Type From the Inside-out: Designing with Countershapes

A letterform’s countershapes are like a secret hidden in plain sight—and the key to compelling display wordmarks and really great text fonts.

Countershapes are essential to any letterform. They’re an inherent part of any stroke, created by the division of space that ink/pixels make on a white canvas. Learning to see them can help you master drawing letters and molding them into any weight, width, or container you wish.

I grew up looking at “Bardas”, large wall sign paintings, painted quickly to advertise dances or political propaganda. These are often made with the cut-in technique, in which a colorful background is painted first, and then the letter outline is defined on top of it with a second layer of thick paint.

As a type designer, I’ve learned many techniques like cut-in that put counters first. In this workshopAs a type designer, I’ve learned many techniques like cut-in that put counters first. In this workshop (Saturdays on 9/13, 9/20, 9/27 and 10/4) I’ll share them with you, and guide you while you experiment freely with ink, paper, and scissors; then make a small lettering piece; and finally develop a caps-only font starting with the countershapes.

You may also like the following events from Letterform Archive:

• This Thursday, 18th September, 06:00 pm, Collections Tour: The Power(s) of Design / Les Pouvoir(s) du Design in San Francisco, California
• This Saturday, 20th September, 09:00 pm, Python for Visual Designers with Maurice Meilleur in San Francisco, California

Also check out other Arts events in Rosenberg, Fine Arts events in Rosenberg, Workshops in Rosenberg.