Initial Ideas - Symbols and Letterforms

In a recent session, I have been experimenting with both lines and symbols trying to communicate my adjective in it's most simplest form. It was then passed around to fellow designers to gage their perception of the adjective too, therefore informing me on how best to go about manipulating my typeface and what best represents the word playful. Others also began to draw letterforms on what they thought a 'playful' type would look like. 

A recurring theme, was organic lines, therefore I was to stay away from straight, sharp edges of a typeface. Another idea was to play on the ideas of games, such as football therefore I should create shapes within the type, such as circles to represent game balls. Many of the letterforms were overlapped or harder to read, bringing the element of playful and breaking rules within a typeface, which meant I should experiment with this idea in my own typeface development.

In conclusion this session was extremely helpful in knowing what playful means to other people and how best to represent within a typeface through shapes and symbols. It has inspired me to try making words illegible, breaking rules, using rounded, organic lines and creating shapes from the letterforms. 

Typeface Rationale Ideas - Concept Crit

Rationale 1

First idea is to use Univers, to lengthen the ascenders and descenders to project movement and expression within the typeface. I have taken the least expressive font as it will be more of a challenge to make it seem more energetic, and to give it more character. I would like to experimentally break the rules subtly within a few of the characters in the typeface as this suggests experimentation and development which is what 'play' is all about. Placing the type both above then below the baseline creates a sense of movement in a continuing line. The typeface will be versatile and seem kinetic and will most likely be used as a display font.

Rationale 2

Using Clarendon to base my typeface on, I have decided to round the serifs which creates a more safe childlike feel, the serifs aren't as harsh or sharp. Making the weight heavier will make the type seem to have a more animated and lively personality without seeming too authoritative. I would close both the counters and bowls to create a more compact design which seems youthful. Once again, this would be designed as a display typeface for use in headlines and titles.

After receiving feedback in the recent crit, I have decided to develop upon rationale 1. Many thought that taking the least expressive font would be the best idea, as it would show development and change that happens through play, it would also be the most challenging idea. The ornamentation on Clarendon typeface looks too traditional and doesn't communicate the adjective clearly enough. Many stated that the idea of elongating the ascenders and descenders was the best idea as it communicates movement and energy within the type. Another idea was to make all the letters individually different, however when showing them as a whole typeface they will still work together. I quite liked this idea as it shows that each letter is expressive within itself and shows the type is developing snd changing. In conclusion after the feedback, Rationale 1 will be developed further into an idea that best communicates the chosen adjective.

Muller Brockman's Typefaces

Brockmann believed that there were only a handful of truly outstanding typefaces, describing them as timeless and created by those of intelligence. They are refined and artistic pieces of type and these are of the very few that have gained acceptance. Throughout this blog post, the characteristics, personality and the history of each typeface, will have been researched and discussed, in order to make the most suitable choice for my chosen adjective, and which typeface would be best used as a base for manipulation.

- Old style serif typeface

-  Small eye of 'e'

- Small bowl of 'a' with a sharp hook.

- Low x-height

- Top serifs have a downward slope

- Mainly used in body texts and books.

- Generous openings create airiness. 

- Semi-parallel angles serifs.

- Used for Google's original logo, Abercrombie and Fitch.

- Not good for use on the web as it looks muddled and unreadable.

- Thinner and decorative

- Personality: Timeless, Elegant, Delicate, Beautiful, Classic, Classy, Decorative

- Old - Serif handwriting.

- Hollow con caves.

- G has a downward spur.

- M has straight sides.

- W has three terminals.

- Short ascenders and descenders.

- Increasing contrast.

- Varied angles.

- Black letter font. 

- Personality: Delicate, Interesting, Beauty, Utility, Organic.

- Tail on lowercase 'G' doesn't close.

- T is below the baseline.

- Top and bottom serifs on 'C'.

- Crisp edges, high contrast.

- Generous proportions.

- Based on calligraphy.

- Transitional typeface.

