Song of the Sea Typeface (2015)

SOTS Saoirse Hand is a custom OpenType typeface designed for the oscar nominated Cartoon Saloon feature length animation Song of the Sea. The concept for the lettering is that it is Saoirse, the lead child character's printed handwriting and is complemented by SOTS Silkie Script, Saoirse’s joined handwriting. SOTS Silkie Script is a customisation of the Opensource font Learning Curve.

SOTS Saoirse Hand was conceived and hand drawn in the studio before being carefully digitised. During the design process, we created multiple versions of each character to reflect the non uniform feel of real handwriting. Using Opentype script, these alternate characters are programmed to automatically generate random versions of each character as they are typed.

The typeface features an extensive character set to support, English, Irish, Danish, French, German and Danish versions of the film as well as the addition of some fun images and ligatures which can be unlocked by typing certain combinations of letters.

The typeface is used in both the film’s title sequence and identity, and also in the supporting marketing collateral for the film which was nominated for an Oscar in 2015.