Module OUGD403 Evaluation

I have learnt an awful lot in a short time with this module, I believe it has been a really good way to start the course. I have an interest in typography now when I didn’t think or know much about it before hand, I know basic terms, rules and facts about some common typefaces such as when and why they were designed. One of the most substantial things I have learnt throughout this module is skills on Illustrator which has really boosted my confidence, I now know how to develop my work digitally and manipulate type to a certain extent, as well as using shapes and the pen tool effectively in the logotype brief.

I enjoyed both briefs and found them challenging at different stages, for the typeface brief I struggled the most with the manipulation and creating of the end product however had the idea solid from early on, with the help of a lot of research and visual aids I knew what I wanted to do; however with the logotype I struggled to get ideas out and feel my final designs are too similar. I think this is down to my lack of sketching before hand, however I will learn from this now knowing that the best way to start off is definitely using my sketchbook to get out as many ideas as I possibly can, both wacky and practical as you never know where your final idea could stem from. I used sketching a lot more in the typeface brief and therefore had multiple ideas and routes I could take, although some where unsuccessful for this particular brief they could always come into use in my future as a designer. 

So far I think my amount of research has been okay however feel it should be more in the direction of design theories and concepts rather than just finished products and history. I want to expand my horizons on the research front, rather than searching the internet I need to look at more books and watch documentaries and interviews with relevant people.

Something I have found really helpful is having a critique every week, allowing fresh eyes to see my work and pointing things out I couldn’t see myself and to give me new ideas when you’re at a bit of a brick wall, another interesting aspect is being able to see other peoples work and appreciating their approach to the same brief as yourself, they might have a different word or adjective but the process and end product take the same line. The type of critique I have enjoyed most is walking around and leaving feedback as I feel this is the way to get most honest opinions, people aren’t afraid to give constructive criticism because it is anonymous.

I am happy with my final designs for both briefs although would work further on brief 01 if given the chance to have some more diverse ideas as in the real world the client would want more however I do feel my final solution communicates the brand. I believe the subtlety of the adjustments made to create my typeface is key and that it communicates the majestic look I wanted. I have really grown as a designer throughout this module, with the way I think and approach a task, making important design decisions with reason, everything must have meaning and substance to be worth it.

Studio Brief 02 - Evaluation

The brief was to design a bespoke typeface based on one of Müeller-Brockmanns classic and lead typefaces using an adjective of our choice. I was quite intimidated by this task at first as I had never done anything of the sort and was still relatively new to typography however knew that it did interest me. So after a fair bit of research into the different typefaces I settled on Bodoni, with the aim of creating a majestic edition; the context I had in mind was high end luxury brands and magazines so I designed it as a display typeface rather than being suitable for a body of text. This task most definitely pushed me to build on my Adobe Illustrator skills, and I have seen a massive improvement myself since the start of this module from for example the ligature task I didn’t even try to use it, rather tried my best on Photoshop. I have enjoyed playing around with the glyphs as individuals, with their different  shapes and strokes as well as on a whole with the characters adding up to an alphabet. I really enjoyed using sketches to show what I wanted to do with this one and be able to explore possible options with out going straight into digital and being stuck around the same idea with just slight variations; this has really helped me recognise how useful a sketchbook can be and will definitely continue to use one in the future - this was further enforced by an interview I saw with Rudd studio. The final decision was to create a font in upper-case as I thought this most appropriate for display, I believe the letters flow well next to one another and are interesting to look at; as well as being majestic and something to be trusted, followed and admired. I named the font ‘Bodoni Bracket’ as fundamentally you could still tell it is Bodoni, it is already quite a regal and majestic font so the brackets are the main difference and I believe that subtlety is the key in some cases. I have learnt during this project it is okay to experiment with the characteristics of a typeface in a subtle or drastic way, whatever fits what you’re trying to achieve, this will allow me in the future to adjust typefaces to fit a specific purpose. In terms of what I could have done differently, I would research more other designers who have changed and manipulated typefaces and see how they did it, what tools they used.

