Typefaces
In this project we explore type by combining previously explored concepts like Gestalt principles, scale, and depth with text-centered variables like colour, kerning, and weight.
We first conduct an initial exploration into the power of fonts to affect meaning, and then look at effective layouts. This would guide us as we create a type specimen poster, where we showcase the idiosyncrasies and versatilities of a typeface.
Initial Exploration
We want to first explore the effects we get by using different fonts (holding all else constant), and whether/how it can support the meaning of the word.
For example, we take the word “supreme” in a few different typefaces:
Each of the five instances confers different connotations.
When I see “supreme” in the 필기체 Regular font, I think of royalty, specifically the Queen of England. There is an elegance tied to power, and the stability of the letters carry weight as well.
Similarly, the weight and serif of the Luminari font connect to power and stature, but this time, a more masculine boldness.
These contrast with the 나눔손글씨 펜 font, which remind me of schoolchildren’s worksheets. This completely invalidates the denotation of “supreme”, so this is not a complementary pairing.
The Trajan Color font reminds me of the History Channel. Pairing this with “supreme” evokes senses of military conquest and aggression.
Again, this contrasts with the last one, with the PT Sans Narrow font. The smaller width of each letter, coupled with the rounder sans serif styling, makes the word feel softer. However, the shape of each letter lends an elegance and nobility, perhaps even class.
Typographic Hierarchy
How can we promote readability and chunking with type choices? We play with a sample flyer and restrict ourselves to the Helvetica Neue family to focus on variations in weight, alignment, line spacing, and font size.
Typographic weights
The second is more effective than the first at presenting the schedule of events. While the first has more variation, the lack of consistency prevents us from easily chunking the information and digesting the main topics of each session. In addition, the higher contrast in the second example with the bold session titles helps us parse the middle block of text more easily.
Horizontal shifts and line spacing
The second example here is also more effective. In the first example we see the session titles clearly, but they are not tied with the speaker or time. This is annoying because we need to know these details to understand an event wholly. Both, however, are easy to read because everything is spaced out, with event details separate from the overall series title and the address.
Line spacing
The left design is a lot more readable because we separate each event into its own block. In addition, the version on the right puts the last session name with the address, and then the city with the admission. This is very confusing, because the address should stay together as one piece of information.
Overall, this plays with the predictability of the information, which lends much insight into the effectiveness of the layout.
Size change and typographic weight
In the left version, we have a huge focus on the time and speaker of each seminar, which is not the focus in learning about a seminar series. On the other hand, the version on the right has a much more strongly defined hierarchy of the overarching series, then a predictable ordering of each seminar. The time and location are also clearly marked by a bolder weight, which helps the reader digest the information more quickly.
The right version is therefore more effective than the more monotonous and counterintuitive version on the left.
Creating a Type Specimen Poster
After exploring these, we dive deeper into one font, specifically Avenir.
Typeface History
As adapted from Wikipedia:
The word avenir is French for “future”. Indeed, the family is inspired by the geometric sans-serif style developed in the 1920s based on the circle, such as Futura. Avenir is more organic, more even in colour and more suitable for extended text, with details recalling more traditional typefaces such as the ‘o’ that is not a perfect circle but optically corrected.
We consider the relationship between French arts and impressionism (e.g. Debussy, Monet) in our understanding of Avenir.
In addition, we note that the designer, Adrian Frutiger, was extremely invested in this font family and considered it to be “the better Futura” and his greatest work. It is evident that his personality is “stamped” on it, and we see a huge emphasis on human nature in the organic design.
Perhaps most unique about this font family is that the strokes are thicker than the average weight. Indeed, this is intentional: Frutiger wanted this font to be usable in all contexts, and in particular, white text on black backgrounds should feel the same as black text on white backgrounds.
Initial Sketches
Some initial comments suggested that I not only consider the “geometric” basis for the font, but also work more with the “future” aspect (related to outer space and stars) and perhaps even try to incorporate colour to manifest more depth and dimensionality.
Indeed, I digitised a revised version of the second, third, and fourth designs:
Of course, the text blocks in general are too dense and needed to be reduced.
