The width of your characters is inconsistant. The K needs to be wider to balance RET. The S doesn't work, the sharp angles aren't consistant with the rounded bowl of your R. This isn't a fail but it needs work. The letter spacing is good.

Thanks Dan.
While I agree that the 'S' needs work, I'm quite keen on retaining the sharp-angled character. I'd be interested in hearing any suggestions in which direction I could take the 'R' to make the two characters more consistent. Regarding the widths, all characters apart from the 'T' are of equal width, which was an initial decision that related to the idea of 'engineered' - using a fixed grid. I will try making the 'K' wider though.

If you rework the R to reflect the S I'd be more confortable with the look. Try sharpening up those curves on the bowl. As for the width, remember optically characters look different even if they are the same mechanical width. Thats why the T and E look wider than some of the other characters. Experiment with making them a tiny bit narrower. Good work!

Before I start adjusting it further, I just thought it could be worth attaching a smaller-scale image of the mark for reference.
view image here

Here's a second draft.
I have reduced the widths of 'E', 'T', and 'S'. Tried squaring curves on the 'R' but did not like the results. Perhaps I need to smooth those sharp angles on the 'S' after all?

view here

Fredrik,

Your new version is better, but the 'S' still feels to me like it's trying to free itself from 'KRET'. Try moving it closer by just a hair.

Generally, I think you need to lessen the visual differentiation between the 'S' and the other letters. In addition to the sharp angles and the downward-sloping of the center of the 'S', the 'R' has a generous bowl that lowers the perceived x-height (to me), whereas the 'S' has more typical proportions. This is amplifying the differences that make the 'S' the odd man out. Also, the finishing strokes at the top and the bottom don't seat the 'S' as firmly as the rest of the characters, and put its visual center of balance to the lower right (perhaps trim down the top stroke of the 'S' to make it lean back and balance itself a bit?). Try eliminating/minimizing some of these differences, which might allow you to keep the sharp angles. Or maybe it's just easier to get rid of them...

Overall, nice work! I look forward to seeing the results.

Guys,
sorry for not posting any progress, other things more urgent ...
I have been trying various approaches of making the 'R' and 'S' feel more similar, while also trying to balance the 'S'. Moving the 'S' closer by a hair helps somewhat, but I find that the highest point on the curve has to be shifted in order to slip the 'S' back up into the word. There are two versions in the link below, one with the re-worked 'S', and another with a re-styled 'R'. I came across Auto by Underware and saw something I liked in the 'R'.
Comments would be much appreciated.

new s, new r

I love the new S but the new R needs work on the bowl. It seems to just drop, you need to make the sloop less dramatic and you've got something. I'm not a type designer so you might want to run it by some of the type pros here under San Serif.

Dan,
the new 'R' was a pretty quick fix - I just happened to see sth in Auto that I thought was interesting in the context as I had been trying ways of altering the shape of the bowl in the 'R'. I will do some more work on it and have it posted later on. Thanks.