Module Evaluation

During this module I have learnt so much, including very important aspects and fundamental knowledge about typography. Specifically typographic terminology, such as the baseline, x-height, bowl, counter, stem and cap height. Which allowed me to then apply this knowledge in my design, research and to back up design decisions. I have discovered kerning and realised how much influence it has over a design or typography, it has the power to completely change the personality or meaning behind a company or brand. Which then allowed me to apply this in my own work, specifically the logotype to represent my intended company it the best, most appropriate form. Within this module I have discovered many influential, historic graphic and typographic designers such as Muller Brockmann, Vignelli, Erik Spiekerman, Max Miedinger, whose opinions and ideas have allowed me to understand both typography and design much better and I can now use the context of these opinions to influence my own designs. I have also developed my skills on Illustrator in both studio briefs, which means my design ideas are no longer restricted, I have learnt to use the pen tool, knife tool, and realised the importance of grids and guidelines when designing.

  Both briefs within this module I believe have turned out well and are something I can be extremely proud of in my first ever design module of degree level. I have enjoyed using the facilities available and learning new techniques and processes. Such as our indiction into Letterpress, I feel this will be very valuable in upcoming briefs and it interested me a lot. The digital print induction gave me the final idea for Studio brief 2 and it allowed me to print my alphabet off as stickers, which just finalised my design and placed it into context perfectly. I was also extremely exciting having something you have worked so hard over being printed professionally into something you can actually use and touch. In both briefs I have learnt new ways of working, both through sketchbook work and digital design. I have also come to realise how important crits are and getting opinions on your design work, even if it is still in developing stages, because it is vital to take other people's ideas into consideration and to see if what you are communicating is coming through within 

your design. 

   In conclusion I have really enjoyed my first module and I am looking forward to applying my new knowledge in upcoming designs and briefs and also to continue learning the vast amount of knowledge, opinions and terminology about graphic design that is out there and preparing myself for employment within the design sector after leaving university. To improve in future briefs I will become dependant on my sketchbook and use it to display my ongoing work and ideas, to show my progress throughout the project. I will also ask more questions and be more intuitive within crits about my own design and others. Overall so far, although I am still learning, I feel like I know so much more already and my design work is becoming better for it.

Final Typeface Evaluation

 Displayed is my final typeface, I chose to create a typeface in uppercase and including numbers, as children learn both how to read and count. The black and white typeface is the original and the initial final design, however the colour version has been added to place the typeface into context and also to add to the personality of the letterforms, to communicate playful in an even easier way. 

   I feel the personality that I originally aimed to communicate came across within my design, as the subtle changes to each letterform show that playfulness has been carried through within the design process as well as reflected in the personality of the type. My rationale described my typeface perfectly as it was supposed to be as, in the final crit, words such as friendly, fun, approachable were used to describe the typeface which was exactly the fundamental aim, and all of these words were included in my rationale, therefore I have achieved the right personality through communication of the typeface. The outline works well, as it doesn't seem to dark or agressive as it did with black. It also leaves room for people's imagination, to either choose a colour to fill, or the primary aim was to act as a colouring mechanism, once again so children can engage with the typeface hands on. This is also the meaning behind the creation of stickers which further implements the idea of playfulness and all the ideas that I researched within why and how children play, as they explore their senses.

   Criticism of the final typeface would be that many people said the ‘D’ and the flipped numbers would be confusing and would be teaching children wrong, it would make the typeface confusing to understand for the intended audience. Therefore if I was to continue with this project I would just keep them as they were originally to make it more educational. However to counteract this criticism, this wouldn’t be an issue if it was used within a display type situation, which is what my design was intended for. Also the ‘B’ is quite sharp where the juncture and joint of the two bowls is. This would need to be rounded as all the other letters have been, to remove the aggression and danger of the corners, it makes the letterform stick out too much, however this came about from a lack of skill on illustrator. If I was to develop the typeface further I would experiment with different variants and versions, such as oblique and bold to see whether it would continue to work as a legible typeface. I would also try and display it in a range of contexts to see if the typeface would work outside the context of children, in a more serious tone, as many in the crit said that this could be possible, specifically so with the black and white version, it could be used within editorial and digital design, such as logotypes, branding and television. 
   From this project I have learnt much more about typographic terminology, the characteristics of each letterform and learning how and why typefaces have been designed. I have increased my knowledge within the area of other graphic designer's both their ideas, beliefs and even contemporary design studios and how their work has influenced me, such as two points and Neubau. I have once again developed my skills on illustrator, especially with the pen tool, I have also been able to experiment with paper stocks and the resources available to me, which has allowed me to physically make my creative ideas, such as stickers. Also seeing and analysing fellow designers work within crits, has allowed me to develop my ideas and will encourage me to experiment with new ideas outside my comfort zone.

