The Typographics badges were made in less than a day using Drawbot, an excellent Python-based app for creating graphics. I automated them based on a static design by Nick Sherman. The design employs Stilla SH as well as a guest appearance by my in-progress typeface. This code is released under the MIT license.
In case it is helpful in learning Drawbot, below is a breakdown of my process. This process was originally written as part of TypeLab, a multi-day hackathon for type and typography held during Typographics 2015.
Draw a blue background measuring 4 by 3 inches.
def drawBackground(w, h):
"""
draw a rectangle that is a background
"""
fillColor(backgroundColor)
rect(0, 0, w, h)
Draw a yellow box inside of it. Create jaggy edges by drawing a random number of points on each edge, and allowing the positions of those points to vary a certain amount within the space. No two jaggy-edged boxes are alike (compare the front and back of a name card to verify!)
def drawFrame(frameWidth, frameHeight, numberOfPointsMin=4, numberofPointsMax=6, perpindicularRandomness=2, parallelRandomness=10):
"""
make a box with random jagginess
"""
# for goodness sake make these variables shorter
pdr = perpindicularRandomness
plr = parallelRandomness
# get the number of segments to use
segments = random.randrange(numberOfPointsMin, numberofPointsMax)
# draw the path, one direction at a time. Loop through the segment, and.
# we have to subtract from segments so we don't hit the shared corners twice.
fillColor(frameColor)
newPath()
moveTo((0, 0))
for i in range(segments-1):
lineTo( ( 0+random.randrange(-pdr, pdr) , (i+1)*frameHeight/segments + random.randrange(-plr, plr) ) )
lineTo((0, frameHeight))
for i in range(segments-1):
lineTo( ( (i+1)*frameWidth/segments + random.randrange(-plr, plr) , frameHeight+random.randrange(-pdr, pdr) ) )
lineTo((frameWidth, frameHeight))
for i in range(segments-2, 0, -1):
lineTo( ( frameWidth+random.randrange(-pdr, pdr) , (i+1)*frameHeight/segments + random.randrange(-plr, plr) ) )
lineTo((frameWidth, 0))
for i in range(segments-2, 0, -1):
lineTo( ( (i+1)*frameWidth/segments + random.randrange(-plr, plr) , 0+random.randrange(-pdr, pdr) ) )
closePath()
drawPath()
Using preset margins, calculate the available space in the yellow box.
# set the outside margin to 1/18 of the width, which will surround the frame
outsideMargin = w/18
frameWidth = w-outsideMargin*2
frameHeight = h-outsideMargin*2
# set the box margins to 1/24 of the width, which will surround the box of text
topMargin = bottomMargin = leftMargin = rightMargin = w/24
boxWidth = frameWidth - leftMargin - rightMargin
boxHeight = frameHeight - topMargin - bottomMargin
# draw the background
if background:
drawBackground(w, h)
# move ourselves to the frame margin, and draw the frame
translate(outsideMargin, outsideMargin)
drawFrame(frameWidth, frameHeight)
If the participant has provided a company name, allot some available space for that at the bottom.
if company:
drawCompany(company, companySize, frameWidth, companyHeight)
boxHeight -= companyHeight
bottomMargin += companyHeight
else:
boxHeight -= companyHeight / 3
bottomMargin += companyHeight / 3
Define a function that prints the company name.
def drawCompany(company, companySize, companyWidth, companyHeight):
"""
draw the company name, easy peasy.
"""
font(companyFont, companySize)
fillColor(backgroundColor)
textBox(company, (0, 0, companyWidth, companyHeight), align='center')
Ignore the badge layout for a moment and focus on the name. Split the name into lines, using spaces and hyphens as delimiters. Get rid of the spaces, but don’t get rid of the hyphens.
def getLinesFromName(name):
"""
Split a name string into a list of lines
"""
lines = name.split(' ')
# Process hyphens without removing them. There has to be an easier way to do this, no?
newLines = []
for line in lines:
if '-' in line:
lineElements = line.split('-')
for i, lineElement in enumerate(lineElements):
if i != len(lineElements)-1:
newLines.append(lineElement+'-')
else:
newLines.append(lineElement)
else:
newLines.append(line)
lines = newLines
return lines
For each line, calculate the font size that will let the word fill the available space. If the word is too short, set a maximum font size. Don’t draw this word yet...this is just a dress rehearsal. We need to figure out the dimensions of the whole text block before we can print anything. (code)
for i, line in enumerate(lines):
# this is a little hack we did to words that end in 'f', because of the huge overhang in Stilla
if line and line[-1] == 'f':
line += ' '
# get the font size at 10 point, and then do the math to figure out the multiplier
font(nameFont)
fontSize(10)
lineHeight(6.5)
textWidth, textHeight = textSize(line)
m = boxWidth / textWidth
# set a ceiling for the multiplier
maximumMultiplier = 10
if m > maximumMultiplier:
m = maximumMultiplier
# resize the text box based on the multiplier to get the point size
textWidth, textHeight = textWidth*m, textHeight*m
pointSize = 10*m
Also, account for a given amount of space between each line. If the word has a descender, make a note that we should add a little more space beneath that line. Keep track of the height of the total text block that we are building.