Studio Brief 02 - Final Design & Type Rationale

So this is the final design for my Majestic typeface, as you can see some of the glyphs are the same as the digital development 03 however some have been further edited such as the A, D, O and Q as I felt they needed more work. I am pleased with my final result and believe that the subtle changes actually make a big difference in conveying the adjective I chose. The words I used to describe the typeface in the end were regal, sublime and decorative I chose these because they relate well to majestic and decorative describes what I have added to the original Bodoni typeface. The added brackets and different weights in the letters make for a more interesting and decorative display font.

Above is the final design I decided on to showcase my typeface, I laid out the alphabet so all is visible and then spelt out the word majestic below with the personality traits on top the low opacity adjective. I used black and grey as I feel these are suitable colours for the context I described - high end brands and magazine titles are usually in tame colours such as black, grey or white. 

Rationale

Majestic is a typeface perfect for use in high end brands and magazines that want something more than your typical serif typeface. This typeface features strong bracketed serifs and interesting curves in the letter forms. Derived from the typeface Bodoni Oldstyle it takes that classic and elegant look and builds on it, extending the cap height in cases such as the T and I to allow a better flow with the other letters. All of the small changes make for a softer and more inviting typeface. The typeface was designed with display font is mind, the letters are decorative and won't necessarily work as a body of text for this reason.

Studio Brief 02 - Digital Development 03

Here you can see the first changes I made are in pink with the second ones in a light grey, I believe the second changes made a real difference for example the brackets added to the crossbar of the 'H' and 'A'.

Studio Brief 02 - Digital Development 02

This is the finished result for my first edit of the font, adding slight bracketed serifs to get a feel for whether it works. I believe it does and want to make more drastic changes.

I am going to develop some of the glyphs further:

1. Create more of a curve with the beak of the S and C. 
2. Change the ball terminal of the J - it looks too clunky
3. Create more dramatic feet for the glyphs
4. Add brackets to the arms of letters such as T and E
5. Make the bracketed serifs I have already added more dramatic and lengthened

Studio Brief 02 - Digital Development 01

I have started to develop my typeface digitally to see where I can take it and what I can actually do in illustrator as I feel it is more restrictive than sketching at this point in my life (being new to illustrator). I decided to explore capital letters and see how it works as this was suggested to be more relevant to the context I described in my crit.

I typed out the alphabet in Bodoni on illustrator and added a second layer to add the changes so they can be shown and hidden to see differences. I wanted to be able to see if something was working and able to change it easily without messing up the whole glyph.

My aim was to make the serifs bracketed and more curved to create more of a flowing look throughout the letters in the font. I think I achieved this slightly with these alterations so I will continue with this alphabet before stopping to review what other changes I can make.

Studio Brief 02 - Interim Crit (Formative Feedback)

For the crit we were asked to stick up all of the work we had so far up on the wall. In the crit we then presented what we had so far to the group and then got feedback from the tutor, this wasn't my favourite style of crit as it didn't feel very relaxed or beneficial as I didn't get much feedback from my peers, nor did I feel able to give advice to others in the setting. Although the act of sticking up all of your work and being able to reflect on it was useful as it made you realise what you had to show for the amount of time we have had. I believe the amount I had was reasonable but my tutor pointed out that one of the sheets could actually be about 10 sheets.

Feedback I did receive was that I should definitely go in the Bodoni direction and explore the use of serifs, it would work better in the context I explained - that of display type for high end brands/ magazines. It was also suggested that I should try capitals as they are more often used for the names of companies and brands.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Development 03

The below sheet is another result of experimentation with the serifs and strokes and weights of the typeface, based on Bodoni I used tracing paper above to try and be precise. I think I could be onto something with bracketing the serifs, making them flow more, majestically like elevating, floating through. The 'p' and 'q' at the bottom certainly don't work so now I know a large serif would look silly and that I shouldn't mess with the counters.

The results from using single lines and colouring the ascenders is interesting - seen on the 'x' and 'y' I really like the simplicity however not sure how well this works with majestic.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Development 02

As I explained in the previous crit blog post, I wanted to explore the ideas of the crown ; the visual sketch by the adjectives of a little crown is exactly what I think of myself when someone says majestic. On the sheet below you can see my exploration of the letter form 'a' adjusting the stroke weight and how the letter connects. As I continue down through the alphabet you can see the transformation of the serifs, how they flow more as brackets.

