Martin Luther King Font Update #32 - Five new letters.

November 2022

Dear reader reader,

You downloaded the Martin Luther King handwriting font, and I wanted to let you know that an updated version is ready for you to download from your account:

https://haraldgeisler.com/my-account/
An image of...
The new version will appear in your font menu as “Martin Luther King 2022 November.” I recommend uninstalling older versions to keep your font menu organized. The next update will arrive in December 2022.

Let's talk fonts.

This update adds five new letterforms:
  • Alternative letter: c as in Francisco
  • Final letters: k, as in back, 2 x l (version 2) as in call
  • Stylistic Alternative: b as in Hobbes
Dr. King's handwriting shows that initial and final letters differ significantly from letters in the middle of a word. Often they have swashes attached to them or are a little taller than their counterparts found in the middle of a word. To me, it seems that there is a kind of joy in the swashes and intricate forms we find at the beginning and end of his handwritten words. It is important to me to bring these forms into the font. The font is programmed to choose the right letterform as you type.

Here are the letters added with this update.

1. Alternative letters: c as in Francisco

22 11 MLK Font News Letter Illustrations2
Below is the new letter in the context of the original manuscript "Notes, Seminar in Social Philosophy, October 3, 1961, to January 23, 1962" Page 12.
mlk font update accomodation

2. Final letters: k, as in back

22 11 MLK Font News Letter Illustrations3
Below is the new letter in the context of the original manuscript "Sermon Notes and Outlines I."
mlk font update look

3 +4. Final letters: 2 x l (version 2) as in call

22 11 MLK Font News Letter Illustrations4
Below is the new letter in the context of the original manuscript "Notes, Seminar in Social Philosophy, October 3, 1961, to January 23, 1962" Page 15 and 16.
mlk font update peaceful
mlk font update natural

4. Stylistic Alternatives: b as in Hobbes

22 11 MLK Font News Letter Illustrations5
This example shows a limit of the font - and it can be used as an example to talk about the complications of creating a handwriting font. Handwriting varies in size - often from one page to the next. However a handwriting font is "pieced together" from different pages and often specimens that lay years apart. This alternative letter b is digitized correctly - but it is significantly larger than the counterparts stored in the font. This doesn't make the digitized sample useless - but it sticks out visually. So I decided to not store this letter in the standard set of letters that the font choses from as you type. Instead it is stored as a stylistic alternate - which can be accessed through the opentype menu.
Below is the new letter in the context of the original manuscript "Notes, Seminar in Social Philosophy, October 3, 1961, to January 23, 1962" Page 12.
mlk font update Hobbes
These changes may seem small, but it enriches the reading experience with variety. And I find this kind of complexity is very pleasing to the eye.
If this is not working on your computer, look at the PDF tutorial "How to use the MLK handwriting font" included with the font.

I hope you find this information helpful. If something is missing that you like to know about, reply to this email, and I will try to include it with the next update.

Here you see an overview of the letters that come with this update; you can find the spreadsheet ➞ here:
overview of the letters that come with this update
Screen Shot 2022-04-27 at 18.14.51

reader reader, I like to hear from you!

I appreciate your interest in this project. The font is for people like you who are interested in Dr. King's work. I like to hear from you how your experience as a user has been so far and where you see room for improvement.

Your input will help me to make the project better.
A-big-Thank-you
I want to take some space to thank everybody who supported the creation of the font this month. This update is possible because of the financial support of 23 people from around the world:

B. Desclee, Brussels 🇧🇪
C. Smith, Nedlands, WA 🇦🇺
D.Chamberlain, Benicia, CA 🇺🇸
F. Chaplais, Ile de France 🇫🇷
F. Engerer, Nürnberg, Bavaria 🇩🇪
G. Sjölin, Örebro 🇸🇪
H. Billetter, Kerpen, North Rhine-Westphalia 🇩🇪
H. Colsman-Freyberger, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg 🇩🇪
H. de Wolf, Zaandijk 🇳🇱
J. Ford, New York, NY 🇺🇸
J. Harris, Montgomery, Al 🇺🇸
J. Holze, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt 🇩🇪
J. Horton, North Turramurra, NSW 🇦🇺
J. Wilson, Nashville, TN 🇺🇸
K. Engelbrecht, Bern 🇨🇭
K. Tilley, Linthicum Heights, MD 🇺🇸
L. Kaptain, Denver, CO 🇺🇸
N. Renner, New Britain, CT 🇺🇸
N. Wilson, Broken Arrow, OK 🇺🇸
P. Herman, Bonsall, CA 🇺🇸
R. Lindsey, Grand Terrace, CA 🇺🇸
R. Wampler, Colorado Springs, CO 🇺🇸
T. Zwitserlood, Amsterdam, NH 🇳🇱

How can you support the Martin Luther King font?

This project is very dear to me; I hope you enjoy the font. Without support, this project would not be possible! The more people support the project, the more time I can spend working on the font.

1. Donate regularly to the font.

I will add one additional letter for each 100€ ($110, £90) donated monthly, and sometimes I add more. reader reader if you want to support: please donate monthly. The continuity will help me and the rhythm of the project. You can find a detailed report on the received donations →here.

