As you read this, most of these standard typefaces are familiar. They look similar, yet unique in their forms and possibly arouse different feelings within you.
For Sasikarn Vongin and Sirin Gunkloy, each line, stroke, angle and feature of the font speaks differently. They both work as type designers at Cadson Demak, one of Thailand’s foremost “foundries” of typographic design — a lesser-known craft in the design field.
Both of them, fascinated by typeface during their studies, went on to pursue it as a profession as well as a passion.
“My interest in typography started when I studied communication design,” said Sasikarn, 24, who earned a degree from Chulalongkorn University. “As a graphic designer, I’m a user of typefaces. It’s the primary element of graphic design. That was when I became aware of the importance of type. It contributes a certain emotion to the work. With a carefully selected typeface, you’ve already finished half the work.”
Likewise, drawn in by typefaces, the 25-year-old Sirin did an experiment on Thai letter forms for her final project at Silpakorn University and found that font isn’t just a set of letters.
“When you design graphics, you can instinctively feel that each work has its own tone of voice. In some commercial projects, you feel that there is something wrong, something that doesn’t fit the whole piece. Most of the time, it results from a wrong typographic choice. Type design hence plays an essential role.”
While some typefaces seem almost identical to most people and English letters are nothing more than A-Z, specific weights, proportions, points, lines and curves convey different tones of voice, evoke different emotional responses and reflect different personalities.
Sasikarn Vongin.
Cadson Demak, where both Sasikarn and Sirin work, is a type-design company providing custom services and also offering a library of retail fonts. The foundry has created custom typefaces for eminent enterprises, design and publishing industries such as AIS, dtac, Ikea, Krungsri, BBQ Plaza, PPTV and H&M.
“A custom font is like a tailored suit,” Sirin explained. “When a typeface is custom made, it perfectly fits a particular organisation. When they speak to a big audience, their voice is clearer and they express themselves better and louder.”
On modern interfaces that can present challenges, Sirin explained that “with new technology and gadgets, type designers also need to create readable types for these devices”.
“Function is the first thing to consider. Besides designing typefaces for a particular use, it’s also our job nowadays to find solutions for diverse digital platforms. Through different use and different media, the designs are again different.”
“When we create custom fonts for clients, we also have to respond to their needs. For instance, they want a typeface that is formal yet friendly. We have to interpret those abstract ideas into a form of typeface. It’s like the encoding and decoding process of communication. When it comes to actual use, these visual elements must successfully transmit those concepts into the viewer’s perception,” added Sasikarn.
In addition to the ability to bring visual language into emotion, a type designer must possess good digital drawing skills, an eye for detail and must be a great observer.
“Each millimetre matters to us. While tiny details are hardly spotted by others, they are big differences to us,” Sasikarn said.
“If you are a keen coffee drinker, you can naturally tell if the coffee tastes good or bad, or can tell the difference between a cup made by your barista or by others. The aroma, taste and texture aren’t the same,” Sirin explained. “In the same way, when we work with fonts everyday, it’s ingrained in our eyes.”
In Thailand, although the number of typographic designers is still relatively small, there is a strong community of creators that has led to the foundation of the Typographic Association Bangkok. With leading type-design studios coming together to push forward the industry and to help local talents grow on a global stage, the community every year holds the Bangkok International Typographic Symposium, the first and the only typographic and type design conference in Southeast Asia.
“Since the group of Thai script users is small, comparing to the Latin [English] counterpart, there is, as a result, a limited amount of local type designers. The number of female designers is therefore marginal,” Sasikarn said.
“Although typographic design is a male-dominated industry, I don’t see it as a man’s thing. I don’t find gender or being a woman is a setback for the job. I think it’s even a plus because women are meticulous by nature. On the international stage, there are more and more emerging female type designers,” she added.
She is currently working on her personal project, Kantaraksa, a set of fonts through which she revives century-old archives from the first Thai typesetting, invented by Dr Dan Beach Bradley during the reign of King Rama III, into a digital equivalent. Through research into old manuscripts and Thai type design history, her attempt to preserve the original Thai typeset letters is set to be released in 2016.
In the future, Sirin sees herself crossing disciplines of type design and content management.
“Typefaces and content complement each other. At Cadson Demak, there is body of knowledge that the foundry has learned in the process. With these sets of ideas, it’s a challenge how we can disseminate information to a wider audience — whether in the form of books, exhibitions, lectures or seminars — for educational purposes and for the local industry,” said Sirin, who will also be one of the speakers at the upcoming Bangkok Book Festival 2015 (www.bangkokbookfestival.com) to be held at Bangkok Art & Culture Centre on July 17-19.
“I want to share my professional experience with others. Your career shouldn’t be just to earn a living. The extra profit from the professional expertise is when you are able to share it to others,” Sasikarn said.
Sharp eyes are essential for type designers — Sasikarn Vongin.