Then to the right you can see my exploration of the crown idea, I used a print out of Bodoni to trace the rough shape and add a crown where it would be interesting, I originally started with the glyphs close kerning and all sitting on the baseline but adjusted this to fit ascenders and descenders into the mix, in the end I liked the result as it sort of fits together more like an illustration/ picture rather than a boring run of letters. You can see the letters clearer on their own below.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Development 01

Below you can see the start of my creative process, trying out different outlines, line strokes, serifs, brackets and shapes. I could develop some of these ideas further and create further sheets which I will certainly do. I like the extreme contrast between two strokes on the second ones down, it is really exploring the weight contrast seen in bodoni, in a more stripped down way, I want to try this tracing over the actual typeface to see what results I can achieve. Some of the results below are a little too quirky but I think there could be something in the bottom left A it certainly gives off the mystic and magical vibe.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Research

I have decided to research more into the typeface Bodoni as it is the most probable option and it would be really useful to have some more background information, such as the influence, how it was created and what it is generally used for.

Bodoni is known for being used in fashion labels, magazines and high end brands. At least Bodoni or something very similar such as Didot (the typeface Bodoni was based from).

I read an interesting article on eyemagazine.com speaking of the use of type in the fashion industry through the times.

From this it is clear that there is definitely something about the type face that screams class and money. It is used widely in fashion magazine spreads, covers and posters because in bigger sizes it is very aesthetic. I did some primary research and looked through popular magazines such as VOGUE and ELLE and found that most if not all fashion and beauty brands being advertised on the spreads used a serif font, often one very similar to Bodoni, this further cemented my idea of creating a typeface for this purpose, however I wanted to create something slightly more decorative - one that is more decorative and solely for display font rather than being used for body text too.

 In contrast to these traditional and highly classy looking typefaces used for the high end brands and in magazines I also looked at other magazines to make sure serifs aren't just used widely in the media. As the images below show they aren't, lifestyle and cultural magazines etc tend to use sans serifs for a more contemporary and 'down with the kids' look.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Design (Crit feedback)

For the crit I had the two initial rationales for the fonts I had chosen to explore on my screen and left a few questions for people to answer in order to gain insight into other peoples views on the word majestic & my font options.

The questions I left were;

1. Should I take a challenge and transform Helvetica or stick with Bodoni?
2. What words do you relate to majestic?
3. What would you us a typeface described as majestic for?

I want to ensure that the idea I have for the purpose of the typeface makes sense and people think similarly. 

I agree with the comment about Helvetica being different to repurpose, most brands that use it want quite a neutral look, with the target market being broad however a majestic typeface will be used alot more selectively and therefore I believe a serif is definitely a better option.

I think it will be really interesting to explore the existing features of Bodoni and enhance, along with manipulate them to fit the purpose.

The visual sketch by the adjectives of a little crown is exactly what I think of myself when someone says majestic so I will explore this idea further.

All of my feedback agrees with the idea of it being used for a title, decorative purposes as supposed to big blocks of text, so with this in mind I can play around with the thin and thick strokes as the readability doesn't have to be as essential as if it was being used for large bodies of text. I am going to create the typeface in lowercase, although most titles are in upper I think lower has a lot more potential to be majestic and intricate, in comparison to uppercase; however I may produce a select few letters in Uppercase to demonstrate.

From here I am going to start developing ideas and sketches, being both extreme and subtle within the typeface and free hand. I will sketch the obvious such as glyphs including crowns and jewels etc the stereotypical and see what I can get from that as usually experimentation is valuable and real ideas can be drawn from it.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Design (Study Task)

We did a few short tasks before our crit to get our minds going and creative thought processes before finalising what questions we wanted to ask our peers.

1. Use a 3 by 3 grid to express your chosen adjective in a pictogram
2. Note down your word and other relevant words and pass 4 places to your left, when you get a sheet use a 5 by 5 square to express their chosen adjective
3. Pass to the left once and draw the letter A in 10 different styles to express their chosen adjective.

