Type Design
Berlin based type designer, Stefanie Vogl grew up in a tiny town in Bavaria, near the Czech-Austrian border, drawing and painting. She later attended FH Würzburg-Schweinfurt where she studied everything from illustration to photography and journalism before finally landing on graphic design.
Autark Typeface
What was it like growing up in Bavaria?
I knew from a very young age that I would not stay in Bavaria. For me it's way to conservative, not open-minded enough. A lot of people don't take you seriously when you work in the creative field. Berlin is quite the opposite. But I do miss my family often and the forests. And yes, I can speak dialect.
What’s the purpose of Custom Type and how does it benefit a business?
Every brand should be unique. There’s a huge trend in the last couple of years – a lot of brands look very similar type-wise. They don’t really have a character, it’s like a person you don’t really know. Type can be one of the first impressions you get from a brand. Why waste it?
How can Custom Type build a brand’s narrative?
It's like writing about a character. If you describe a person in a novel for example, you wouldn't stop by saying it's a man or a woman. You would add other features, characteristics. It's the same with type. You could choose a plain font, or you can show character. There are no limits. Type can convey all emotions.
What’s your design process and what inspires you?
I don’t have a routine. Sometimes I have a very clear image of it in my head from the beginning. Sometimes I get inspired by shapes of nature, by music, by everything that surrounds me. I start sketching on paper or digitally first and switch to Glyphs––a font editor where you can draw vector based letters, numbers etc. and export them into a font file after that.
What are the main principles of type design?
I see myself as an experimental type designer, so there are way less standards you have to follow compared to designing legible serif or sans fonts. It’s VERY technical.
Autark in the making
How is the communication process with the client? What are the steps?
Most of the time I get project offers that are open to a lot of interpretation. I normally ask for previous art works and projects to get a feeling of the brand or artist. Then I start to write down things that come to my mind while watching them, adjectives, characteristics etc. Then I start to sketch and discuss it with the client. After that I start working digitally and tweak the last details.
What inspired you to make Autark and what does it mean?
The font is centered around the feeling of being self-sufficient. It’s a strong and elegant typeface that can easily stand for itself, it has a lot of character. The illustration underlines that. It is based on one single emotion––to be self-sufficient.
Do you have any advice for designers creating custom type for the first time?
Don’t be afraid to fail. Just try things, sketch a lot, study other fonts. How are they made, what shapes do they have? And you will get better step by step. It takes some time. Don’t stress yourself to finish the whole typeface – it takes some time and effort. Start small. Otherwise it can get frustrating.
