The Zee's typeface, step by step

janeiro 22, 2007 from

In 2006 we renewed the brand of our company, Zee. One of our goals was to create a really unique typeface, I mean a custom face that couldn't be bought or easily found. Thinking about that we had two options: modify an existing typeface or create one from the scratch.

After some search to fonts we decided to follow our second option and design a font from nothing, or barely nothing, because we had some thoughts about what we wanted.

The idea of the font is really basic, a module that we could repeat it as many as possible to create the whole alphabet. That was what we did.

For the module we chose a circle and picked a quarter of it.

For the module we chose a circle and picked a quarter of it.

With the module choosen we started creating some characters, in our case, many characters were just the rotation of a font such as E, A, 9, 6.

9, 6, A, E are the same character rotated or mirrored. The same happens to C, L, J, O...

9, 6, A, and E are the same character rotated or mirrored. The same happens to C, L, J, O...

There were some characters that needed more attention like the V, W, T, K.

The V and W are cool while the T I think needs some improvments

The V and W are cool while the T, I think, needs some improvements.

The main goal of this typeface was to be the ZEE' logo, as the name has basically 2 characters and with the E done, the Z was the most complicated one. It had to be different and cool.

The Z took a lot of time to be done, it's a mix of the A with the 8.

The Z took a lot of time to be done, it's a mix of the A with the 8.

The whole alphabet was created, however there are some issues like kering, spacing, and a lot of special characters to be created if I want to distribute it as a font, though I'm creating the TTF file with what I have done so far, and as soon as I finish it I will put it here to download.

There are some letters that still need some adjustments, such as the Q,Y, and 4.

There are some letters that still need some adjustments, such as the Q,Y, and 4.

Despite the fact that the alphabet is not totally done, this font has been used since last year as the ZEE's logo. One thing that the font really needs is a name. Please if you have a suggestiong let me know.

Zee's website and its logo with the zFont.

Zee's website and its logo with the zFont.

Technorati Profile

http://abduzeedo.com.br/files/imagecache/img690x320/originals/alphabet.gif

Sobre o autor

Abduzeedo is a blog about design. There are all sorts of articles for those who want to look for inspiration. Also you will find very useful tutorials for the most used applications out there, with a special selection of Photoshop Tutorials and Illustrator Tutorials. You can get in follow us via Twitter at @abduzeedo

Sponsored Links:

More articles about:

Comments and Reactions

Featured Tutorial

Um Tutorial do Inferno no Pixelmator
Um Tutorial do Inferno no Pixelmator
Nesse tutorial eu vou mostrar a você como criar um efeito muito legal. Primeiro vamos usar filtros básicos para criar o efeito texto 3D; depois vamos usar blend em algumas stock photos e texturas para criar um 'hell of a wallpaper'. Passo 1

Try this Wallpaper

Wallpaper da Semana #153 by Abduzeedo
Wallpaper da Semana #153 by Abduzeedo
O wallpaper dessa semana é uma imagem que criei para um tutorial que publicamos na última segunda, Tipografia Vintage 3D no Photoshop com Repoussé para comemorar o lançamento do livro do Abduzeedo chamado Abduzeedo Inspiration Guide for Designers

Book Suggestion

Sugestão de Livro - 50 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do
Sugestão de Livro - 50 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do
A sugestão de livro dessa semana é super interessante, especialmente para nós, designers, que precisamos alcançar audiências com nosso trabalho, sempre tentando entender suas necessidades. O livro se chama 50 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do; Insight and Inspiration from 50 Key Books (disponível em inglês).