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Architect Style


StanSoph

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I checked the archives and didn't find any information on this style of writing. I do not even know if it is a formal script or not. It seems to me that the majority of architects print the same. I would like to see an alphabet of uppe and lower case or even pages written in this style. TIA.

Overachieving Underachiever

 

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Great idea for a topic, I love this hand. I've never actually asked an architect--do they take a class in this when they start architecture school?

Isn't sanity really a one-trick pony, anyway? I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking! But when you're good and crazy . . . ooh hoo hoo hoo! . . . the sky's the limit!

--The Tick

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Great idea for a topic, I love this hand. I've never actually asked an architect--do they take a class in this when they start architecture school?

I'm not an architect or an engineer. However, I did struggle through 3 years of studies toward a degree in Mechanical Engineering. A long time ago. In those pre-CAD days, everyone in Engineering and in Architecture took one or more courses in Mechanical Drawing or Drafting. And yes, that's where engineers and architects learned to print like that. Architects probably still take a similar course, since clients like those pencil sketches and watercolor renderings with the hand-lettered notes.

 

If you print in all caps, make your "A" look like a big Greek delta, proportion your letters so they are wide rather than tall, and adjust the spacing between letters visually rather than making them equidistant (think of it as "kerning" and you'll have the idea), you'll print like an architect. The old school put a little "tick" mark between words to help with legibility (all caps are very hard to read if you have a page full of them) but I don't see this so much now except in old engineering drawings (or drawings done by old engineers who refuse to have anything to do with CAD -- these folks are known by the technical terms "unemployed" or "retired").

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Yes, architects and draftsmen study specifically to learn how to do lettering like that. You can get close by using a T-square, a technical pen and a triangle to do your lettering (and of course, you have to draw in the guidelines using an Ames lettering guide).

 

There's a very nice book by Martha Sutherland, _Lettering for Architects and Designers_ which shows how Francis Ching (whose lettering style is preserved as the font Tekton) does his lettering.

 

Lots of variety though, Frank Lloyd Wright did lettering styles for specific projects, the style for his Olive Hill project is preserved in the font Eaglefeather.

 

William

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I think Pinarello One (FPN name) did a few reviews of pens and had some of the cool style, i.e. 45 degree oval O's, A's that are triangles, extended legs on various letters. The writing has neatness but flair.

Overachieving Underachiever

 

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I think Pinarello One (FPN name) did a few reviews of pens and had some of the cool style, i.e. 45 degree oval O's, A's that are triangles, extended legs on various letters. The writing has neatness but flair.

Thanks Stansoph,

 

I spent 10 years on the boards for a Utility co. (nuclear) here in CT. A lot of my

hand comes from all the printing I did with electrical drawings. I can also print /letter

an architectural style of lettering that came naturally from working on isometric

piping drawings which you are constantly lettering at an angle of 30 and 60 degrees.

A lot of learning came from working with the old timers here who came from

General Dynamics building subs. At 36 I am some of the last who prints even though

I am not on the boards anymore but if you don’t use it you lose it, all of the younger

generation is CAD only and never been on the boards.

 

Look for my isometric lettering in my upcoming Aurora ink review. Also keep in mind

it’s all fast freehand. A lot of actual lettering is with some kind of guide and pencil,

which looks a lot neater than with a fountain pen.

 

Also, someone mentioned how it all looks the same. Believe it or not each person

has their own style. My H’s and G’s give away my signature. When we write each

other post-it notes here at work, I can tell who wrote it because of that person’s

style, to us draftsmen it’s like a fingerprint.

 

Scott.

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Great reply, thanks for taking the time to write it. I will be looking forward to the review; maybe throw a few alplhabet phrases in for a look see at all the letters.

Thanks,

John

Overachieving Underachiever

 

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Same here.

 

I did a degree in mechanical engineering many moons ago and was sponsored by (and worked for) British Aerospace (BAe) at the time. During my degree I was taught how to draw at University, including typefaces. But mainly, at the start of my apprenticeship at BAe I spent 6 weeks - because I was earmarked to specialise in product design - in drawing classes learning to produce 'loftings' to a few thousands of an inch accuracy. That makes you pretty precise with the old lettering, especially as you are learning what has gone before, and my boss was quite the tyrant.

 

And, if I remember correctly, the style of the type is dictated by 'British Standards' (for those in the US - these are mighty books guiding us brits on how to do technical things - I'm not sure what the US equivalent is). I'm sure I'll have a copy of this somewhere at home, I'll have to try and dig it out.

