Embrace Typeface

Date: November 2019
Client: Wes Whiteside
Tools: Glyphs, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator
Role: Typeface Design, Copywriting


I designed a sans-serif display typeface, Embrace, based off of a Newhouse faculty member at Syracuse University. Embrace was inspired by Wes Whiteside's big heart, which makes room for and welcomes all people as he leads the Visitors Center and coordinates Newhouse's diversity initiatives. The open, confident counters of Embrace illustrate his open-minded and flexible personality.






INTERVIEW & FIND KEYWORDS
I started my process by interviewing with Wes and jotting down some of the keywords from his background and personality I found from him.



Based on the keywords I picked, I started sketching a few typefaces I felt fit my client.
Keywords: open-minded / flexible / friendly / humorous / easy-going / confident







DESIGN PROCESS 



The open, confident counters of Embrace illustrate Wes Whiteside’s open-minded and flexible personality while the delightful, wavy legs and tails show his sense of humor. Embrace typeface includes all uppercase and lowercase characters along with numerals, punctuations and symbols.






EXHIBIT PANELS
These exhibit panels were created for the typeface presentation day, and they highlight Embrace's iconic features as well as the notion of diversity and acceptance.






> Challenge 

The process of creating typeface was painstaking. I had to pay close attention to multiple factors, including legibility, readability, consistency, and spacing, but adjusting the curved strokes was the most time-consuming and challenging of my tasks. 

> Lesson

One of the lessons I learned is to embrace the struggle and uncertainty because that's where the best solutions come from. 








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