Synopsis

Seen here is Present LT Std. It appears to have some eastern influence, and so it is my choice for the first font analysis. Left is my interpretation of the baseline, capline and x-height of this font-- if there really is one. It appears as if the horizontal strokes, as on the H and f, rest just below the x-height. The terminals reach just above the x and cap heights. The dot of the i and j reach cap height (they don’t extend above like the terminals of the capitals) and descend below the baseline. All lowercase letters start and end at traditional lines except for the f, which has a descender. The uppercase is more irregular-- for example, the A, M and N’s first stroke start below the baseline. The J descends as well.

Aetypical shapes are used in this font. The E is rounded. The I looks like a J-- the J has an extra horizontal stroke. The z lacks angles. The Y’s descender doubles-back on itself.



What Makes It a Brush Font?

One thing that makes this a brush font is the terminals. Each terminal comes to a rounded point, to imply that the brush has a pointed tip which continues to drag as it’s being lifted from the form, or just being put against the page. Strokes in many cases goes from thick to thin, giving a strong contrast. The O doesn’t connect at the top, and has a speediness. In some cases, the horizontal and vertical strokes in the uppercase letters do not meet neatly, but cross over each other. For example, the T and the R. This implies the hand, and the way the strokes were laid down. It’s perhaps the strongest reference to eastern writing styles. Lastly, strokes are rarely perfectly straight-- most have a curve or flourish at the end.




Potential Issues

One immediate issue is the way the I is written. It looks too much like a J. The creator should have written the strokes in the same style as the H and the L. Instead, they added an extra stroke to the J to try to differentiate, however it just makes the form less recognizable. Another potential issue us the width of the uppercase characters-- many of them are wider than they are tall. It certainly gives the creator more space to create stroke contrast, but the font ends up with a squished feeling which I find to be unappealing.