- Between classical and modern.

- Rounded serifs and vertical axis.

- Based on Didot and Bodoni.

- Small x-height.

- Personality: Classic, Elegant, Contemporary.

- Used on Kate Spade Logo.

- Classes as Didot or modern.

- Followed the ideas of Baskerville.

- Increased stroke contrast.

- Unbracketed serifs.

- Geometric Construction.

- One of the most elegant typefaces ever designed.

- Better in larger print with generous spacing.

- Wood grain print, wood block print.
- Hands on, craftsmanship.
- Demands Attention.
- Slab Serif.
- Inspired by Antique.
- Bracketed Serifs, gentle curves.
- Headline Font.
- Squared serifs.
- Low contrast.
- Considered the first registered typeface.
- Usually associated with wanted posters in American West.
- Used on original Starbucks logo and Sony.
- Personality: Bold, demands attention, strong, unusual.

- Trade typeface.

- Swiss design style.

- Designed by Hoffman in Berlin.

- Equal thickness of vertical and horizontal strokes.

- Used particularly in industrial advertising.

- Based on sans serif typefaces of early 19th century.

- Specifically created for 'The Times' Newspaper'.

- Short, powerful and sharp cut serifs make for extremely good legibility.

- Usually found in books and academic texts.

- Most widely used typeface in history.

- Robust, solid design.

- Influenced by Akzidenz Grotesk.

- Wide range of variants.

- Tall x-height.

- Tight kerning.

- Oblique Style.

- Square 'S'

- Two stories 'a'

- Narrow apertures.

- Used for, American Apparel, American Airlines, Jeep, BMW, Kawasaki, Panasonic, J.C Penney.

- Criticised for overuse. 

- Neo Grotesque

- Constant Weight

- Family of types within a consistent familiar design.

- Matched range of style and weights allowed documents to be written in one consistent typeface. 

- Monotype

- Personality: Steadiness, Homogeneity, Legible, Factual, Cool, Modern.

- Used on: Periodic Table, Swiss Air, Apple and Ebay.

Studio Brief 2 - Typeface Design - Adjective

My chosen adjective is 'Playful', which means;

- Games or light hearted amusement.

- Intended for another or one's amusement rather than seriously.

- Expressing pleasure or Amusement. 

I began to explore different meanings of the word through a diagram, as to help with more abstract thinking rather than being too obvious. From that I have thought of characteristics that the typeface could have, relating to different cross meanings of the word and how best to represent the adjective. Many ideas related to stepping out of a grid and breaking the rules, however, only slightly. A few ideas consist of;

 - Tight kerning between letterforms to lose any sense of importance or seriousness.

- Letters appearing above and below the baseline to lose complete rigid structure.

- Wide bowls and counters to show negative and white space to counteract the tight kerning.

- Uppercase letters to portray liveliness and character.

- Bold letters to stand out from other typefaces.

Personality traits I want my typeface to portray include - 

- Playful

- Quirky

- Youthful

- Fun

- Lively

- Immature

Final Design - Logotype

Final Logotype Evaluation

Displayed are my five final logotype designs, although some look quite similar, the changes between sometimes more drastic, meaning they are a whole different design on their own. Overall from this project I have learnt the importance of kerning and how it has the power to change the personality of a word or logotype, and I have also developed my skills on illustrator, using grids, rulers and the pathfinder tool.

   I feel the personality that I intended for my company brand has come across, as in the final crit, both contemporary and trendy were used several times to describe the logotypes, specifically the one I deemed to be most appropriate. It also suits my intended target audience of young adults, due to the fresh and modern personality the design portrays. However one criticism in the crit was that the blocked in logotype looks quite youthful and immature, although when seen in context it no longer looks this way. 

