Evaluation

The first module brief hugely helped me to grow a better understanding of typeface terminology and letter-forms. I have developed a further knowledge of what it takes to produce a logo that clearly represents a brand and how important it is for the logo to portray the personality of a brand to do well in the industry. In the designs that I have created in response to this brief I have tried to incorporate use of the terms and skills which I have learnt during my research and crits. I think that I have successfully done this because my logotype is representative of the brand and the letter-forms work together in sequence meeting the requirements of the brief. The skills that I have learnt will continue to help me within my work with typography and will continue to develop as I work more with type. In future projects to improve my logotype designs I would do even more research to help me with my design and strip back on the amount which I incorporate in the designs. I have discovered that sometimes less is more in logo development as they have to be clear, readable and recognisable.

The outcome of the second brief was to have created a working typeface which could be used in a variety of different orders and combinations. I think that I have successfully created a typeface which fits the aim of this brief as it is clear and readable and the letters can be used in any arrangement. I have responded to the brief correctly as my typeface successfully portrays the personality of my chosen word being a majestic and noble display font. This brief has helped me understand more of the meanings and vocabulary used in type and will continue to help me with work I do in future. To improve and if I were to revisit this project in the future I would develop my typeface even further by adding lower case designs, numbers and punctuation. This could all then be added to my type specimen meaning it would possess an even larger body of work. 

Overall I am happy with the outcomes that I produced for both of these modules because I feel that they have accurately responded to both of the briefs and are representative of the brands and words that I have been given. I have learnt a lot more about typeface and terminology used within typography and I am confident that I will be able to continue to use this knowledge in the future. If I were to revisit this work in the future I would strip back my designs for brief 1 and develop more of a typeface for studio brief 2. 

Type Specimen Development

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

To develop my work further I created a couple of type specimens. This was so that my typeface could be seen in context. Figure 2 is my favourite of the designs because I think it shows more of my typeface and the variety of weights and sizes it can be used in. Figure 2 was made into a leaflet, I chose to develop it this way so that I could create a few different sides allowing my type to be seen in many different ways. I chose to use the colour mauve as I researched into colours that are seen as noble and majestic and mauve was the most popular colour for both of the words. 

Figure 1 was the first experiment of seeing my typeface in context and I decided I wanted to do something a little bit different with it. As majestic is seen as beauty and delicacy as well as noble I decided to develop the design in Figure 1 by getting it drawn by the Vinyl cutter so that it gave it a delicate feel. To be able to get the design drawn I had to change the settings of the design and give it a tight scribble using Adobe Illustrator as you can see in Figure 3. I think that the result the Vinyl cutter had given worked well, however the use of a pen did result in some gaps throughout the design. Although this was not what I was hoping for I do think that it added to the delicacy of the design. 

Final design

After I had finished drawing the designs I scanned them in and started to edit them to create my final typeface design. I used slants at the top of the stems of some of the letters and cut outs in other letters. I also incorporated the use of curves and pinches in the lettering to make the letters look representative of my chosen word, majestic. Once I had feedback I was told that the typeface I created was representative of the word majestic and that I had created a typeface that did respond to the brief we were given. If I were to do this again in the future I would experiment with creating designs for numbers and punctuation too. 

Development of Final Designs

After my first critical analysis I had decided that the best way to respond to the brief would be to strip back on the detail and create a rule that would feature across all of the letters within the alphabet. I still used features of medieval writing but only used certain aspects which I had looked into the most during my research. I used slants at the top of the stems of some of the letters and cut outs in other letters. I also incorporated the use of curves and pinches in the lettering to make the letters look representative of my chosen word, majestic. After I had finished drawing the designs I scanned them in and started to edit them to create my final typeface design.

Medieval Writing Features

I analysed the different features that are present in medieval writing so that I could experiment with them and see which ones I would make present in my typeface. The techniques that are used with in medieval writing are extremely noble and majestic which is why they are interesting features to experiment with for my typeface that should be representative of my chosen word.

Further Design Development and Final Critical Analysis

I developed the designs further after more thorough research into medieval writing and tried to mix the shape of Helvetica with the grand and patterned designs of medieval typography. Members of the group in the critical analysis thought that the letter were pretty and liked the use of the medieval writing but thought that the letters were maybe a little over the top. It was suggested to me that I should strip back the designs and make a few rules that I can stick to across the designs meaning that I can still include medieval writing aspects but in a more controlled way. This would allow me to create a typeface that looked majestic and noble but also showed consistency across all of the letters making it seem professional and usable. I therefore decided that the best way to respond to the brief would be to strip back on the detail. I could update the features that are used within medieval writing and create a typeface that is more modern but hopefully still possesses noble and majestic aspects. 

Medieval Writing Research

Medieval writing was created using many different tools, such as a reed pen and a feather. Medieval scribes used to work long hours and would tend to be young adults. Medieval writing possesses a lot of different characteristics and the type of writing has been described to be very noble as it is was mainly written for people who were more upper class or royal. I find this type of writing inspirations for my work as the aspects that are present within it are ones that I want to experiment with in my own work. Noble is one of the synonyms of the word majestic which therefore means that the use of these characteristics will fit into my work and mean that my designs will be representative of majestic being the word I have chosen.

