R O A N U
Hussain Waheedh / 0344802
Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media
Major Project
INSTRUCTIONS:
WEEK 1 :
For our Major project, we were briefed by Mr.Asrizal that we can choose
any topic that we feel passionate about
within the specialization. But the instructions were quite brief as it was expected of us to come up with the project on our own. Based on the brief and looking through some of our senior's works I did some research on ideas that I might like. I had already planned to go towards typography for my major project but didn't decide on the topic.
within the specialization. But the instructions were quite brief as it was expected of us to come up with the project on our own. Based on the brief and looking through some of our senior's works I did some research on ideas that I might like. I had already planned to go towards typography for my major project but didn't decide on the topic.
WEEK 2 :
I did some research based on different areas of typography that I wanted
to explore. And there was one project that I had been planning to work on
after graduation which is to create a Maldivian cursive typeface. After
some research and giving it some thought I decided to attempt that idea
for my fyp knowing that it would be a tough job to pull since I had no
idea how to make it work as a real font.
I had previously worked on typefaces on Mr.Vinod's classes but they were
latin and linear dhivehi fonts without any complexities. But if I am to
attempt a cursive dhivehi font it gets really complicated because of the
way dhivehi writings work. So I did some more research into old dhivehi
scripts, calligtaphy and writings as well as existing fonts to get a
better idea of what I wanted to do. The images below are some of the
minmap and references that I collected.
Fig 1.0.0 - Brain Map - jpg
Fig 1.0.1 - Breaking down references - jpg
Fig 1.0.2 - Existing thaana fonts - jpg
Fig 1.0.3 - References - jpg
From on the research I did, I noticed some details that I want to focus on:
- Thaana (Maldivian alphabet) has a very limited collection of existing fonts
- Thaana lettering and script writing is very decorative and flexible
- The existing thaana fonts are very linear and static
- One of the most aesthetic and beautiful feature of thaana handwriting is how letters (akuru) and vowel marks (fili) are woven together similar to the styles found in arabic thuluth calligraphy
- None of the existing fonts feature any akuru-fili combinations
Mr.Vinod suggested me to see if the first idea is possible by
experimenting with fontlab and meeting experts on the field because he
said he likes the idea of the font over a fontbook which still can be an
appliaction at the end of the project. He suggested I meet with expert on
typographic softwares Muthu Nedumaran to get more insight on how it can be
done in fontlab or any other type software. I tried reaching Muthu but he
was unavailable. So I arranged a meeting with a type designer named Abo
from Maldives who had designed some thaana fonts and has also created
thaana ligratures on some of his works.
Fig 1.0.4 - Meeting with type designer - jpg
I learned a lot about FontLab and thaana ligatures from my meeting with Abo and he shared some templates that I refered to along the way.
After preparing myself I began work immediately on designing the glyph
sets. There are 6 major sets that I need to design and all needs to be
consistent to the whole typeface:
- Thaana akuru (letters)
- Thaana fili (Wovel Marks)
- Thaana ligatures
- English alphabet
- Numerals
- Additional characters
I began with the letters and some vowel marks to get a overall
composition so that the remaining characters can be designed on top of
that grid. How thaana differs from English is that it's written from right
to left in a diagonal direction. It's more similar to Arabic in different
ways compared to english.
Fig 1.0.5 - Designing the first glyphs - jpg
Fig 1.0.6 - Character designs - jpg
WEEK 3 :
Designing the characters were way more tedious than I thought and I
was starting to worry that I might not be able to complete it on
time. But at the same time I was really excited and motivated to
work on it especially since I started on 2nd week which was pretty
early on during the semester. So I knew I had to work fast because
there is a lot of work at hand and I also knew that I could complete
everything on time. So I put up to the challenge and kept designing
more and more characters and filling in the slots for every
character required. I also did test some ligratures to understand
how it works.
The basic idea is that for each letter-mark combination that can
have a ligature, I had to design both individual characters as well
as the ligatures and use a substitution code to replace the
characters with the ligatures when typed.
Fig 1.0.7 - Ligature designs - jpg
I spent more time looking at old thaana magazines and trying to scribble
down different ligatures that could be used to capture the weven beauty of
thaana while keeping it readable.