 

In the end, I didn't pursue that as a career, but my beloved found it very funny when we were recently redesigning our new kitchen. I'd disappeared for a couple of hours and came back with a complete and exhaustive isometric sketch of what I wanted. It was the first time she'd seen me produce anything like that (not knowing my drawing training) and was quite surprised. And, yes it was complete with BS lettering.

 

- Mark

 

PS My father gave me a technical drawing board and accoutrements at the age of 3, and then was surprised when I drew all over it in crayon!

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Many years ago, when I was a mear lad (ha ha), I was interested in becoming an architect. I took a mechanical drawing class. That is the type of writing that appeared in architectural and mechanical drawings.

 

I used to love looking at books containing the floorplans of Frank Lloyd Wright and other great Architects, complete with this beautiful methof of writing.

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Many years ago, when I was a mear lad (ha ha), I was interested in becoming an architect. I took a mechanical drawing class. That is the type of writing that appeared in architectural and mechanical drawings.

 

I used to love looking at books containing the floorplans of Frank Lloyd Wright and other great Architects, complete with this beautiful methof of writing.

That is the real style I am after. Is it a personalized adaptation of the standard lettering? I did a couple of years of drafting in high school but we used the standard lettering that looked like a typewriter.

Overachieving Underachiever

 

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Just another little stick to add to the campfire: about 24 years ago, I learned engineering lettering in high school in a drafting course; it was a very regular, plain style with stroke directions and letters that were supposed to be completely uniform and to have none of the personality of the draftsman added. Our ancient drafting teacher mentioned that "personality" was for architects, and consistency for engineers.

-- Joel -- "I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies."

 

INK (noun): A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic and water,

chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and promote intellectual crime.

(from The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce)

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just realized how long ago I used to do this .... almost on a daily basis ...

Thanks for taking the time to do that. As far as the felons are concerned, I don't care what they are afraid of they are in prison.

Overachieving Underachiever

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ha ha! Great to read this post! I'm quite young (30-ish), and when I started my undergrad education, all engineers were forced to take an engineering drafting course. We did half the course on Cad and half on the drafting table. The drafting table was actually quite important to the grade, and each drafting day we had quizzes on what we learned last time- if we failed those quizzes, we had making up to do!

 

They definitely did teach lettering in that course, and there were a number of homeworks surrounding the lettering. Funny, I never thought about it until this post! I will definitely agree with everyone else in regards to the simplicity of the lettering. A squatter spread-out and very clean lined look is what the draft typeset we were taught looked like. If I ever come across the pages, I'll be sure to give you guys a sampling... [not sure about the copying of them, they may be copyrighted? I may be able to dig some up to check on that...]

 

For those interested in FLW lettering, he definitely veered way off-course of the normal draftsman. But, the lettering is beautiful! I too loved to just look at FLW's drawings and designs. Gorgeous work.

 

Anyways, had to pipe in... it was only 2 years after I finished my course that they completely removed the draft-table work from the class and focused on 3D cad work. [My course was almost all the standard layout (side,top,front) drawing.... 3 paned and 4 paned views created the same way as on the draft table, but in 2D in CAD, the last bit of the course was 3D CAD very simplistic.]

 

It was sad to see the draft-table work go... I have to admit there was something great about learning how to properly draw on paper technical drawings. [Even if ours were quite simplistic at the time.]

 

Cheers!!

-Allen

 

ps- my handwriting sucks... so I'm scouring the posts to learn how to improve. I remember some of the draft lettering from those days- but the lettering took *forever*. :) Well, at least for us. ;)

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Yo, Allen, nice to see you here!

Isn't sanity really a one-trick pony, anyway? I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking! But when you're good and crazy . . . ooh hoo hoo hoo! . . . the sky's the limit!

--The Tick

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:) Hey Sonia (for short?)- Thanks for the welcome!! I really appreciate it. Everyone here on FPN is so nice. :)

 

BTW, my handwriting is so bad that when I mentioned to my family/gf that I was going to try to improve, they just chuckled. oh well!

 

Got my work cut out for me. :D

-Allen

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It was sad to see the draft-table work go... I have to admit there was something great about learning how to properly draw on paper technical drawings.

Yeah, I know what you mean. something about physical drafting just lends a greater appreciation and understanding to the art. Sigh...

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Agreed.

 

Learning how to do things by hand is an essential skill for any artist.

 

Doing graphic design, the ability to do quick thumbnails and Comps is essential and a steady hand for using a ruling pen has saved me a lot of time and paper.

 

William

 

(who has been promised his father-in-law's two drafting desks.)

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