Sans Serif Typeface Breakdown

Above is my breakdown of the anatomy of the typeface DM Sans spelling Rachel’s Design Lab. While this is probably one of the less creative exercises we have completed to date I actually quite enjoyed it and feel that the above outcome is effective in attractively displaying the anatomy of the typeface. What I found particularly helpful about this exercise is that it causes you to consider each component of every letter and how it appears in the given typeface.

As a result, I played about with the typeface and created the above outcome. I wanted to add more extremes to the weight of the typeface which originally remained consistent throughout. I thinned out the lines as the letters curved as can be seen in the ‘s’, I also reduced the thickness of the crossbar as can be seen in the ‘e’ and ‘R’ and thinned the end shoulders where they meet the stem as seen in the ‘h’. This was a fun exercise as it allowed me to ad a slightly different feel to the typeface however I do feel the approach I have taken would lend itself better to a serif typeface.

What have I learnt?

• It is important to reflect on all of the elements of a typeface when selecting a particular style however even more so if attempting to adjust or create type to make a customer wordmark or full typeface.
• I now have a much better understanding of the anatomy of type

How can I apply this to my work in future?

• When referring to customisations made to type and letters I now have a better understanding of the components of a letter and will be able to refer to them by name.
• I can consider the anatomy of the structure of type in order to make consistent adjustments across all letters