Although at first I thought this task was a bit pointless in terms of having not a lot of time to draw really bad (in my opinion) sketches using mainly diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines I found the final task really useful in exploring the meaning of words and how they can be interpreted in the smallest quirks and features of type.

Having not a lot of time for this task and restraints I drew the first things that came into my mind - a crown, a high heel shoe, money, cocktail glass, pearls and the British flag. I believe these are all things you'd relate to class, high fashion, and hierarchy.

This one is quite self explanatory of what the person was thinking, tradition and magic.

These are the results from someone drawing an A in a majestic style, I will definitely take inspiration from these results.

Finally these are the A options I did for someone else's' word, thinking about being isolated and alone I tried to use the shape, weight and layout to portray this.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Design (Rationales)

Rationale 01 - Bodoni

I am going to go with Bodoni font for my first option to create a majestic typeface. Bodoni is described as 'Didone' - a genre of serif typeface that emerged in the late 18th century and is particularly popular in Europe. The typeface is also known as modern because they were new designs rather than updated versions of Roman or Renaissance letter styles. 

The font is characterised by unbracketed and narrow serifs. With the serifs having a constant width along their length. I feel as though a majestic typeface should be more flowing and assertive, showing authority and it is something to be followed and taken notice of. Because of the contrast in thick and thing strokes, particularly the thin strokes, some digital versions of Bodoni are said to be hard to read, therefore it is generally used as display font but Bodoni Old Face is optimised for smaller points.

Initial thoughts on what personality the typeface should convey -

• Regal - belonging to a monarch
• Dignified - knows what it is doing, classic & taken seriously
• Elevated - superior, formal and literally raised 
• Hierarchy - hi·er·ar·chy - a group of persons or things organised into successive ranks with each level subordinate to the one above (this could be how the different weights are described)

In terms of the anatomy of the type the cap height should be long to make an impression and the x height just above half way up the cap height.

I would like to add brackets to the serif to give the typeface a more grand and flowing feel with the terminals coming to a point.

Rationale 02 - Helvetica

The second font I am looking at for option is Helvetica, seen as the main purpose of this typeface is to be neutral and have not a lot of personality it is like a blank canvas for creating a majestic typeface.

I would definitely add serifs to the glyphs as this it what you think of when you say majestic, traditional and old style. Helvetica was one of the most popular typefaces in the 20th Century and countless companies and brands have used it is their display font, some with subtle changes and some with very big changes, this shows how versatile the typeface is, what it is capable of.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Design Initial research 02

Traits and personality you get from the different typefaces:

Garamond:

Traditional, readable, timeless, delicate and elegant. The garamond we know in modern times is interpretations of fonts that were inspired by drawings which were modeled after the punches of Claude Garamond (In traditional typography, punchcutting is the craft of cutting letter punches in steel from which matrices were made in copper for type founding in the letterpress era.) Prior to Garamond's work, the practise of type face design was to try and achieve a replica of a scribe's handwriting; making him the first to make letters that would read better when printed.

Some popular books have been set in Garamond - Harry Potter novels and Dr. Seuss books, as well as being used for Googles original logo and Abercrombie & Fitch's logo. Obviously a very interesting typeface with a rich history and still very relevant to this day however can't say it fits my adjective very well, a big thing that it is so widely used as body text typeface which isn't what I want to create.

Caslon:

Credible, homely, friendly and pleasing. Designed by William Caslon in the 1700's one of many Caslon typefaces but often referred to as Caslon Old style. Caslon's typefaces were popular in his life time and beyond, and after a brief period of eclipse in the early nineteenth century remain common, particularly for setting printed body in text and body. This could be an option as it is has potential with the serifs used and the Q for example does look quite majestic, the rest can be manipulated.

Baskerville:

Classic, transitional, delicate and traditional. Baskerville is the resuly of John Baskerville's intent to improve upon the types of William Caslon. Increasing the contrast between thick and thin strokes which made the serifs sharper. The typeface was the culmination of a larger series of experiments to improve legibility which also included paper making and ink manufacturing. Baskerville is also an option for me to consider.

