Aragorn This FontStruction was selected by FontStruct staff.This%20FontStruction%20was%20selected%20by%20FontStruct%20staff.

by Frodo7


Details

Description:
This is an experiment to blend blackletter and modern serif elements. Work in progress.
Stats:
57 characters, 7 downloads
Created:
Fri, 14th August, 8:08 PM 2009
Last Edit:
Wed, 18th November, 8:03 PM 2009
Rate it:
  • Currently 6.87494
6.9Balanced%20Rating%3A%20%3Cb%20class%3D%22weighted_value%22%3E6.9%3C%2Fb%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EAverage%20Rating%3A%20%3Cb%20class%3D%22rating_value%22%3E8.2%3C%2Fb%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EClick%20for%20more%20information%20about%20this%20rating. 4 votes
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Discussion

Frodo7
Frodo7 Sun, 1st November, 1:55 PM

It's a work in progress. After 2 and a half months of incubation I decided to release this work to public scrutiny. This is an experimental project to combine blackletter and modern serif elements, and see if the result is aesthetically pleasing. Any comment, critique is welcome.

fontcollector
fontcollector Sun, 1st November, 2:47 PM

Frodo7, your work is always impeccable. Even though this font is unfinished, it still gets my 10.

SimonRobertson
SimonRobertson Sun, 1st November, 2:59 PM

looks great! ust one question, i thought slab serifs were close to the same weight as the stems, as the stems here have so much contrast, and the serifs take cues from the thin strokes, it seems more like a blackletter/modern (think didone) combo. just a thought, and of course i could be way off :-)

thalamic
thalamic Sun, 1st November, 3:02 PM

I may not say so for each of your creations, but there's some form of excellence in everything you share. Thank you for making us try harder.

And, Aragorn, eh? If I remember my LotR, this looks more like Boromir to me. Then again, I only read the book once so I am probably missing some technical nuance. Enlighten us, please.

Frodo7
Frodo7 Sun, 1st November, 11:25 PM

Thank you for your comments. No harsh critique so far, but I really need some feedback before I make decisions on some glyph variations.

@SimonRobertson: Well, I'm not an expert type theorist. I only rely on some books written by experts. They describe at least seven different classes of serifs. And you are quite right about the slab serif, I was wrong. It is indeed a blackletter/modern serif, a.k.a. "abrubt contrast straight serif" combo. Thank you for the correction.

@thalamic: Aragorn or Boromir? When you read the book, you imagine the scenes, the plot, the characters. To me Aragorn is tall, elegant and kingly, who was raised in Rivendell. He is learned in ancient law, valiant, merciful, wise and noble. Boromir, a captain of Gondor, is more of a soldier, strong and brave. In type terms Boromir would be a robust slab serif or a stencil font of military style, rather than a slender typeface like this one. Before selecting a particular name for this fontstruction it had a working title. I've spent some time considering various options before I chose the present name. I think the blackletter elements reflect his connection to the glorious past (he is the last member of an ancient royal dynasty), and the modern serif parts may refer to the future, he brings to mankind, the Age of Men. My only concern is that my design might not be good enough, worthy to his name.

p2pnut
p2pnut Mon, 2nd November, 12:25 PM

This has the makings of a real FS classic. Elegant and useable ... one could almost imagine it being used for ........

This has the makings of a real FS classic. Elegant and useable ... one could almost imagine it being used for ........
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Frodo7
Frodo7 Mon, 2nd November, 9:42 PM

@p2pnut: You are the most kind. After a hard day's work I came home and found your pic. It made me smile. It made my day. Thank you.

gferreira
gferreira Tue, 3rd November, 2:29 PM

Looking forward to the full set. :-)

Do you know the work of Vojtěch Preissig?

Frodo7
Frodo7 Tue, 3rd November, 10:38 PM

@gferreira: Yes, I know his works very well. The Czech Modernist set is featured in the first Indie Fonts book, p.215. I was fascinated by those letterforms, and experimented with some FS adaptation only to conclude the current set of bricks does not support those various angles. Yes, the m,n looks similar, but the present work is more of a continuation of my Nimrodel-Legolas line. At least the first primitive glyphs came from there.

gferreira
gferreira Wed, 18th November, 5:29 PM

Congratulations! FontStruct Staff have deemed your FontStruction worthy of special mention. “Aragorn ” is now a Top Pick.

Frodo7
Frodo7 Thu, 19th November, 5:54 PM

intaglio
intaglio Fri, 20th November, 1:14 AM

This is coming along nicely. Faves: l/c a, cap Y, both g variants, ALL the ligs (they're so beautiful).

p2pnut
p2pnut Fri, 20th November, 1:36 AM

this is not a type ... it's enough to make ma grit ma teeth :)

aphoria
aphoria Fri, 20th November, 1:36 AM

This is really good frodo7. Keep up the great work.

Frodo7
Frodo7 Sun, 22nd November, 9:19 PM

@p2pnut: I think you are the only one who understood my reference to René Magritte's famous work, La Trahison des images (Ceci n'est pas une pipe), 1929. (The betrayal/treachery of pictures, This is not a pipe). I just could not resist the opportunity of the obvious parallel: you are not seeing my type, but a picture/screenshot of it. Magritte teaches us that sometimes our perception fail, and there is a fundamental difference between the real thing and its pictorial representation.

Sorry to bother you with lame philosophy.

intaglio
intaglio Mon, 23rd November, 9:37 AM

awww... you had to go and spoil it. Neat anagram, 'nut.