   The final logotype that I chose, I feel it achieves all the aims I originally had. It looks retro and simple, yet ultramodern at the same time. Although it may be slightly illegible to some people, in the crit it as mentioned 

that it acts as a logo or symbol just on it’s own, and therefore doesn’t necessarily need to be readable. The colours would be suitable for signage, the white on black was preferred, as it is was more sophisticated and contrasts against the black, therefore if I were to continue this project further I would choose white as the logotype colour, however

this may have to be changed to black, when placed on pale and white backgrounds such as headphones or paper.

   Improvements to make upon the design, would maybe experiment with the weight of the 'I' and the 'T' to make them competent between the other letters. Also maybe try more experimentations of ideas before reaching a final design, push my abilities on illustrator. In the next brief, I will also try to move away from digital experimentation and not limit myself to a computer screen, actually sketch, collage and photograph ideas to become more creative with designs.

Logo Development Interim Crit

Feedback

After an interim crit, I asked 3 question;
- Is the Logo Legible?
- Which Logotype do you prefer?
- Does it represent the company well?

I got some great feedback about my initial designs of what people liked best and why and also other ideas to try out. Many favoured the design made entirely of shapes as letters as it represents the idea of 'Acoustic', stripping the word back to it's basic form.
The line through the middle of the word using negative space, was described as guitar strings and instruments. Which relates to the company and meaning of the word; shows that the Logo represents the company well.
To work on:
-Give meaning behind the negative space and line through the letters.
- Try negative space just on the 'O' and leave the rest of the letters.
- Try a thinner font.
Try the words on different levels and lines.

The design has been experimented with and pushed further, in response to the feedback. I have developed the the silhouette font further; as it was thought that this represented the company well. I have also experimented with just taking negative shapes out of some letters rather than the whole wird; which I think works better as it's more legible. Then the kerning has been played around with, the shape type looks better with tight kerning , but not too close as to merge the shapes together. However to keep the high end style of the brans I have loose kerning for the 'Records' part which brings the logotype together to look more of a higher end brand.

Milton Keynes Gallery Rebrand

The Milton Keynes Gallery rebrand changes the rules of design as we know it, it takes the elements associated with a brand away and uses grids and spacing as form of identity instead. The changing typefaces serve as the idea of constantly changing designs and art forms displayed within a gallery. It creates versatility, the type, colour, grids and media related to these, can be adapted to suit whichever form or media the identity is advertised. This distinctive approach is a whole design in itself, it puts attention onto the shapes of the grid, the shapes become the identity, as the type carries no specific personality, it becomes transparent. The formation of the grids become well known and become decipherable as a brand. This simplistic approach communicates to the average person, whilst hiding a deeper conceptual meaning trying to transform the meaning of identity, it is an experimentation of how much you can take away without losing the makeup of the Gallery's personality. It represents the purpose of an art gallery, to exhibit constantly changing and challenging art which continually bends and breaks the rules. The abstractness of Sara Bodnt's design initiates inquisitiveness which then ultimately draws people in.

Helvetica

- Helvetica was created due to the new feeling of social responsibility within designers, during the period of modernity. It needed to be neutral and almost transparent, but at the same time be accessible and human to relate to the average citizen. Vignelli said that typefaces create a certain mood, and Helvetica is used to fit within any mood and to fulfil any purpose.

- Helvetica is ubiquitous, after it was created in the 1950s, Helvetica was seen everywhere. As Erik Spiekerman stated; the type became a brand in itself. Originally branded as 'The Swiss Typeface' had quickly become 'Universal' typeface. It could be said that companies which utilise Helvetica lose their own identity and personality. it has become a 'visual disease' that we have almost become immune to.

- Helvetica arguably became the typeface of both Socialism and Capitalism, it became associated with 'big faceless things' stated by Lars Muller. It had connotations with the Vietnam War and massive corporate brands. Helvetica needed to speak in a different way, as David Carson said, however legible something is, doesn't necessarily mean it communicates.

- Helvetica isn't about the type it is about the negative white space surrounding it. Which fits alongside Erik Spiekerman's view that the typeface needs room to breathe and what matters most is the space both between and sideways of the letters and also the counters within the type. 'Type isn't black it's really white', Vignelli. 

