NAIKANA
Role: Type Designer, Graphic Designer
What: Naikana is a Webtoon (online comic) that draws inspiration from ancient Greek mythology, written and illustrated by pensandpillows.
Responsibilities: Conceptualized and created a working typeface with four fonts and over 180 unique glyphs from the English and Greek alphabets.
GOALS: Naikana follows the journey of Princess Naomana in a world where people have all kinds of special gifts. The comic’s style reflects that of ancient Greece and many of its legends. Naikana is beautifully drawn while exhibiting comedic moments and endearing charm; the amount of lore is extensive.
Design Process - Naikana Narration: This is a serif font aimed to appear beaten and rough with a touch of Greek lettering resemblance. The contrast is similar to many old style serif fonts and allows for high readability.
Design Process - Naikana Subtext: Similarily structured to Naikana Narration, Naikana Subtext uses a more organic approach. It features many offset serifs and allows its imperfections to give it a hand drawn charm.
Design Process - Naikana Story: The font used for Naikana’s dialogue, Naikana Story, provides a combination of Greek letter characteristics with modern comic book structure, certainly not a simple task. The text reads less serious than its siblings, perfect for conversations about stealing melons.
Design Process - Naikana Greek: This font uses similar style glyphs to Naikana Story, but features 24 Greek alphabet letters and 7 diacritics instead.
Client Testimonial
“I requested that Josiah design a typeface with a comic look that was also textured/ancient Greek looking. He hand-drew every letter and character, making it exactly how I imagined it to look. Josiah was quick and efficient all while doing an amazing job at his craft. I would enthusiastically recommend Josiah for any graphic design job.” - pensandpillows
