Jung Tae-young

Part 0. Designer Introduction

Q. Hello, designer Jung Tae-young, could you briefly introduce yourself?

Hello, I'm the font designer Jung Tae-young. I currently work at Sandol Corporation. The font I've released this time is 'SpaceOddity', which I made when I was a student. I try to create new and experimental work, both in form and technically. I plan to steadily produce more fonts, so please look forward to them.

Q. I heard you produced 'SpaceOddity' as your graduation project! Was there a particular reason you started font design?

When I was a student, I was very interested in editorial design. As I prepared for my graduation exhibition, I wanted to create an entire book with my own hands. So I wrote text, took photos myself, learned bookbinding, and eventually learned font design as well. That's when I first made a font and became attracted to font design.

Q. Are there any keywords that introduce your brand?

Unique. Fun. New. When making fonts, I try to take an experimental and fun approach, both formally and conceptually.

Part 1. Introducing the 'SpaceOddity' Font

Q. I'm curious about how 'SpaceOddity' started.

As I mentioned earlier, 'SpaceOddity' is the result of a project I worked on for about a year starting in 2016 for my university graduation exhibition. The project began from something a friend said during a photography class: "Flowers look like flowers no matter how you shoot them, and poop looks like poop no matter how you shoot it." Starting with the thought "Is there a possibility for poop to look beautiful?", it developed into the sentence "The moment poop became stars, the bathroom became the universe." I created a font to give an identity to the exhibition of various contemporary art works produced under this theme.

Space Oddity Exhibition Poster

SpaceOdditybyeol, 2016, Jung Tae-young

YG610204 - 590923, Heu - Eup!, 2016, Jung Tae-young

Q. The start of 'SpaceOddity' is so fun and hilarious. I could really sense your playfulness and humor. Could you introduce the key features of 'SpaceOddity'?

'SpaceOddity' dramatically exaggerates the ink trapping technique, so when viewed largely it appears decorative (like stars), but when viewed closely it looks like clumped ballpoint pen ink (like poop).

'SpaceOddity' Typesetting

'SpaceOddity' Sketches

Q. What was the most challenging part during the design process?

Since there are many decorative elements throughout the letterforms, I worked hard to adjust them to the appropriate shape and size for each situation, and to ensure an even grayness across all the letters.

Q. How would you recommend using 'SpaceOddity'?

While the intention behind the font was that anywhere 'SpaceOddity' is used can become the universe, formally it is a display typeface with decorative elements, so I think it could also work well for projects on the theme of 'tradition'.

Part 2. Designer's Thoughts

Q. What makes a good font?

Fundamentally, I think a good font is one that many people use for a long time. But personally, I like fonts where the designer's intent can be found even in the finest details.

Q. What do you think is needed to become a font designer? Do you have any advice for fellow or aspiring designers?

Compared to other design work, font projects have an extremely long duration and require staring at a similar screen continuously, which can be tedious. So I think 'patience' may be the most crucial virtue.

Q. Patience does seem truly essential. As a font designer, is there anything you hope for?

I hope my fonts can make people smile, even briefly, when using them. And if I discover them being used in places I never imagined, I think I'd smile for a moment too.

Q. Could you share your future font production plans?

I had a goal of making at least 2 new fonts every year, but it hasn't been easy to balance with my day job. Currently, my vague plan is to refine 'SpaceOddity' and derive a 2,780 character version from it, as well as complete some other fonts I was already working on.

Part 3. Joining Sandoll Cloud

Q. Could you share the reason for choosing Sandoll Cloud and a brief comment?

I chose it because it has a large customer base and a user-friendly app. There are also many other great independent designers who have joined, so I'll work hard while being inspired by learning from them.

Q. Could you leave a comment for customers welcoming your addition?

Please give a lot of love to 'SpaceOddity', and I'll try to make many more fun and great fonts going forward!