Final Design - Typeface

Typeface Specimen

Development 2

To develop the typeface further, in an interim crit, it was said that the black fill within the letters was to harsh and intimidating and didn't really fit into the context of young children and a playful typeface. Therefore the black fill has been taken away to show just the outlines of the letterforms, which works well as it gives the sense of curiosity and leaves the fill to your own imagination, which is also an important aspect of children's play. Another idea was that it could be coloured in by young children, but it will still be legible. The outline is a lot less in your face and it means it now can be used in a range of different contexts not specifically just for children.

I  have also changed the 'Q' and the 'C' so both of those letterforms can be individual and manipulated in their own way too. I have taken the 'O' so the letters will still be in proportion to each other, then I have straightened out the tail rather than it sticking out to the the right. This makes the letterform look like one whole shape and a symbol, which will make it easier to read for children. The 'C' has also been manipulated as the rounded edges were to rounded and the looked too much like 'Comic Sans' the most hated typeface. Therefore I squared off the edges slightly, giving it a more mature look, whilst also staying within the same design as the other letters as a whole typeface.

Development 1

Above I have experimented with different brush strokes trying to achieve a hand drawn, softer more approachable look. Rather than a sharp, clean cut type letterform. I realised that I preferred the type when the edges were rounded, therefore I rounded them using the pen tool, creating softer edges, to look more 'safe' and suitable for children.
 Also using the pen tool, I have dragged out the ascenders and descenders because this makes each letter individually manipulated, as I was trying to make each letter subtly unique. The ongoing flow of the line also adds a sense of kinetic energy and movement which is also a key element in children's play.
I also unbalanced the 'B' to add a sense of risk taking and curiosity, which is the fundamental aspect of why it is important for children to play, therefore it communicates the chosen adjective perfectly. The 'D' has been flipped to again break rules within the typeface, and get the reader to think harder.

Above is the typeface after the ascenders and descenders have been dragged out, the pen tool has been used to round the letters and the stroke width has been increased slightly to give it a heavier weight to look bolder and more daring. I like how each letter looks different, as this was what I was aiming for after reading 'Typographic Accessibility' a blog post by Fontsmith, which stated that for a typeface to be readable each individual letterform needs to be slightly unique.

After speaking to Simon and a few other people, many said that the final outcome looked quite aggressive and grungy, it didn't seem to communicate playful. One idea was to reduce the length of the ascenders and descenders, as they made too much of a statement and were communicating personalities of scary, forward and intrusive, which was the complete opposite of what I wanted my typeface to convey. That is why I have shortened the ascenders and descender sin the above typeface, it makes the letters seem more approachable and friendly, which was the initial aim of the project.

Colour Choices

After I had created the basic, fundamental version of my typeface in black and white, I realised that to further communicate the personality of playfulness and to make the typeface more appropriate for children, it needed to have a colour version, which was filled in. For research and inspiration I headed to pinterest, where I selected a few images then created colour swatches from the and implemented each one within my typeface to see which one worked best. 

First of all I tried the above colour choices, which were highly unsaturated, almost pastel colours. I kept the stroke around the letterforms to make the typeface stand out more, as the values of the colours were quite low. This colour scheme doesn't seem to reflect the adjective very well, as the colours aren't vibrant enough and they're aren't enough of them. Also when including the black, you use the stroke around the outside, therefore it makes these letters stand out on their own too much.

The second colour choice, the colours were a lot more vibrant, pigmented and much higher in saturation ,which communicated playfulness a lot easier. It also contains the basic primary colours which are generally associated with children, however similar to the other colour choices, the black is too harsh and sticks out too much. Therefore I decided that these colours were not entirely appropriate either. 

This colour scheme, similar to the first one I thought was too unsaturated to be appropriate for a target audience of young children. There below, I have chosen colours from both the second and third colour schemes to create a highly saturated almost rainbow of colours. I feel this colour scheme works best as these colours are highly associated with young children and the range of colours represent the adjective playful well.