2. Spread the word.

Do you have a colleague or friend that might be interested in this? Maybe a high school teacher or student working on Dr. King. Please share this email or link to the project site: https://haraldgeisler.com/martin-luther-king-font with friends, family, and colleagues you think would be interested in the font?
If you have any questions about this project, reply to this email. I am happy to help.

Enjoy the font and stay tuned for more updates,
Software-Logo

Do you have questions about fonts and how to use them?

I have prepared a → helpful font guide that will guide you through the necessary steps of installing a font on different devices. If your question is not covered in the PDF, reply to this email. I am happy to help.

🔑Lost Password?

Did you forget your password to download the font? To reset a password, try this link: https://haraldgeisler.com/reset-password/ and enter your email - this will automatically send you a new password. (Please check your spam folder - automated emails tend to go there)

Update History:


Update #32: 21. June 2022.
This update adds five new letterforms: Alternative letter: c, as in Francisco. Final letter: k, as in back, 2 x l (version 1 + 2), as in call. Stylistic alternative b as in Hobbes
Update #31: 17. September 2022.
This update adds six new letterforms: Initial letters: b and n as in new beginning, Final letters: t (version 2) as in fight, c as in basic, o and o (version 2) as in So to.
Update #30
Update #29: 21. June 2022.
This update adds three new letterforms: alternative t, initial letter h, and k.
Update #28: 28. April 2022. This update adds two signs: A question mark and an alternative Question mark.
Update #27: 9. April 2022. This update adds two new letterforms, lowercase final-letter a and f—further, and five new documents to download. Four sample documents for Word, Pages, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and InDesign to make it easy for you to get started with the font. The new PDF "How to use the MLK handwriting font" explains the basics of using the font, like size and line space.
Update #26: 2. March 2022. This update adds five new letterforms, lowercase final-letter m, and initial letters l, m, r, and w.
Update #25: 20. January 2022. This update was about using the font.
Update #24: 9. December 2021. This update adds three new letterforms, lowercase final-letter y, w, and an isolated letter form a. Further, the altering mechanism in the font is completely updated.
Update #23: 25. October 2021. This update adds two new letterforms, lowercase final-letter p and x.
Update #22: 28. August 2021. This update adds two new letterforms, the lowercase initial letter q and an alternative i.
Update #21: 28. August 2021. This update adds two new letterforms, lowercase final form d, and r.
Update #20: 7. August 2021. This update adds three new letterforms, lowercase initial letters e, g, and u.
Update #19: 30. June 2021. This update adds five new letterforms, lowercase l (version 2), and initial letters a, c, o, and s.
Update #18: 1. June 2021. This update adds two new letterforms, lowercase o (version 2) and u (version 2).
Update #17: 12. May 2021. This update adds two new final letterforms, lowercase g and y, and an alternate version of the initial lowercase i. Further, the update fixes (4) the size of the new numbers that shipped with the April Update. And finally, I have added a new PDF to showcase the font.
Update #16: 30. March 2021. Added numbers: 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 0 (version 2) and semicolon.
Update #15: 28. February 2021: Added Numbers: 1,2,3,4,5
Update #14: 9. January 2021: Added the letters: ă â à ā ą å ã ć č ç ě ê ė è ē ẽ ḡ î ï ì ī į ĩ ĺ ł ń ň ñ ô ò ő ō õ ŕ ř ś š ţ û ù ű ų ů ũ ŵ ẁ ŷ ỳ ỹ ź ž ż as well as the dollar sign and an alternative comma.
Update #13 Added 29. December 2020: capital letter X, parenthesis left and right (), improvised: Aacute, Adieresis, Eacute, Edieresis, Iacute, Idieresis, Jacute, Oacute, Odieresis, Uacute, Udieresis, Wacute, Wdieresis, Yacute, Ydieresis, aacute, adieresis, eacute, edieresis, edotaccent, iacute, idieresis, jdotless, jacute, oacute, odieresis, uacute, udieresis, wacute, wdieresis, yacute, ydieresis.
Update #12 Added 30. November 2020: initial p and f, and a variation for the lowercase t.
Update #11 Added 29. October 2020: special form I, final-form t
Update #10 Added 28. August 2020: J, initial form y, colon
Update #9 Added 28. July 2020: Q, final form e, Alternative Form U
Update #8 Added 28. June 2020: P, final form n, initial form i
Update #7 Added 28. May 2020: Number: repaired ligature features, U, final form y & s
Update #6 Added 28. April 2020: Numbers: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Numbers are complete)
Update #5 Added 31. March 2020: Capital letters: D — Numbers: 4
Update #4 Added 25. February 2020: Capital letters: I — Numbers: 1, 9
Update #3 Added 25. January 2020: Capital letters: A, R
Update #2 Added 27. December 2019: Capital letters: C, E, O, V — Numbers: 2, 0 — Signs: hyphen
Update #1 Added 27. November 2019: Capital letters: L, K, N, W, S, T, F, B, Y, H — lowercase letter: g — initial lowercase letter: t.init — Signs: Bullet, comma, quote-single (or apostrophe - very important for English), quote-double, quote-double left, quote-double right
Atelier Harald Geisler
haraldgeisler.com
Stiftstrasse 16
60313 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
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