Fig 1.0.8 - Ligature mapping - jpg
Fig 1.0.9 - Early ligatures - mp4
I showed the early ligratures to Mr.Vinod and he seemed pretty happy with them. He gave me some suggestions to follow and also gave some instructions on how to showcase the font visually. Since my project was generally type based, Mr.Asrizal also suggested I consult with Mr.Vinod regarding the project so I was consulting and getting feedback from Mr.Vinod weekly.
WEEK 5 :
Aside from the font, I started working on the visuals and collaterals for
the final showcase. I had different ideas for visuals and with feedback
from Mr.Asrizal and Mr.Vinod I decided to finalise these as main
visuals
- Type book
- Posters
- Stickers
- Type Animations
Below are some of the visuals I was working on for my proposal
presentation:
Fig 1.1.0 - early visuals - jpg
Fig 1.1.1 - early visuals - jpg
Fig 1.1.2 - early visuals - jpg
Fig 1.1.3 - early visuals - jpg
WEEK 8, 9 and 10 :
I worked a lot on the font and individual characters as well as
ligatures. But the more ligatures, the less readable the font gets so I
decided to limit the number of ligatures. I completed the Thaana set and.
did a rough english font. Mr.Vinod was not impressed with the latin so I had to redesign the Latin
typeface.
PROJECT PROPOSAL:
Fig 1.1.5 - Proposal - pdf
The feedback for the proposal was fairly positive. However I wasn't
pleased with how complex it seemed for audiences that do not understand
Maldivian type or type in general so I did some brainstorming on how it
can be improved. I figured the color palette was not consistent and was
causing a lot of disturbance for the overall image of the project so I
decided to simplify the colour palette so that it focuses more on the
typography rather than making the visuals more prominent. So I decided to
use black and white and a strong Yellow. I also wanted to incorporate some
personal elements into the design. I am deeply nostalgic and have a lot of
black and white photography from my home island that feels like the proper
mood I need for this project. And so I decided to use my island
photography and blend it into the project.
WEEK 11 :
During the final weeks I mostly worked on the visuals and the book. A lot
of work went into designing the book and the visual elements. I also did a
complete redesign on the stickers and posters
FINAL SUBMISSION:
PROJECT TITLE: ROANU - A MALDIVIAN SCRIPT TYPEFACE
RATIONALE: The beauty in Thaana handwriting and Dhivehi calligraphy doesn't solely derive from individual letters but from the artful weaving of letters (akuru) and vowel marks (fili). However, most of the existing digital fonts use separate characters for individual akuru and fili, lacking the connected beauty inherent in traditional writing. 'Roanu' typeface, named after traditional Maldivian coir ropes woven in a pattern similar to that of Thaana handwriting, tackles this issue by introducing specific ligatures for various letter combinations. This approach translates the woven style of Thaana letterforms into the digital realm.
Fig 2.1.0 - Working font file - ttf
ANIMATED POSTERS:
Fig 2.1.1 - Final aminated Visuals - gif
Fig 2.1.2 - Final aminated Visuals - gif
Fig 2.1.3 - Final aminated Visuals - gif
Fig 2.1.4 - Final aminated Visuals - gif
Fig 2.1.5 - Final aminated Visuals - gif
Fig 2.1.6 - Final aminated Visuals - gif
THE BOOK:
Fig 2.2.0 - Final book - fliphtml
Fig 2.2.1 - Final book Visual - jpg
Fig 2.2.2 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.3 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.4 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.5 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.6 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.7 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.8 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.2.9 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.3.0 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.3.1 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.3.2 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.3.3 - Final book layout - jpg
Fig 2.3.4 - Final book cover - jpg
POSTERS:
Fig 2.4.0 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.1 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.2 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.3 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.4 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.5 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.6 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.7 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.8 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.4.9 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.0 - Final poster designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.1 - Final poster designs - jpg
STICKERS:
Fig 2.6.6 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.1 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.2 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.3 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.4 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.5 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.6 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.7 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.8 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.5.9 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.0 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.1 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.2 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.3 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.4 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.5 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.6 - Final sticker designs - jpg
Fig 2.6.7 - Final sticker designs - jpg
REFLECTION:
Working on the Major project along with Design Portfolio was challenging but I am very satisfied with the work. The font I designed has received a lot of positive feedback from designers and viewers alike and I am very happy to have completed the entire font in time along with the visuals. I am hoping to keep practicing type design in the future and look for more opportunities to work and learn type design.
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