- Helvetica will forever be developing, however not in the type anatomy itself and the typeface is deemed by several designers as 'unfixable', (Michael Bierut), but in the sense that it can be utilised in different ways and suggest different meanings. Which is maybe why it does work when used by many massive corporations as it can be manipulated through colour, kerning and space to represent different identities. 

Colour has been used, most obviously to represent the American Flag and the identity of the country, it also is globally recognised as the colours of America, therefore colours can be a form of language. The formation of the letters is quite close, the kerning is tight, therefore it's transparent, it doesn't interfere with the logotype, it's straight forward. There is wider kerning between 'L' and 'I' to allow the black type to be legible, it allows the word to breathe. The negative space works due to where it would be found, enlarged on an aeroplane, it brings focus to the black of the type. Vignelli approached the design in a simplified, focused way to represent the company's 'gimmick free professionalism', (Vignelli). He tried to communicate a no nonsense, strategic approach using just one word, the images were added against his personal opinion. The design is balanced, by negative space. It doesn't express many feelings or emotion, but Vignelli designed it for for that purpose, clear legibility. 

The text has been right aligned to balance the design, because the shape on the right is heavy; so as not to have too much negative space. The type has been placed on the left side as through research, this is the coldest and most treacherous part of a mountain. Form has been used to align the type with the width of the shape to seem a cohesive design. The designer has tried to create a balanced, structured design to represent the quality of products and clothes. The design makes you feel grounded and safe, showing the trust the customers should have in the brand, but without having to think about the type, as Helvetica is supposed to be transparent. 

Logotype Similar Brand Analysis

Both thick and thin transition has been used and research into the company shows that this is supposed to represent morse code as the founder of this company's father was the founder of morse code. It also represents the transition in music. The 'S' logo image is to replicate the clicker that was used to type in morse code. Although it is a sans serif font, the transition in the type adds another dimension and almost makes it look 3D, to enhance the sense of hearing and touch etc. All the letters are capitals and are equal at the same x-height and baseline, creating the word as a whole. It almost makes it seem to fit on the lines of a music sheet, which is a grid in itself. The kerning seems to be equal throughout, but is quite spaced out, to represent the high end feel of the company. 

The typeface used on this logotype is the brand's own, it was created by themselves. JVC stands for Japan's Victor Company and the typeface design seems to be represent the identify of the country itself as the type looks like symbols rather than letters, relating to the Japanese alphabet. Although this font seems to be the most outdated of the others, as it was founded in 1930s and their logo hasn't' been changed since; but this is the current trend of nostalgia in logo design. The Logotype itself has very structured lines, both the flick of the 'C' and 'J' are at an equal height. The 'C' has an almost closed apperture.

This logotype was created by Jef Ingram, and similar to the Beats logo, the typeface has quite curved and organic lines, which could connote sound waves and link back to music. On the top of the 'Y' they have used a diacratic, which could represent the stacatto note within music. Both the 'a' and the 'd' have an open apperture which creates a contemporary feel as these headphones are mostly aimed at young people. Th letters have a low x-height and the letters seemed to be squished, the bowl of the 'a and d' seem oval.

The beats logo is probably one of the most famous, the circular bowls and shapes of the letters are used to represent vinyls and CDs, but the top logo is supposed to create a head with headphones on, only using geometric shapes. The kerning on this logotype is quite tight as the letters are quite wide, especially the counters of b, e, and a. This tight kerning is used as a contrast to the curved and circular letters. 

The typeface chosen here is a mixture of Univers and Akzidenz, two very modern and contemporary typefaces, to represent the personality of the new age of technology of wireless headphones and speakers. The simplicity of the logotype means that consumers and the audience will focus entirely on the audibility and quality of the brand rather than the logo. Therefore comparatives are made between readability and audibility. In some ways the logo represents the sound quality and high end products of the brand. The symbol that has been placed with the logotype seems to be a ligature symbol of some sort between the letters 'a' and 't'.

