Studio Brief 2 - class critique

Two initial ideas 

idea 1 - create a typeface that flows similar to univers, in a uniform and stable manner
idea 2 - Heavily alter and experiment with serifs to create a formal, yet relaxing typeface.

questions for class critique
1 - do you think univers is a suitable typeface for my word? - if not please suggest a better typeface
2 - would manipulation of the serif be suitable?
3 - in terms of height and weight of characters what would you change?

answers
Univers is a good typeface - maybe experiment with Berthold or Helvetica. To me 'tranquil' flows - try joining up the letters - like flowing water or try joining up letters via serifs?
constant weight and height throughout - idea of flowing/neutrality.

I feel that Univers portrays tranquility when the typeface is used, quite minimalistic, even and calm. I'd have thought that tranquility would look best in a simple sons serif font, maybe with more loose kerning than usual the word would look more calm and ambient. Quite thin width, but ordinary, not too thin or too thick. Also experiment with slightly enhanced height.

Experiment with both Univers and Berthold in your work if you want to create a more obvious link with tranquility and calmness. If not you could try using a typeface that reflects the opposite - one that isn't even but manipulate it so that it is and flows better than its original.
Keep the height and weight of the letter forms uniform.

Studio Brief 2 - Initial Ideas

To start off the project, several sketches were produced from tracing over the letters from Univers and Berthold, to see how different the two typeface were. These subtle differences included; width of the letter forms, slight difference in terminals and spurs and height of the tittles. By tracing and resizing the letterforms it made it easier to determine what looked better in terms of manipulation.

Through resizing and altering the height and weight of the letters, it would become more apparent which manipulations would relate to the ideas surrounding 'tranquility'. For example, adding height to the letters made them feel too 'stiff' and elongated. Where as, when the weight and width of the letters in both typefaces were changed it showed a more 'relaxed' and 'comfortable' look to them.

After finding that the letters work better when they were more relaxed, I began looking for ways to make the typeface 'flow' without joining the letters close together. Here you can see that by adding serif-like joins, the letters almost look as though they are pointing in a direction. From here, I needed to see whether this technique might work within a full, close kerning alphabet to understand whether it would flow in a relaxed but uniform manner.

Studio Brief 2 - Chosen Adjective

Chosen Adjective

Tranquil - 'free from disturbance; calm'
key words: restful, relaxed, carefree, quiet, soothing, undisturbed.

After finding out about the Univers typeface I decided to use the adjective 'tranquil' as the starting point for my typeface. I chose tranquil because it meant creating a typeface that would show ease and relaxation throughout. In this way, Univers was the closest of the 8 typefaces that communicates ideas of relaxation, calmness and flowing forms. As this typeface will be a starting point for influence of my designs, it will mean that letters included in my alphabet will not be heavily manipulated and will remain uniform in a sequence that flows. In terms of manipulation however, I may decide that changing the height and width of these characters will be necessary for a full alphabet.

Studio Brief 2 - Josef Muller-Brockmann typefaces

Josef Muller-Brockmann was a Swiss designer whose work was heavily influenced by ideas from the Bauhaus, Suprematism, Constructivism and many other art movements. He is one of the most recognisable names among Swiss designers and became an influential figure, most notably for his designs of the Zurich Town Hall theatre posters. He also wrote books that would provide in-depth analysis of his study, and inform new designers about the 'ins and outs' of the practice. These included 'Grid Systems in Graphic Design' and 'The Graphic Artist and His Problems'.

Josef Muller-Brockmann typefaces

Helvetica
Helvetica is one of the worlds most successful typefaces which was founded in 1957 at the Haas type foundry in Munchenstein, Switzerland. The typeface was originally called "Neue Haas Grotesk" but was later changed to Helvetica, meaning Switzerland in Latin. Helvetica was created by Swiss designers Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. When looking at the alphabet in Helvetica we can immediately see that all the letters run uniform to one another in a fixed, neutral sequence. What makes this typeface so special is the fact that it can be so widely used for different scenarios and it communicates an array of different approaches when used by companies. When thinking about keeping your designs simple yet effective, Helvetica would be the go to typeface to use, especially to make your ideas and intentions known to the audience in an approachable way.

