Damn impressive indeed! I really wish I was well versed in other scripts so I could explore ideas like an arabic blackletter. Not that I have enough time in my life to explore all ideas in Roman type...

I once did a Georgian "broken-script":
http://www.themicrofoundry.com/f_akhalkalak.html
And I don't read Georgian. :-)

hhp

Looks very nice! How do you make sure you get everything right and anticipate how ligatures might look like and other similar problems though? I want to design a cyrillic typeface one day but it's quite similar to the Roman script so I don't anticipate many problems. I find more exotic scripts to be quite risky to design if I have no insight in the language.

More than language, to me it's a matter of visual "nativity".
Some designers don't agree, but I believe that although without
nativity you can produce acceptable imitative typefaces, you
cannot really innovate. Which is not to say that nativity cannot
be acquired later in life; few however can manage that luxury.

BTW when I made Akhalkalak I consulted with an expert native in
Georgian at UCLA (where I used work) to make sure none of the
letters were too far out. And the expert did actually find fault with
one letter, which I duly tamed (but I could not innovate).

hhp

I must say it sounds both risky and exciting. I can imagine if you don't know the language you indeed have chance to break new ground.

But only by dumb luck, at least in text fonts.
Display fonts probably do benefit from a lack
of imposed precedent though. In fact as I state
now and again, formal education is a two-edged
sword. And I like to say that in type design I'm
"classically trained": I'm self-taught. :->

hhp

I'm also self-taught. I studied graphic design at the art academy for one year and my basic typographic knowledge was acquired there. I then went on to study multi media design. I started being active in type design during my first internship in 2009. I have my diploma now and I plan to go back to school upcoming year to get a bachelor in graphic design and then a master in typography & communication. I have been pondering though whether I'm really doing this for the experience or that I will genuinely learn more than I would on my own. I'm sure I will be learning through the experience though. I've never really had the pleasure to surround myself with type geeks but I really want to enter that environment.

In any case, when it comes to type design I'm self-taught. I very much romanticize the idea of being mentored by a type designer and I find the idea of techniques, styles and concepts being passed on from the master to the pupil very charming. I guess it's also about the pleasure of working on a single design together as opposed to having to find out a solution for every problem yourself. I mean, as a solo designer it can be both exhilarating and frustrating/tiring.

I love blackletter fonts! :3

Hi hrant that was damn impressive indeed. I am not so well versed in Arabic or other scripts, but I would really like to know more about learning the Arabic script. I am doing a research in language scripts and I would like to know where I could find scripts. www.ordergripgo.com