Typophile

Creating a ks ligature with modified Myriad Semibold

LisaO

I'm working on customizing Myriad Semibold for a suite of products for my organization. One place I'm having difficulty is with the word "Talks," specifically the way the foot of the k bumps into the s when spaced tightly. (Myriad Semibold with -25 letterspacing is the base for all the wordmarks, which I've then modified.)

Here are some attempts at resolving the k/s pair.

The one I've been leaning towards the most is the last one - I like the way the k bumps into the s and suggests script or a serif, but only on the bottom. I don't like the way the s' tail (terminal? finial??) ends above it, so I've tried a few things. But it's proving tricky and downright unsatisfactory:



Maybe the top two have the most potential; although I felt that the way the k suppresses/cuts off the s was antithetical to the nature of the product (lectures for students).
Any tips, possibilities or references to ks ligatures would be much appreciated!

Lisa

LisaO

And by "top two" in the bottom paragraph, I meant the top two in the first group of images.

moramedia

Hi, I would like to suggest you keep working on the third, I like the "connected" feeling of it. I don't know how it could work if you throw the ligature lower than the baseline, it might give you a more script feeling. It's only a suggestion ;)

LisaO

Thanks! I'll try that out.
Yeah, I like the scripty feeling too.

LisaO

moramedia - Took your advice and tried to extend the foot a bit:

Also did another one that tried to play with the potential in the k/s to suggest mouth/speech bubble... without getting too cutesty...and without breaking Myriad too much. Not sure if it was successful, but it was fun.

What do you all think? Any suggestions/critiques would be much appreciated!

Alex Pankratov

I think the most sensible solution would be to slide the s behind the k. Similarly to how you did in the very top option (from the first post), but with a smaller gap. Then, if you look at that option, it lacks the self-consistency due to rounded corners that you added. I'd consider ditching them and just go with the original shapes (or at least changing them in a way that preserves angular appearance). I think tucking the s behind the k is enough to shape the wordmark.

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