Caslon
Caslon was created by William Caslon originally in 1725, then again by Carol Twombly in 1990. Originally created in the old-style serif letter design, Caslon displays striking serif text with subtle manipulations such as the indentation at the top left corner of the 'A'. These subtle changes in Caslon are what make the text look varied and disruptive in its sequence. Because of this, my initial impressions of this typeface are that it is quite menacing and serious.

Baskerville
Baskerville was created by John Baskerville in 1757 and cut by John Handy at the Mergenthaler Linotype Company. This is a stylish, serif typeface that stands out among many as one of the most influential.

Univers
Univers is a sans-serif typeface designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1953, which was later commisioned and manufactured in 1957 by Deberny and Peignot. This was one of the first typefaces to form a family of similar designs in a consistent sequence, making it one of the most influential typefaces to date. Instead of geometric forms, Univers displays optically even stroke weights and is often large in X-height making it a bold, stand out typeface. In this way, the typeface works well for both large text and small text as it is easily legible.

Berthold
Herman Berthold founded The H. Berthold type foundry in 1858 in Berlin. After world war II, Berthold developed typesetting equipment in the 1950s, then phototypesetting machines in the 1960s and the Diatronic, a keyboard-controlled phototypesetter for mass production after that. The Berthold typeface itself, has similar characteristics to that of Univers in the way that it also a sans-serif typeface and has similar sized letters, particularly through the uppercase alphabet. Some of the subtle differences in the two typefaces are; the extended height of the tittle on the 'i' and the 'j' in Berthold, the counter space is slightly rounder in Berthold and the curved descender on the lower case 'y' in Berthold.

Garamond
This typeface originates from 1495, when it was created by Claude Garamond and initially used in punch cutting. Christoph Plantin obtained the Garamond punches after the death of Garamond in 1561. In 1621, french printer Jean Jannon produced a specimen of typefaces that show similar characteristics to designs created by Garamond 60 years prior. These designs then disappeared from use for about 200 years until they were rediscovered in the French National Printing Office in 1825. During the early 1900s the types made by Jannon were used to produce a history of printing in France. This wide range is is what brought exposure to the french typographic style and the Garamond types. Italics for Garamond have sometimes been based on those cut by Robert Granjon.

Clarendon
Created by Robert Beasley in 1845, this popular slab-serif typeface was made for the Fann Street Foundry. This 19th century typeface showcases a significant development from the then popular slab-serif Antiques and Egyptian. It is also known as one of the first typefaces to emphasise bold text within writing.

Times
Supervised by Stanley Morison, a new type design was created for The Times Of London in 1931, to replace the old type design used for the body copy of the paper. As Times was to be an updated version of 'Plantin' typeface, it was to be used by Morison during the design stages as a starting point when creating it. To this day, Times is a very popular typeface that can be used in a wide range of contexts, which includes, magazines, newspapers, books and websites. As a serif typeface, Times is probably the most used typeface of all time and is most recognisable because of this.

Bodoni
Bodoni is a serif typeface developed from the ideas of designer John Baskerville. Its an easily recognisable Romantic typeface with vertical stress and slightly bracketed serifs and a popular typeface among fashion labels for its formal look. e.g. Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Elizabeth Arden. It is also frequently used in fashion magazines and websites.

Logotype - Evaluation

Studio Brief 1 - Evaluation

Looking back at studio brief 1, there is a clear difference in the intentions from the start of the project and the finished outcome at the end of the project. This was because several stages of the project, including group critique sessions, ultimately influenced and challenged the approach to the brief and the direction to go in. 

From the initial ideas stage, I was sceptical about what sort of company my ideas would be applied to. However, after my first group critique, I had a wider range of contexts that peers thought the work would be best suited for. This gave me more confidence in how my work can relate to a situation and how it can reflect the interests of a business when turned into a logotype.

From this, I now have a way of structuring my research and initial idea stages during the process, which can prove useful for future work.

In terms of how the work was presented, I think that showing the word ‘diffidence’ in a range of different versions of the typeface, gave people a varied choice of which ones they thought would work best. Using graph paper to structure the letters also proved successful as it gave a more accurate representation of the word’s features and how I might go about manipulating them.

