Nocturnal Typeface
An eerie blackletter typeface.
Background
Nocturnal is a blackletter display typeface I first made in my Foundations of Display Type Design workshop. The family has since grown to include two weights, light and bold, and three widths, condensed, regular, and extended. My goal was to create a design that was creepy, calligraphic, and contemporary. I think great use cases for this typeface would be music related merchandise and album covers.
The Process
I used historical Textura blackletter specimens as references when creating the basic structure of each letterform. I looked at each reference’s ductus and I used a broad nib calligraphy pen to sketch out each character. To get the final shape, I twisted the pen to achieve a tapering effect where the strokes are heavier on the top than the bottom.
Results
In this final product, I believe I was able to create a spindly and spooky typeface that is great for any eerie design.
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