Initial Designs

In response to the brief I initially looked at the letterforms of Helvetica and experimented with changing the design. After looking into the word majestic and finding out the different synonyms of the word I decided to experiment with making the ascenders and descenders longer to give the lettering a more of a noble and grand look about them. I also experimented with changing the weights across all of the letters making them seem more elegant and majestic. After experimenting with these feature and adding little serifs to some of designs also I decided I needed to more research to help me with my designs and ended up looking into medieval writing. This is because medieval writing was seen to be and has always been described as very noble so I therefore thought that it would be good to experiment with the feature present in that style of writing.

Chosen Rationale

Majestic:

This typeface is an adapted version of the typeface designed by Max Miedinger, Helvetica. It is clean and readable using a combination of long ascenders and descenders. It is based around the adjective majestic and possesses elements of the synonyms associated with majesty, such as noble and graceful. The features the are used within the letters are inspired by medieval writing. This typeface is typically used as a display font as it is can be used in a range of weights and sizes.

Group Idea Development

After being briefed and choosing our words we did a group task in the studio to help us all with the development of our ideas. The word that I had chosen was Majestic and therefore there was a lot of ideas on how I could make my work represent beauty and grace. After passing the sheet around my group and having people of other groups come and write down ideas I gained a lot of ideas to help me to start designing in response to the brief. To develop my ideas and start designing from here I will use the advice that I have been given and experiment with serifs and curves. I will also experiment with what makes the serifs look majestic and graceful and what doesn't work to represent my chosen word.

Rationales

Adjective: Majestic

Rationale 1:

This typeface is an adapted version of the typeface designed by Max Miedinger, Helvetica. It is clean and readable using a combination of long ascenders and descenders. It is based around the adjective majestic and possesses elements of the synonyms associated with majesty, such as noble and graceful. This typeface is typically used as a display font as it is can be used in a range of weights and sizes.

Rationale 2:

This typeface is an alteration of the typeface designed by John Baskerville, Baskerville. It is a Serif typeface and consists of long defenders and shorter ascenders. It will possess similar qualities to the typeface that it is altered from however will effectively represent the adjective majestic. It is elegant and flowing but clear to read. 

Adjective Research

majestic

Dictionary Definition:

məˈdʒɛstɪk/

adjective

adjective: majestic

1. having or showing impressive beauty or scale.

Synonyms:

august

awesome

ceremonious

cool

country

dignified

elevated

sublime

sumptuous

superb

exalted

fab

grand

grandiose

imperial

imposing

lofty

magnetic

magnificent

marvellous

mind-blowing

monumental

noble

out of thus world

pompous

regal

royal

smashing

sovereign

stately

stunning

noble

Dictionary Definition:

ˈnəʊb(ə)l/

adjective

adjective: noble; comparative adjective: nobler; superlative adjective: noblest

1. belonging by rank, title, or birth to the aristocracy.

"the medieval palace was once owned by a noble Florentine family"

2. having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles.

sublime

Dictionary Definition:

səˈblʌɪm/

adjective

adjective: sublime; comparative adjective: sublimer; superlative adjective: sublimest

1. of very great excellence or beauty.

2. (of a person's attitude or behaviour) extreme or unparalleled.

grand

Dictionary Definition:

ɡrand/

adjective

adjective: grand; comparative adjective: grander; superlative adjective: grandest

1. magnificent and imposing in appearance, size, or style.

2. denoting the largest or most important item of its kind.

royal

Dictionary Definition:

ˈrɔɪəl/

adjective

adjective: royal

1. having the status of a king or queen or a member of their family.

awesome

ˈɔːs(ə)m/

adjective

1. extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe.

   "the awesome power of the atomic bomb"

   synonyms:

   breathtaking, amazing, stunning, astounding, astonishing, awe-inspiring, stupendous, staggering, extraordinary, incredible, unbelievable; More

   • informal

     extremely good; excellent.

     "the band is truly awesome!"

marvellous

ˈmɑːv(ə)ləs/

adjective

adjective: marvelous

1. causing great wonder; extraordinary.

   "these marvellous technological toys are fun to play with"

   synonyms:

   amazing, astounding, astonishing, awesome, breathtaking, sensational, remarkable, spectacular, stupendous, staggering, stunning; More

   • extremely good or pleasing; splendid.