The overall outcome of this project showed one direction that the logotype went in and how I created the 5 final logotypes from it. However, I think it could have been improved further by trying another approach, contrasting some ideas to see what the result of this would be or how it could influence the 5 logotypes further. 

Logotype - Final design feedback and response

After receiving feedback in the group critique I found that the vast majority of people had similar opinions to me, in terms of what I believe had been my most successful and what I believe could have been improved. Many people say that the design with short letters and the widest kerning made the most impact as a logotype. This was because it combined elements from my development stage, and communicated the intentions of my word through the branding of the company. In terms of what could have been improved, I think that the italics logotype could have been revisited and altered more so that the letters would run uniform to one another. This way I may have brought about new ideas that could be beneficial to all my designs.

Helvetica

By watching the Helvetica documentary my aims will be to see how graphic designers use the typeface, their opinions of it and how it is used in the modern world. Through doing this I will be able to gather a clear understanding of the typeface and why it has become so universally successful.

Key points from Helvetica

• "typeface portrays moods, colours and feelings''
• Massimo Vignelli says Helvetica is a timeless typeface that shouldn't be messed with or manipulated in any way.
• "Spacing between and behind letters is what gives it most importance''
• ''American Airlines have used Helvetica for more than 40 years without re-branding"says Vignelli.
• Helvetica was seen as a revolutionary typeface after world war 2 because it replaced the early 50's styles that where used frequently in advertisement.
• Helvetica was created in the Haas Type Foundry in 1957 in Munchenstein, Switzerland.
• Helvetica means "The Swiss Typeface"
• Theres a sense of neutralness in the typeface which makes it so unique, as well as a look of transparency, comfortability and efficiency.
• "Theres a perfect balance between push and pull with Helvetica"
• When using typeface you shouldn't confuse legibility with communication.
• The idea about Helvetica becoming a univeral typeface has benefits and negatives as it develops over time.

Logo types that use Helvetica

American Airlines

American Apparel

Target

Energizer

Oral B

American Airlines

When looking at the old typeface for American Airlines my first reaction was to think about why the company chose to use the colours they have in this design. Personally, the colours in this logotype make me think about the American flag and the similarities they have. Another thing that I think about is how the colours seem almost like opposites of one another, which could symbolise the movement of going from one place to another. This would be appropriate for a company such as this because it is promoting airline travel.

After American airlines came out of bankruptcy the best idea was to rebrand the company so that it was almost as if it had created a new company after beginning a new start. 

 When comparing the two logotypes we can see that the biggest difference is the eagle logo has been dramatically changed and situated at the end of the type rather than above it. In terms of the type itself, there is a clear distinction between the kerning used in the old logotype and the kerning used in the new logotype. The old logotype preferred the use of close kerning where as the new logotype has used more evenly situated letters which to me makes the text look more uniform. I think the designers reason for this would be because the text in the new design has become the focus point of the design unlike the old logo which focused on the 'AA' and the eagle symbol. The text used in the old logo also looks as though it has been placed according to the size of the logo above it, making it the second most important part of the design to me.

Energizer

My first impression when looking at the logotype for Energizer was that the Helvetica typeface has been used in Italics which instantly gave me the impression the designer was trying to mimic movements. It also made me think about the advertisements for Energizer that are shown on TV, which promote the company as having the longest lasting batteries and as an outstanding seller in the market. This reflects the use of italics, which are used to make text 'stand out'. In terms of the colour used in the Energizer logotype, the designer has limited these to just four colours. The use of the black background with white text allows the logo to be used on a range of surfaces, whether it be the batteries themselves or an advertising billboard. The red and yellow stripe under the text almost acts as a baseline for the text to flow across. Using italics above this red and yellow line makes the text look as though it is conveying quick movements from one point to another. If I didn't know the brand I would probably guess that it was advertising an energy drink or some form of electrical appliance because of the similarities the logotype has with these types of companies, all of which illustrate movement and 'high energy performance'.

