TYPEFACE DESIGN
2025 2024 2023
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
YUKA MASAMURA
ELEKTRA
INSTAGRAM
WEBSITE
My design focuses on bringing warmth to a rigid world. I took on the revival of Electra as a challenge. It is a text font known for its legibility, often featured in a classic book face of the 20th century for its primary use in print and recently expanded use on screens and advertisements. Though it’s readable, the contrast between thick and thin and the precise geometry make it feel a bit static. I push it beyond legibility and make it more approachable and fun.
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Electra type specimens
The name Electra is used for many energy-related companies and has a very mechanical feel to it. However, if you track its Greek origin, “Elektra,” it means “brightness” and “radiance.” Through this revival, I wanted to make this typeface closer to its origin with a warmer tone and expand the readers to younger audiences. In the source material–the linotype type specimen–the type was usually accompanied by drawings: hand-drawn and delicate. It almost reminds me how text and hand-drawn specimens are paired in older field notes. To push these two points, I added a subtle roundness. I lessened the overall thinness and thickness contrast and adjusted specific serifs to be more consistent and slightly more organic. I am considering further exploring the embellished leaf elements and ampersands unique to the original letterpress Electra.
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
Elektra type specimen by Yuka Masamura
TYPEFACE DESIGN
2025
2024
2023
INSTRUCTOR
Christopher Sleboda
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Amanda Mundy (2025), Ash Wei (2024)
DESIGN
Erica Pritchett · Built with Cargo
ABOUT
This site documents student work from an advanced typeface design course taught by Christopher Sleboda and open to students in the MFA Graphic Design and BFA Graphic Design programs at Boston University, as well as students in the School of Visual Arts—including those in the new Visual Narrative MFA. The course provides a rigorous introduction to the conceptual and technical processes involved in creating original digital typefaces. Students explore the foundations of letterform construction—including structure, proportion, counterform, spacing, and rhythm—while developing their own typefaces.
Through research, sketching, and the use of digital tools like RoboFont, students engage with typographic history and contemporary practice to design functional and expressive typefaces. Each student produces a working font and a printed type specimen. This site showcases the results of that work, reflecting diverse design approaches and a deep engagement with the craft of type design.