And, in the second design (first digitisation), the characters in the background (a la stars) were not added yet. Aside from that, it did not use the available space effectively, nor was there perceptible depth and substance in the figure. To both reduce the emptiness of the design and adequately present the futuristic and versatile character of the font, white text on a black background was suggested.
The third design was interesting in terms of scale and showcasing some of the visual aspects of the font, but much was still possible to improve the cohesion and consistency of the design. For example, the designer’s surname could be aligned with the first name and the font name. In addition, I could add something to reduce the awkward white space between the central figure and the descriptive text box.
Perhaps this last digitisation was most put together. The primary concern here was the density of the text box, which needed to be cut anyway. Also, the overlaid grey and black were interesting conceptually, but the execution could have been more effective. For example, I could have used the capital letters in the back to showcase both the forms of lowercase and capital letters. Otherwise, as we see here, the lowercase forms of the “n”, “i”, and “r” are reduced to their stems.
Iterations on second design, first digitisation — Final Poster
The first iteration brings out the thickness and versatility of the font: regardless of the background colour, the letters are substantial and clearly legible. In addition, the varied scale of the letters creates a comet-like figure that is easy to follow. The upward curve formed by the letters creates also motion that implies growth.
With the concept validated, I added all elements necessary to the poster, including the full character set, year of typeface creation, designer name, and a brief background for the typeface. This design showcased most clearly the versatility of the font through having the background text be half white-on-black and half black-on-white.
This design was also the focus of comments from my peers, who suggested I add more of the character set in the background and create a clearer pattern. They also thought this design most adequately represented the typeface and had the most well-defined hierarchy (especially with the large, cut-off “A” bringing it to the front). In addition, I was also advised to consider improving legibility by moving the text box entirely to the black background and also making sure the text wrapping is natural and minimises hyphenation.
Further discussion with my instructors clarified the possibilities I had with exploring a “pattern” with my character sets in particular. In particular, I could play with the weight, scale, and density of the character set in the background so that the cloud of stars originates from the “A” and fades away. In addition, the “A” by itself is very simple. I could use other elements in the poster (in this case the year of creation and the designer’s name) to make the letter seem rounder and three-dimensional. This would generate depth and emphasise the dimensionality of the piece.
This led to my final layout, where I considered adding color. I first considered a shade or gradient of blue, which would have provided the modern/futuristic feel associated with space travel and intergalactic exploration. However, I soon realised that it would be truer to the designer’s connection with the typeface and the organic, visually corrected design to emphasise human nature with a warm, vibrant shade of orange. I created a slight gradient, with the letters gradually getting fainter. This was very effective, because not only did we have a clear focus on the font name from afar, but as we get closer, the brightness of the designer’s name helped emphasise it, helping us show how connected the designer was to his creation.
With this final design, a few suggestions came in to better align the designer’s name with the “A”, to fill the space below the “A” (perhaps using the 1988), and also consider a different colour — perhaps the vibrance/warmth of the orange clashes too much with the futuristic mood.
Iterations on second digitisation
With this design, I worked to make the elements more cohesive and consistent, including the alignment mentioned earlier for the designer’s name, the stem of the “a”, and the rotated “-venir”. Instead of focusing on the humanity of the typeface, then, I worked to emphasise the versatility and geometric nuances of the characters in an organised yet playful layout. For example, the year of creation is written in italicised letters, as opposed to numbers. Also, this was effective, as was the design discussed earlier, in its use of scale.
I also experimented with a more “random” placement of the font name and designer name, which may be interesting to pursue further. However, as it stands, this concept is not successful in showcasing all of the ideas and history behind the typeface.
Iterations on third digitisation
With this more structured approach, there was little flexibility. I decided to work with the alignment and placement of the columns, as my peers also suggested, and the effect of having the lowercase font name overlaid on top of the capital font name in grey.
In particular, I tried to work with their distance from the edge of the artboard and also their scale relative to each other.
While this was a very clear demonstration of the typeface, this had the least character and weakest depiction of what the designer intended, regardless of my adjustments.
If I were to refine this further, I was recommended to work with the diagonal from the upper left to the bottom right, which would create a continuous flow and tie in each of the columns.