Oral-B

When looking at the Oral-B logotypes we can see that the text used within the design hasn't been changed and the colour has also stayed the same. By keeping this form, the designer has been able to maintain its recognition as a leading brand in the dental health market place. In terms of the colours that have been used in both the designs I feel they reflect an image of cleanliness, hygiene and brightness, all of which are appropriate for a company that is primarily promoting these features. Having used white above a blue background the logotype is able to reflect the image of clean teeth and toothpaste. Similar to this many other brands use similar colour schemes to reflect the ideas of cleanliness, including the toothpaste itself which tends to use the colours blue, red and white.

Logotype Final Designs

After receiving feedback from the class critique I was able to start creating my 5 final designs that would respond to the suggested ideas, and furthermore become more effective when put into context.

The ideas that I would be using for the final stage of the project were; to alternate the serifs used on the typeface so they would look more "friendly", to consider wider kerning and to think about how the start and end letters in the logotype would look when finalised.


I chose this design as the first of my 5 final pieces because I think it work most successfully during the development stage of my project and received the most positive feedback when in group critique. It also helped me to gather new ideas from it, such as the use of the 'D' and 'E' overlooking the middle of the word in a way that communicated 'sheltering'.

Here you can see I created the logotype from the idea of having serifs on just one half of the letters, so that the text would appear more approachable and friendly.



I then created an alternative version of this logotype, in which I left the start and end letters with all their serifs so that the idea of 'sheltering' would be more exaggerated.



I also responded to a few suggestions that I should look at creating one of the logotypes using italics, which hadn't previously worked out as well as this. However, when looking at this logotype we can see there is slight angle differences in each letter which makes the word look almost mixed up. I included this piece because I would like to receive further feedback on whether it works effectively or not.



Finally, I chose to include this logotype, which overall is my favourite because the kerning looks a lot more comfortable than the other designs and the subtle change in the middle letter 'D' has worked well in accordance to the other letters that have been flipped on an angle. Once I receive feedback in my final group critique I will then find out which of my 5 logotypes has been the most effective and what changes could have been made during my process.

Logotype - Class Critique

Questions for class to respond to 

1. Do you think the kerning in my work is suitable for the company I am Rebranding?
2. Is the Typeface suitable for my word?

answers

• 1.) yes, the typeface suits the theme of togetherness. 2.) no, too formal, needs to be more relaxing.
• 1.) The kerning doesn't look comfortable. 2.) yes

• 1.) Yes, it shows plenty of appropriate spacing. 2.) Yes, it looks professional

• Has a professional look and suggests you would get an expert service. It looks like an established firm, However it needs a more approachable feel. Perhaps emphasise the curved serifs more and reduce the kerning between 'c' and 'e'.
• professional but not approachable.

• Looks professional, but maybe needs to be a bit more friendly. I like the slight italics because they looks professional.
• The typeface suits it but I think the overall look should be more welcoming. Could experiment more with the kerning or colours.
• If you're going for a counselling company, I think you should try to make Bodoni a little more friendly by altering it slightly, also perhaps try and space the kerning.
• I like how you've altered the 'D' and the 'E', works well with the idea of togetherness

From this I will be able to finalise my ideas and select 5 logotypes that I believe have worked most effectively. From looking at this feedback, I know that I may need to look back at other typefaces that could ultimately influence the one I am now using, as several responses to my work suggest the typeface could be too formal and in fact may have worked better in a different typeface all together. In terms of the serifs I have used I may have to look at ways to create a more friendly approach in my designs, as some people say they are not welcoming enough. One idea I came up with after receiving the feedback would be to try the word with serifs on just one half of each letter. For example, I could leave the serifs at the baseline of each letter and take away the x-height serifs and see what difference it will make on my work.

Logotype - Logo development

Following on from my most recent sketches and after receiving feedback during the group critique, I began applying new ideas to my development work. This included, looking at new serifs that may work on my word and playing around with the kerning again.

• Here I went back to using a uniform structure of the letters so that I could see whether the kerning would look to be effected by this change. However, this did not make much of a difference as it made both the 'D's in the word looked more exaggerated.
• I also responded to feedback that some of the letters appeared to be 'too formal' in the word. One way that I tackled this issue was by using unbracketed serifs that were shortened and rounded at the ends, giving a more subtle and friendly impression.

• Here you can see that I have practiced the idea given to me at the group critique about making the letters turn opposite directions to one another. I think that by doing this to the letters at the start and the end make the letters look as if they are 'guiding' or 'sheltering' the middle of the word.

