This project shows my interest in designing a display font since I liked the idea of being able to be expressive, explore potential letter designs, and create something truly unique.

After many sketches and explorations, I came up with a font that is a sans serif, with tapering stems, bars, arms, and crossbars, as well as offset bowls. These irregularities give it the playful child-like quality I was after. Memories of my son William when he was young provided inspiration for the font’s name Silly Willy.

I visualized this font being used in a child’s book of illustrations paired with limited text, or perhaps as wall hangings for a child’s room. I created an example of these possibilities by drawing a dog illustration and pairing it with the font so this treatment could be seen.

I explored colour usage and believe a soft colour palette inspired by vintage children’s book illustrations works well to further emphasize the font’s child-like qualities.