The company is based in Singapore, which similarly to the JVC logo, their typeface kind of represents the language of the origin country. Geometric, sharp shapes and letters have been used, to represent the structure of music. The crossbar of the 'A' has been lowered, to create a shape and logo of some sort in itself. It also means the 'A' is off the baseline which draws the eyes attention to the centre of the word. The mark makings of dashes and lines are similar to those on music notes also.

To conclude, all the logotypes I have analysed, none of them use a serif font, as technology and music is still quite a contemporary thing and new musicians are coming into the industry all the time, therefore logos need to be fresh and inspiring. They almost all very structured and ordered along a grid of some sort and are all equally spaced out within Kerning. Overall after looking at similar brands, I think Futura was the perfect choice of font and I should experiment with shapes, negative space and line transition.

Logotype Development

Below are initial ideas, where I have begun to experiment with negative space. I have taken out lines out of the type, to represent the idea of lines in music. Also the use of negative space relates to the lack of instruments when listening to acoustic music. I have then also experimented with using other geometric shapes as negative space, as everything used within a recording studio is made up of shapes, so I thought to try and recreate this within the logotype. I then moved away from digital experimentation and decided to hand draw ideas.

Feedback

After an interim crit, I got some great feedback about my initial designs of what people liked best and why and also other ideas to try out. Many favoured he design made entirely of shapes as letters as it represents the idea of 'Acoustic', stripping the word back to it's basic form.
The line through the middle of the word using negative space, was described as guitar strings and instruments. Which relates to the company and meaning of the word; shows that the Logo represents the company well.
To work on:
-Give meaning behind the negative space and line through the letters.
- Try negative space just on the 'O' and leave the rest of the letters.
- Try a thinner font.
Try the words on different levels and lines.

Logotype Adjective and Typeface Research

The brief was to create company from a specific given word, which would then need be branded with a Logo using only type. The word I was given was Acoustic, obviously the first thing was to find multiple meanings of the word.

- Sense of sound or Hearing

- Electrical Instruments not having electrical amplification

- How sound is transmitted in a room

 - The branch of Physics associated with sound

I then began to plan out ideas of which companies could be associated with the word, I decided to create a brand for recording studio equipment e.g, microphones, speakers, ear pieces.

I was given six typefaces to choose from, I then looked further into the history of these typefaces and how they were created to make a suitable choice and which would best represent the personality of the company. 

Century

Specifically designed for body text, initially created for 'Century Magazine'. The characters have finely pointed serifs, with low stroke contrast. I thought this font was too delicate and intricate for the type of company I chose. It seems to be too serious, as it is used by the Supreme Court in USA, therefore I decided against this font. 

Bodoni

This typeface is classed as a modern serif font, it's main characteristics are unbracketed serifs, which create a more elegant and feminine personality. Although it is said to be hard to read when used for body text. Again I decided against this typeface as although it has a more modern feel, which is what I was looking for, it is still to elegant for the branding of the company. 

Helvetica

Helvetica has unusually, tight kerning for a typeface, it also has a tall x-height and has the uniqueness of a two storied 'a'. I didn't choose to use this typeface as although it was between this and Futura, Futura seems better suited. Also, Helvetica s said to be overused which has given it a 'cheap' feel and my company represents high end products. 

Times

Times Typeface is mostly associated with academia, textbooks and newspapers. Therefore it didn't seem appropriate to use it to represent a modern recording studio. It also appears to be old fashioned with a robust, solid design.

Garamond

The characteristics of this typeface are a smaller x-height, with larger capitals in comparison to lowercase. Also the eyes of 'a' and 'e' are relatively small and the 'M' seems to have sharp hooks. The serifs on this typeface seemed to delicate and the font wasn't bold enough for my company. It didn't represent the brand's personality. 

