.
The bottom is frequently slightly larger than the top
› The diagonal curve will likely be thicker than the rest of your strokes
› Don’t be afraid to start over several times
› The terminals determine a significant amount of the attitude of the font

FYI – This font will not be for sale as it is a proprietary font built for a client (unless they choose to make it available) If you’re looking for similar well-crafted fonts, you should consider: Silas Dilworth’s Breuer or Hoefler & Frere-Jones’ Forza.