Final Typeface and Rationale

Inspired by the old-style serif typeface Garamond, my font Lyndon is reminiscent of old-style metal casted ligatures. One of the main features that is unique to Lyndon is the inclusion of a serif at the base of the lowercase "b", as well as unique "dog-ear" serifs on the top of "p" and "q". I chose to design these features because I felt that they gave the serif font more movement and continuity when used in words and sentences. During my research, I found that many old style serifs had small x-heights (including Garamond), which made the font difficult to read when used in normal, everyday point sizes. Because of this, I have chosen to exaggerate the x-height in Lyndon slightly, and I find that this has a considerable positive impact on readability.

The font I have designed also reflects upon my design moral and style. When designing, I like to take an ordered approach, using grids and even spacing. I like to take precise measurements of elements in order to arrange them with great visual appeal. The font I have designed, Lyndon, is a reflection of these habits. The font is very visually orderly and formal, incorporating contrasting strokes in each letter. Each letter has been designed to be evenly balanced - both vertically and horizontally. The use of contrasting stroke widths allows for better typographic colour when used in blocks of text. In addition, I took this as an opportunity to incorporate what I would have liked to see in Garamond, into Lyndon. One of the main differences between Garamond and Lyndon  is that upon close examination of Garamond at very large point sizes, one can see that the strokes that were meant to be straight, are in fact not. For example, the horizontal bars in the letter "E" had a slight humanization and variation from a purely horizontal line and made the ligatures look hand-cut. I never liked this feature of Garamond as it seemed like an imperfection, and so in my font, I have used perfectly straight lines in these situations. This, in my opinion, gives the font a much more refined look that is more visually appealing.