TLDR
Why don’t we have a proper Nounish display font? Let’s make one that everybody can use. Recognizable, fun, CC0. For Nouns projects, products and beyond. Requesting 18 eth.
See the draft letter drawings in use: nounsfonts.wtf
WHY
On websites, videos, gear, and other items, the display typeface a user sees is one of the most critical aspects of visual recognition.
A display typeface performs numerous functions like an oft-needed guide for a weary traveler. It reassures users, gives them a good feeling, creates understanding, and establishes direction. Of all the typefaces used in Nouns materials–outside of Nountown–none feel particularly Nounish. This is because there aren’t any genuinely Nounish display fonts available for use. We aim to solve that–Nouners need more tools for their evergrowing toolbox to help spread the lore of Nouns.
The Nountown typeface is inspiring. Picking up where Gremplin left off, I propose creating a unique, beautiful, functional Nounish display typeface with a CC0 license available for general use. We use CC0, so this font can be a starting point for a whole suite of open-source Nounish fonts, bolstering the ecosystem visually. Nouns Display is a font L1 that many L2s can be built on. Eg., Nouns Display and lil nouns display.
Thanks to the generous support of our prop house proposal we have a start. The initial sketches, and process can be seen on our microsite nounsfonts.wtf
This proposal allows us to finish a full-featured CCO typeface that everyone can use on nouns projects, products, and beyond.
GETTING IT OUT THERE
We will produce a limited run of distinctly tasteful gear featuring the typeface upon launch.
We will submit Nouns Display for inclusion in the Google Fonts catalogue for wide distribution and easy use in Figma.
It will be used on Zora’s new profiles pages.
We will structure a Zora-based NFT launch when the typeface is complete. Nouns Display would be the first NFT of a usable production typeface, effectively disrupting the typeface industry with NFTs and opening up a new paradigm for fonts as financial assets.
WHO
I am Marco Braunschweiler, a designer with a background in art, and I make typefaces that I use everyday. I’ve worked with Tribute Labs, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Acura, Sonos, The New York Times, and NTS Radio.
My fonts are here: m-a-r-c-o.com/typefaces My design studio is here: openwindow.studio
ROADMAP
Phase 1 is complete. This proposal is for phases 2, and 3. Requesting 18 ETH.
Phase One – Complete Initial Sketches of Uppercase Letterforms We want to make sure we’re getting it right and creating something everyone loves; in this phase, we’ve done the research and made sketches for the initial letters, uppercase A–Z. Results are viewable at nounsfonts.wtf.
Phase Two – Up Next Drawing all Latin Glyphs Now that research is done and a direction is established, we draw all the uppercase and lowercase Latin glyphs. At the end of this phase, we will have drawings of all the characters used. We will work with Nounish designers to test the typeface and collect feedback.
Phase Three – Finish Line Updates, Revision, Mastering The finish line. We work to refine the typeface and master it for use across platforms. At the end of this phase, we have the final files that anyone can use to make their projects, and the world, look a bit more Nounish.
Spec Sheet Final typeface will be ready for wide-use, and will include the following:
- CC0 License
- Mastering
- Hinting
- Unicode data normalization
- Opentype feature checks
- Metrics normalization/optimisation for desktop, mobile, and web environments
- Generating final desktop and webfont files in: OTF, TTF, WOFF, WOFF2
- Submission to Google Fonts