Bodoni:

Modern, classic, elite and high attention to detail. Designed in the late 18th Century, Bodoni was hired by Duke Ferdinand of parma, a noted patron of the arts, to establish a premiere royalty press. The concern - printing of the highest quality not for the masses, but for the aristocracy. He relied heavily on the recent designs of Didot, creating a revolutionary Roman style which was very different to anything seen before. The attention to detail in the typeface is really something to take in and the quality was not something that could be matched by anyone else in his day. Modern typefaces aren't perhaps the most readable of styles, they are most visually distinct making them perfect for Display type design.

Clarendon:

Graceful, striking, hand craftsmanship, slab serif. It was created by Robert Besley in 1845, inspired by the typeface Antique - one of the original slab serifs. 

Besley added bracketed serifs giving it the ability to work better inline of a body of text. It also gave it a more approachable and soft feel. It became very popular in its time period and because of that we quickly associate it with turn of the century England and the old west in the USA; for this reason I don't think it would be suitable for a Majestic Display font.

Times:

Traditional, trustworthy, serious and legible. Times New Roman gets the name from British Newspaper 'Times of London'. In 1929 Monotype were hired to create a new text font. Monotype had to license the design to it's rival Linotype because it used their typesetting machines. Since then Monotype has sold the font as 'Times New Roman' and Linotype has marketed its version as 'Times Roman'. Seen as this type was specifically made for body text I don't think it would work with my adjective as a display font design.

Helvetica:

Neutral, adaptable, serious and aesthetic. Helvetica is a sans serif grotesque typeface and is one of the most popular typefaces in the modern world. It was based on Akzidenz-Grotesk created by Berthed around 1898. Original typeface was designed by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman in 1957 Switzerland.

It is used for many famous logotypes and as a brand identity typeface - in many variations as the typeface is so neutral it can be manipulated to give out any kind of message you want and is good for companies with broad target markets and range - this was the aim, for the typeface to give out no meaning at all itself. It’s original name was Die Neue Haas Grotesk however it was renamed in 1960 to Helvetica (Latin for Swiss) so it was more marketable worldwide. Fun fact: it remains legible when in motion, one reason it’s popular for signage and automaker and airline logos. I think that this choice for majestic could be a good challenge, to take something so neutral and transform it would be interesting and seen as it is used for display type design a lot it would work.

Studio Brief 02 - Typeface Design Initial research 01

We were introduced to our new studio brief, following on from studio brief 01 it is based on typography, with 01 we designed our own logotypes however with this we will be creating a whole typeface based on our chosen font and conveying an adjective that we choose.

'Based on one of Müeller-Brockmanns classic and lead typefaces, create your own bespoke typeface, which should effectively communicate your chosen adjective.

• Garamond
• Caslon
• Baskerville
• Bodoni
• Clarendon
• Berthold (doesn't feature below don't have on system)
• Times
• Helvetica
• Univers (doesn't feature below don't have on system)

Essentially you are repurposing individual shapes (letterforms) to work together in endless combinations in a harmonious, consistent sequence.' 

Possible adjective options:

• Scattered
• Majestic
• Abstracted
• Fierce
• Petite
• Mammoth

Out of all of these I think the most interesting results will come from the adjective Majestic so I have decided to go forward with this - typing it out in the typefaces I could.

Studio Brief 01 - Evaluation

Logotype Evaluation:

The brief was to design a series of logotypes for a rebrand of my given company - a company made up by myself based on a random word given to us. I started by doing research into my word ‘Moonless’ and the typefaces that we could use to create the logotype. I was only allowed to experiment with type, scale, spacing, contrast, alignment, shape and colour - this was restrictive as most coffee companies use illustrations in their branding as I discovered from my research. My target audience was students and young professionals on the go, the coffee shop would be somewhere people stop off quickly on the way to elsewhere rather than a comfortable place to sit around in. Originally I had the idea of  an independent coffee shop, who’s coffee is that good you don’t need to add milk ‘as dark as a night without the moon’ a loose connection I made because I wanted a more original idea for the word rather than for a night club or something easily relatable. However as I went forward with the design process I felt a chain coffee shop was more of suitable brand for what I had created, perhaps because of the use of the circle and simplicity of just the M representing the whole company - it is something you can see sticking out on a sign in the high street which I find a success. In my other designs with just the word I think the simplicity of the changes in the glyphs such as shortening the ‘l’ and cutting off the top of ‘M’ along with close kerning were effective enough to create a company identity.