• I then created this sketch which demonstrates how I combined my two previous ideas into one.
• This way I can see if my logotype will appeal to more people in the next group critique.

Illustrator developments

I also began applying my ideas in illustrator edits of my word for more accurate representations of my intended company.

• I started by applying this idea to the most successful sketch from the initial ideas stage, which was originally a sketch done in Bodoni Italics. However, after the critique I found that it would be best to construct the ideas in Bodoni Book.

• Here I tried to make my logotype based on the suggestion to alternate the direction of the letters. As the previous designs showed the start and end letters facing inwards, I decided to try and use all letters facing inwards, leaving the middle letter in Bodoni Book. I feel that this development didn't work as well as I had hoped, but I will still try to make another final piece that uses italics like this one.

Logotype - initial ideas / sketches feedback

After presenting my ideas to the group I found that the vast majority agreed with the general direction in which I was taking my project.

Ideas for a company

• One person said that the idea of using a counselling or therapist company was a stronger idea than yoga, because it would suit the typeface style that I was going for more than the others.
• They advised me to look mostly into the typeface that show formality and professionalism. For example, Times, Garamond and Bodoni.
• Overall, Bodoni was favoured as the best typeface to use for my word.

Sketches feedback

• They liked the idea that the letters were mostly presented in a formal and uniform manner which made the brand look professional.
• One idea to play around with more could be the direction in which the letters are facing and whether splitting the word up would help to bring about new approaches.
• could also consider creating a small logo consisting of the initials of the word. For example, for diffidence it could be 'DE'.

In response to this feedback, I feel like my company branding is starting to take more direction and meaning. I now know from second hand experience what effects the letterforms and structure has on others who look at the word. This will help me to form a more effective and professional feel to my logotype during development.

Logotype - Sketches

To start creating my logotype design, I began by sketching several variations of my word, so that I could see for myself what would work best for the company and I could receive constructive criticism from peers to help me choose the most appropriate solutions.

The first thing I chose to do was to type the word 'diffidence' in uppercase 'Bodoni Book' so I could get a rough idea about the formality of the word when put together. This meant using the same kerning and serifs to the original, before hand so that I would be able to see what will need manipulating in a later stage.

Next, I sketched a few ideas for the text in Bodoni Book Italic and in Bodoni Bold to see how they might look compared to the simplistic, original type. I maintained the same kerning throughout these first sketches and made subtle changes to the serifs.

• From this first edit in italics I decided to look at how the serifs could be shortened and the text could be widened but maintaining the same kerning.
• To do this I reverted back to Bodoni Book when sketching. This way I could see the best way too improve the size.
• I also made the capital 'D' at the start of the word slightly heightened compared to the rest so that I can see whether or not to consider making some letters bigger than others.

• After playing around with the size of the first letter and width, I started looking at whether these changes could all be added together.
• I decided to make the first and last letter of the word exceed the X height and go below the baseline. 
• As you can see I have also tried using italics in the middle while the letters at the beginning and end are in Bodoni Book.
• However, I feel that changing the middle of the word drastically in this way has conveyed the wrong ideas as I want my word to promote togetherness rather than being separated. 

• To improve these ideas I will develop them further by experimenting more with width and height of the start and end letters, as well as how I can adapt the serifs to suit the structure of the word.

  

Logotype - Initial ideas

My starting point for initial ideas was to first look into the typefaces that I believed would be most relevant to my company. In this case Bodoni and Garamond were the more formal typeface of the six to choose from, however I also looked at using Futura to see whether a bold and neutral typeface such as this could also work.

Bodoni - Giamattista Bodoni 1740 - 1813

• Bodoni is a series of serif characters from the ideas of John Baskerville, as found in the printing type Baskerville.
• Its an easily recognisable Romantic typeface with vertical stress and slightly bracketed serifs.
• Popular typeface among fashion labels for its formal look. e.g. Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Elizabeth Arden. It is also frequently used in fashion magazines.

