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If you ask type designers which single letter gives them the most trouble, "s" comes up again and again. Unlike most lowercase letters, it can't borrow its shape from anywhere else in the alphabet — no straight stems, no symmetry, no reused curves from letters like "o" or "n." Every part of "s" has to be resolved entirely on its own terms.
The history behind it is a genuine surprise. "s" traces back to a Phoenician letter believed to represent teeth, drawn as a jagged, zigzagging shape. That angular origin is about as far as you can get from the smooth, flowing double curve "s" eventually became, making it one of the clearest examples in the whole alphabet of a letter transforming completely over its written history.
Because "s" is also the letter used to form most plurals in English, it shows up constantly in running text — which means any tiny imbalance in its curve gets noticed fast, and redrawn even faster.
This glyph series breaks down every letter like this. ✍️ #TypeDesign #Typography #FontDesign
Read more: https://letterhanna.com/lowercase-letter-s-design-and-history/