Futura

This typeface is the one I eventually chose as I thought it was perfect to represent my brand. Firstly the letters seemed to be made up of geometric shapes, which represents the idea of structure and accuracy in music. Also the sharp edges relate to the clean, cut sound of listening to music. Also after researching further I found that the ascenders of lowercase letters actually ascend above the baseline, which is how high frequency waves operate. It represents the contemporary, technical feel and it also is sans serif which represents stripping the typeface back to basics just like acoustic music. 

Typographic Terminology

Apex - Tip of the uppercase A.
X-height - The height of the lowercase letters.
Baseline - The invisible line in which the letterforms sit.
Descender - A tail that descends below the baseline.
Tittle - The dot on the I or J.
Bowl - The hollow or inside part of a B or O.
Counter - Area that is partially enclosed such as P or lowercase e.
Crossbar - The bar found connecting the two sides of a H or A.
Cap-height - The imaginary line which the uppercase letters reach to, or the Ascender line in the case of lowercase letters.
Spur- The small flick on a lowercase a, b or d.
Ear - The extension on a lowercase g.
Stem - The stroke of vertical line of a letterform.
Transition - The change between thick and thin strokes.
Juncture - Where the line curves in on a capital R and B.
Ligature - When two letters are joined together.

Vignelli Canon

Massimo Vignelli created a set of guidelines set by ourselves as designers, for ourselves.

Intangibles - Design guidelines that cannot physically be touched or changed

Semantics - Everything must have meaning behind it, research is key. "Design without semantics is shallow and meaningless."

Syntactics - Design language- from typeface, grids to structure and headlines.

Discipline - Attention to detail. "Design without discipline is anarchy".

Appropriateness - Specific to solving a certain problem.

Ambiguity - Enhances meaning of design, if used in the right way.

Visual Power - Scale and contrast.

Intellectual Elegance - Our social responsibility, how people perceive designs. 

Timelessness - No short term or temporary solutions, needs to last for the foreseeable future.

Responsibility - To ourselves, the client, the public/consumer.

Equity - Economic sustainability within design.

The idea that a rebrand or logo design, should not just happen for the sake of it. Logos are rooted in people's consciousness, which is why many companies are beginning to revert to original logos such as Natwest and Co-op. A form of showing respect to history. 

Tangibles

Paper Sizes - Aware of the printing process and the most economically sustainable way of printing. "Bring dignity to our practice, rather than lustre'.

Grids - Represents the basic structure of our design and provide continuity. 

Typefaces - Out of thousands of typefaces we only need a few basic ones. 'Typography is a discipline to organise information'.

Flush Left - aesthetically pleasing, use justified in textbooks.

Type Size Relationship - Contrast of scale, weight, transition, size.

Colour - Simplified primary colour palette is all that's needed.

White Space - "Is essential to the element of composition."

Kerndown Task

For this brief study task, we were asked to experiment with kerning. We were given multiple different general brands and companies which we then had to represent through just changing the kerning of random letters.

Budget Supermarket

For this one we used tight kerning, and a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters. The letter s may also appear of the baseline to represent the cheaper brand. 

Luxury Car Brand

Wide and loose kerning were used for this company, to represent elegance and high quality as white space usually connotes quality. 

Condom Brand

This had to look both safe and fun at the same time, therefore we kept kerning quite tight, but then placed the 'f' on a slant to represent the fun side and to appeal to young people.

Indie Band

The balance needed to be found between keeping some form of construction to the type; but at the same time the type needed to look unique and quirky. Therefore we decided to take some of the letters slightly off the baseline, whilst still being legible. We also kept the kerning quite tight but with some spacing.

IT Company

The Kerning was kept tight here, but spacing was also needed to show that high end feel to the company. It needed to connote a connected and strategic approach, whilst not being completely joined together. 

From this task, I learnt that kerning can make such a difference to what a word or company represents. Just by using random letters and changing the kerning, you can create a well known brand that people will recognise. Kerning can give type personality.