We are always visiting design agencies to give presentations, not so much about our work, but about how we work - what makes us tick. We talk about the beauty of a serif, the stress in a curve, whether or not ink traps are still necessary today. We also talk excitedly about how technology has enabled us, and continues to enable us, to ever expand on the typographic diversity that can be found in a font.

Recently we were invited by Zurich design agency Nose to hold a workshop covering various aspects of type design and font engineering. The workshop was aimed at both designers and client liaison and ran over two days. To start with we set the participants the task of specifying the requirements of fonts within a corporate environment. We discussed the results and developed a strategy for choosing fonts. We also spent in-depth time on OpenType, hinting, font licensing, and of course designing fonts. We talked about overshoots, counter spaces, the difference between spacing and kerning, crotches and drop serifs, and the difference between legibility and readability.

The second day was get-your-hands-dirty day. This was when the fun started. We tasked the participants with a redesign of their company logo - not as easy a task as it first appears. The word 'nose' is in fact quite a good example as it provides letters for basic design structure, and a challenge for drawing and crafting in the form of the 's'. It was a joy to see how design professionals enjoyed being back at school, being able and free to draw and to become absorbed in pure form. We assisted with tips and critique and at the end of the day we developed the basis for a new corporate typeface for Nose.

Dalton Maag is happy to arrange workshops at your workplace. If you are interested in hosting such a workshop please contact Bruno Maag (UK), Jeanette Derrer (Switzerland) or Fabio Haag (Brazil).

It is encouraging when a major client, such as Grant Thornton, understands the value of typography as a brand element to tie-in different parts of its business. Too often fonts are the last consideration, with emphasis being placed on symbols, imagery and colour. Yet typography has so much to offer - creatively, functionally and emotionally. Dalton Maag worked closely with Angus Hyland of Pentagram London to first develop the basic wordmark. During this process we realized that in order to unify all the various stakeholders within Grant Thornton, a font would best serve this function.

During the design process of the wordmark, different type styles were investigated. Eventually we all agreed that a simple Sans Serif style would convey the brand simply and efficiently. Whilst the the font is Grotesque in its basic structure, it is not traditionally so. Several elements have a softer, more humanist tone that help the font to deliver the emotional qualities of the font. Whilst in traditional type usage the juxtaposition of the design elements may feel incoherent, this font is used purely for rendering the legal names of various member firms within the organization. From this perspective it manages to repeat the brand identity over and over, without having to recreate the design from scratch each time. Within the context of the logo, the stylistic elements complement each other and further create a link with the symbol and other, softer design elements.

As part of an internal identity overhaul, Zurich design agency 'gyselroth' used our King's Caslon as the basis to develop its own logo. Before even putting pencil to paper - or mouse to Bézier - we discussed how exactly the logo would be used. The design needed to be strong enough to withstand the application in different media, such as print or screen. But even within print it is possible to have a diverse range of quality differences, so first we needed to establish the basic weight of the lettering. For this purpose we created a number of logos with varying weight, shown at different sizes. Not only did this enable us to make an informed decision as to which weight suited best, it also enabled us to get an indication of the letter spacing requirements.

Once the weight was specified, we set about the task of refining the individual characters. Firstly, we ensured that the crafting of the character elements was still as good as in the original King's Caslon. Then we created design variations to give the logo a more distinct look and feel, still ensuring that the different elements of the logo gelled together. During this process we kept the client updated with trials and design ideas, and together we arrived at the best possible design solution.

Once all the elements were agreed upon we finalized the crafting of the logo. We tested the logo for its functionality, applied changes where necessary, but at all times ensured that the unique look and feel, the expression that we have achieved, remains. The new 'gyselroth' logo feels authoritative and has an understated tone of authority. This is a mark that will last.