 I believe the logo does portray what I was aiming for however if I was to continue to work on this project I would create some physical mock ups on cups, think about how the sign would work in the real word, whether it would be painted or printed. Explore the use of moons to create the o’s more maybe making different shapes for different seasons, or different colours. Overall I think this has been a successful brief however I could have done with a bit more development on my initial ideas to create a more varied and distinct response to the brief.

Studio Brief 01 - Logotype (Final Crit)

Today we had our final Crit for studio brief 01 - Logotype, just to bring it back full circle this was the brief we got:

Produce a series of logotypes for a rebrand of your given company.

The given company name being 'Moonless':

"Being without a moon or moonlight"

Using only type, experiment with scale, stroke, spacing, contrast and alignment to interpret your company. You should consider the following:

Who is the company?

A coffee/tea house or cafe

What do they do?

Sell really good quality mid range hot drinks

Who is the target audience?

Students/young professionals on the go

Where will the logo appear?

Coffee cups, food bags, signage and receipts etc

I went into the final crit with my ideas and reasons for having them, given on the previous blog post - development. My initial proposal was ' My target audience is young professionals and students on the go - looking for a cheap alternative to a chain coffee house, and friends and family coming together for a catch up and bite to eat and drink.' However I changed this slightly and in the end was aiming it towards just people on the go rather than somewhere cosy for a catchup - talking about this now I realise that is more of a coffee house chain vibe as an independent shop is usually warm and welcoming to people sitting in for hours.

Initial feedback was that it wouldn't look out of place with competitors and you could imagine it on the high street which is exactly what I was going for, it has to look in place and be inviting, not some random signage that doesn't look professional.

People said that it maybe looked a little too fast food ish / like a corporate chain which I completely understood, this was in response to this design:

Which I think has something to do with the fact I used a circle in the logo, just like Starbucks and Costa Coffee. So I took this on board and as I said earlier I probably should have changed my aim to it being a chain coffee shop to rival previously mentioned Starbucks and Costa Coffee.

My peers and tutor commented on this option how they liked the simplicity of the M and the O's how I used the simple letter form manipulated to create something completely different.

Some really liked the use of the M as an L, linking the word together even though it is on two different levels, the simple elongation of the M gives the logotype an interesting aspect.

It was also said that these options looked a lot less corporate than those that include a circle or just use the M.

All of this feedback was very informative and will help me in the future, we have been told to draw a line underneath this project now and focus on the next one introduced to us so I will communicate what more I would have done in the following evaluation.

Studio Brief 01 - Logotype Development

After getting feedback from my peers in the group I continued to work on my logotype, experimenting with different kerning, upper/lowercase and incorporating the circle logo I created. I put the logos I believed most successful into context using mock ups:

So this features the simple logo using Futura, I extended the M glyph to act as the letter L which I thought worked well to keep the word flowing even though it is on 2 different levels. I also used the Moon shapes created out of the letter O's, I got very positive feedback from the crit about this feature so continued to use it. Although I like the way this one looks on the mug, it isn't really the feel I'm going for, the brand identity is supposed to present somewhere you stop by on the go. I think the darkness of the brown is too inviting and comforting, its sending the message come and relax here.

I tried the logo on a take out cup and in black to see if that made the difference however I think it made it too unapproachable, I could possibly try different colourways depending on the season:

This is something to consider and from here I can ask opinions in the final crit of what people think looks more suitable for a mid range coffee shop for students and young professionals on the go.

I then looked at this logo and thought it is more suitable for what I am trying to put out there - somewhere contemporary, simple and affordable that does good quality coffee/tea. I am very open to feedback on this, I want to know what vibe people get from the colours used and the simplicity of just the M, is it enough for people to identify the company.

I tried this logo on two different sized cups and I think it works really well on both of them - matching the cap lid to the colour I think brings the product all together, with the lighter brown being more practical that the dark in the way that it looks more appealing to drink from rather than a dark lid- if you look at most cup lids they are a very light colour or even white.