GROUND ZERO: The Inspiring Type Sketch that Started It All
Tana Kosiyabong
After a long stint assisting hundreds of clients with their creative and design needs, I decided it’s time I start building a brand of my own. For weeks, I had explored tons of ideas over several buckets of fried chicken wings smothered in sweet Thai chili sauce. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to fit my utmost critical criteria: I must enjoy doing it.
Who would have thought that my off-beaten-path-journey had turned up out of nowhere? One day, while doodling in a coffee shop, I stumbled upon one of the letterings I sketched. I like the design enough that I decided to take one step further and created a digital version out of it. One thing led to another; That little drawing has now turned into an extensive typeface, Alio™. And most importantly, even after several months of working long hours, seven days a week and countless of kerning pairs, I found myself falling in love with type design more and more every day. I am now a proud self-taught type designer from Vancouver, Canada.
This sketch is the starting point of my type design career.
This is the finished version.
A partial glyph set of Alio™ Pro, an extensive type family.