# look for descenders in a line
hasDescender = False
extraSpace = 0
for letter in line:
if letter in descenders:
hasDescender = True
break
# if there is a descender, add a little extra space
if hasDescender:
extraSpace = pointSize * .175
# remember our line data
lineData.append((line, textWidth, textHeight, pointSize, extraSpace))
# augment the total text count
totalTextHeight += textHeight
totalTextHeight += extraSpace
# if we aren't on the last line, include the line space
if i != len(lines)-1:
totalTextHeight += lineSpace
If the total text block is shorter than the available space, center it vertically in the available space.
scaleValue = 1
if boxHeight > totalTextHeight:
# ideally, center the text box in the space
verticalOffset = (boxHeight - totalTextHeight)/2
translate(0, -verticalOffset)
On the other hand, if the total text block is taller than the available space, scale it down until it fits, and center it horizontally in the available space.
# otherwise, scale the whole damn thing down so it fits in the space
scaleValue = boxHeight / totalTextHeight
diff = boxWidth - (scaleValue * boxWidth)
translate(diff/2, 0)
scale(scaleValue)
Now, draw the text block. Draw each word of the name at the calculated font size, separated by the calculated line spacing.
# run through our line data
for i, (lineText, textWidth, textHeight, pointSize, extraSpace) in enumerate(lineData):
fillColor(textColor)
fontSize(pointSize)
translate(0, -textHeight)
save()
translate((boxWidth-textWidth)/2, 0)
text(lineText, (0, 0))
restore()
translate(0, -lineSpace-extraSpace)
Here is the badge-drawing function for a single badge:
def drawBadge(name, company=None, w=w, h=h, setSize=True, DEBUG=False):
"""
Draw one badge. This handles the positioning, and lets other functions do the drawing.
"""
save()
if setSize:
size(w, h)
# set the outside margin to 1/18 of the width, which will surround the frame
outsideMargin = w/18
frameWidth = w-outsideMargin*2
frameHeight = h-outsideMargin*2
# set the box margins to 1/24 of the width, which will surround the box of text
topMargin = bottomMargin = leftMargin = rightMargin = w/24
boxWidth = frameWidth - leftMargin - rightMargin
boxHeight = frameHeight - topMargin - bottomMargin
# draw the background
if background:
drawBackground(w, h)
# move ourselves to the frame margin, and draw the frame
translate(outsideMargin, outsideMargin)
drawFrame(frameWidth, frameHeight)
# print the company name
companyHeight = h / 7.5
companySize = h / 18
# if the company does exist, print that sucker, and then remove some available space
# if the company doesn't exist, shift up our box a smidge anyway so it's a bit above center
if company:
drawCompany(company, companySize, frameWidth, companyHeight)
boxHeight -= companyHeight
bottomMargin += companyHeight
else:
boxHeight -= companyHeight / 3
bottomMargin += companyHeight / 3
# move ourselves to the bottom left of the remaining available space
translate(leftMargin, bottomMargin)
# draw the available space, in case we want to see it
if DEBUG:
fill(.8)
rect(0, 0, boxWidth, boxHeight)
# draw the name
drawName(name, boxWidth, boxHeight)
restore()
Read the names from a CSV file. Since our CSV file will have unicode values, use the included csvunicode module.
from csvunicode import UnicodeReader
def readDataFromCSV(csvPath):
"""
populate a list with rows from a csv file
"""
data = []
with open(csvPath, 'r') as csvfile:
csvreader = UnicodeReader(csvfile, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
for i, row in enumerate(csvreader):
data.append(row)
return data
For printing, make six to a page (or three two-sided sheets, to be folded over), along with some margins and crop marks.
def drawSheets(data, sheetWidth=8.5*pt, sheetHeight=11*pt, badgeWidth=w, badgeHeight=h, margin=.25*pt, multiple=2):
"""
Make a sheet of badges for printing purposes.
"""
# determine available space
boxWidth = sheetWidth - margin * 2
boxHeight = sheetHeight - margin * 2
# determine number of columns and rows
cols = int ( boxWidth / badgeWidth )
rows = int ( boxHeight / badgeHeight )
# reset the box space based on the badge size, rather than the page size
boxWidth = cols * badgeWidth
boxHeight = rows * badgeHeight
#setup first page
newPage(sheetWidth, sheetHeight)
size(sheetWidth, sheetHeight)
# fill the sheet with the background color, as a rudimentary bleed
fillColor(backgroundColor)
rect(0, 0, sheetWidth, sheetHeight)
# move to the top left corner, which is where we will start
translate(margin, sheetHeight-margin)
# draw crop marks
drawCropMarks(rows, cols, boxWidth, boxHeight, badgeWidth, badgeHeight, margin)
# drop down to the bottom left corner to draw the badges
translate(0, -badgeHeight)
# loop through data
rowTick = 0
colTick = 0
for i, (name, company) in enumerate(data):
for m in range(multiple):
# draw the badge without setting the page size
drawBadge(name, company, setSize=False)
translate(badgeWidth, 0)
# if we have made it to the last column, translate back and start the next one
if colTick == cols - 1:
translate(-badgeWidth*cols, 0)
translate(0, -badgeHeight)
colTick = 0
# if we have made it to the last row (and there is still more data), start a new page
if rowTick == rows - 1 and i != len(data) - 1:
# setup a new page
newPage(sheetWidth, sheetHeight)
# fill the sheet with the background color, as a rudimentary bleed
fillColor(backgroundColor)
rect(0, 0, sheetWidth, sheetHeight)
# move to the top left corner, which is where we will start
translate(margin, sheetHeight-margin)
# draw crop marks
drawCropMarks(rows, cols, boxWidth, boxHeight, badgeWidth, badgeHeight, margin)
# drop down to the bottom left corner to draw the badges
translate(0, -badgeHeight)
rowTick = 0
else:
rowTick += 1
else:
colTick += 1
Use Drawbot to export a pdf, and that’s it!
saveImage('/path/to/stinkin_badges.pdf')