     "you have done a marvellous job"

     synonyms:

     excellent, splendid, wonderful, magnificent, superb, glorious, sublime, lovely, delightful, beautiful, too good to be true;

Mueller-Brockmanns Typefaces

Mueller-Brockmanns typefaces

Garamond

• Large counters in a and e letters horizontal crossbar
• Long ascenders and descenders
• Old style typeface
• Originally designed by Parisian Claude Garamond
• Small eye of 'e' and bowl of 'a' has a sharp hook upwards at the top left. 
• M is slightly splayed
• x-height is low
• Garamond is popular for printing body text and books

Baskerville

• Serif typeface
• Designed in 1757 bu John Baskerville
• Transitional typeface intended as a refinement of old style typefaces.
• Thick and thin strokes
• Sharp serifs
• Curved strokes that are circular in shape
• Popular in book design

Clarendon

• Slab serif typeface
• Created by Robert Besley
• Named after clarendon press in Oxford
• Published in 1845
• Registered under British Ornamental designs act of 1842
• Considered first registered typeface 
• Popular all over the world and associated with wanted posters used in American Old West.

Helvetica

• Widely used san serif typeface
• Developed in 1957
• Created by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with input from Eduard Hoffman.
• Neo-grotesque or realist design
• Influenced by 19th Century typeface - Akzidenz-Grotesk
• Became Hallmark of the International typographic style.
• One of the most popular typefaces of the 20th Century.
• Notable features = termination of all strokes on horizontal and vertical lines, tight kerning - dense, compact appearance. 
• Most neutral typeface
• Clarity, precision and objectivity.
• 
  

Times

• Serif Typeface
• Commissioned by the times newspaper in 1931
• Created by Victor Lardent
• Common in book and general printing
• Most widely used typeface in history
• Creation influenced by Stanley Morison of monotype
• Morison proposed Plantin typeface as a basis for the new design. Times was drawn by Victor Lardent and introduced on 03/10/1932.
• Short ascenders and descenders
• Sharp branched serifs 
• Oblique stress

Berthold

• Created by Hoffman
• Modern display font
• Straight terminals
• Soft font in comparison to fonts such as Helvetica.

Bodoni

• Extreme contrasts between tick and thin strokes.
• Subtly branched serifs.
• Descenders appear long in comparison to the x-height.
• M and W are narrow.
• R has a curved leg.
• Q has a low tail.
• C and G have vertical serifs.
• Display type.

Univers

• San serif typeface
• Designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1954
• Neo-grotesque 
• Based on the model of 1898 Akzidenz-Grotesk
• First typeface to form a family of consistent, similar designs in different weights.

Caslon

• Serif typeface
• Designed by William Caslon
• The A has a concave on the top left of the letter.
• Caslon is a very popular typeface
• It is used particularly for large bodies of text and books

Studio Brief 2

Studio Brief 2

Studio Brief 2 is to create a bespoke typeface based on one of Mueller-Brockmanns classic and lead typefaces that effectively communicates my chosen adjective.

The typefaces to choose from are:

Garamond
Caslon
Baskerville
Bodoni
Clarendon
Berthold
Times
Helvetica
Univers

We are to change the letter forms (individual shapes) to work together in many different combinations in a consistent and harmonious sequence.

My chosen adjective is Majestic. I chose this adjective because when I was looking at lists of adjectives to pick from it stood out to me and after looking up the dictionary definition I decided I could be quite creative with my designs.

Final Critical Analysis

Figure 1

Final Critical Analysis

For my final designs in response to the brief I decided to develop the designs which I had taken to the interim critical analysis and experiment with a different musical sign for one of the designs. The designs that were liked the most were the top and bottom designs of Figure 1. This is because they were the most simplistic of the designs but they flowed the best and weren’t too overcrowded in the same way that some of the others had began to look. The group in my critical analysis thought that the closer kerning worked the best and liked the ligature that I created in-between the 's' and the 't'. For further response to the brief I developed mock up designs using the two logos that were the favourites producing them in context as you can see in Figure 2 and 3. The photographs I have taken of string instruments now display the ‘fenestrate’ logos where they would be placed on each instrument. The logos would need to be visible and clear so that when someone is using their instrument it could be seen by the viewing audience where the instrument is from in order to promote the brand to other members of the target audience. It would also be placed on any packaging for the instruments so even when they are not being used the brand marketing can still be seen. My critical analysis group liked the use of the logo on the instruments however said to improve my work I could have looked at incorporating a mock up design of the logo on a shop face or business card.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Final 5 Designs

This design uses the 'f' shaped sound hole from a violin. I decided to use this because it is representative of the Fenestrate brand. I have also use century in lower case for all my designs as it allows the word to flow more in the same way that music flows.

I did this design using the same 'f' as I did in the first design however I have spread out the kerning and after the first crit I was told to explore making the other letter stand out in the same way that the 'F' does so I have tried to do that here.

This design is quite different from the rest, I decided to try using a musical note (treble clef) for the 's' instead of focusing on the 'f'. I chose this design as I think that changing the 's' creates a nice balance across the word.

I went back to using the 'f' from a violin as I think it created the most flowing look in the same way that music flows. For this design I kept the lines within the design to represent a stave (lines used on sheet music). I chose this design as I think the use of the stave means it really represents a music brand and I coloured in the e's and a's to attempt to give the look of music notes.

My final design is very similar to my first one however I chose it because I like the white on the black background. I also added a ligature to the design with the 's' and 't' to give a slight representation of a musical note.