Garamond
This typeface originates from 1495, when it was created by Claude Garamond and initially used in punch cutting. Christoph Plantin obtained the Garamond punches after the death of Garamond in 1561. In 1621, french printer Jean Jannon produced a specimen of typefaces that show similar characteristics to designs created by Garamond 60 years prior. These designs then disappeared from use for about 200 years until they were rediscovered in the French National Printing Office in 1825. During the early 1900s the types made by Jannon were used to produce a history of printing in France. This wide range is what brought exposure to the french typographic style and the Garamond types. Italics for Garamond have sometimes been based on those cut by Robert Granjon.

Futura

Paul Renner, a german type designer first created Futura between 1924 and 1926. He shared many views with members of the Bauhaus, including the idea that modern typefaces shouldn't just be a revival of previous designs. Instead, it should be express new and innovative modern ideas. Commissioned by the Bauer type foundry, Futura was commercially released in 1927.

I particularly like how Futura effects the appearance of forwardness and efficiency, while making use of basic geometric proportions without frills or serifs. After researching about Futura and its intentions it made me think about the idea of 'forwardness' because companies such as therapists and counselling are designed to help people move 'forward' in their lives. 

Logotype - Companies

After finding out the meaning of diffidence, I started to look at potential companies that would help with dealing with the issue of shyness, self-doubt and distrust. My initial searches included: fitness centres, spas, yoga classes and therapists.

fitness centre
When searching for typefaces used by fitness centres/gyms I found that many of them used close kerning, bold text and they shared similarities with 'Futura'. The reasons for this could be because the companies are trying to communicate the idea of 'getting bigger' or stronger, and through the use of typefaces similar to Futura they communicate this well as a bold typeface with limited serifs makes the company seem less formal and more inviting to its intended audience.

Spas
When looking at the typefaces suited for spas, I found that not very many of them related closely to any of Vignelli's six typefaces. This was because businesses of this type were using typefaces that reflected Asian traditions, which meant the use of handwritten text or words from other languages.
In terms of practicality, I think that my design would be best suited for something more formal rather than something that shows similarities with handwritten typefaces.





Yoga classes

From looking at the typeface used for yoga companies we can see that the preferred typeface of choice would be close to Helvetica or Futura as they are simple and neutral in form. This works well for this particular type of company as its aim is to set a tone of calmness and relaxation for the intended audience. Although these may communicate friendly and welcoming features, I still don't believe this form of typeface would work best for my company, as my intended audience would be  middle aged people and the company itself would be high end meaning it will need to look more formal. However, one thing I may consider for my development would be the use of different fonts through my company name similar to how the yoga brands have done.

Therapist




Here are several examples of typefaces used on therapists businesses that are of a middle to high standard. We can see that in terms of the lettering a formal approach has been taken, and through the light use of serifs they have communicated a friendly and approachable feel that also looks professional. I think that using a therapist company for my word would be best suited, especially if I were to choose a typeface such as Bodoni or Garamond. One thing that could be experimented would be the use of italics as the fonts used here are either in the original form or in bold.

Kerndown

Kerning Branding and Grids

Grids - Rationalism
"It provides consistency, it gives an orderly look and it projects a level of intellectual elegance that we like to express.'' - Massimo Vignelli.

One example of a grid system used in popular art is Da Vinci's 'The Vitruvian Man'.

Albrecht Durer attempted to define the perfect grid system by adding a geometric grid system to each letter of the alphabet. Johann Neudorffer also used a geometric grid system to construct his typeface in 1660.

The Golden Ratio
The golden ratio devices a line into two parts relating to each other at approximately 1:1.618. When 360 degrees is divided by the golden ratio, the golden angle is revealed at 137.5 degrees. The pattern created by this angle is repeated throughout nature. Recognisable examples of this occurs on sun flowers, through the illustrations of Luca Pacioli in De Devina Proportione and on the former logotype of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kerning
Kerning is the spacing between letter forms. How you construct a typeface will depend on the way you use kerning to evenly space letters from one another. Through the use of kerning we can determine legibility and meaning.

Studio group task
'Using up to 5 letters, create a logotype that represents the company types given to you'

1. A luxury car brand - Although our group decided to use close kerning, the feedback was that many others preferred to use widely spaced letters in their words. One example of wide kerning in luxury car brands would be on the Range Rover logotype.

2. A budget food brand - Again we chose to do close kerning, however generally budget food brands were considered moderately spaced out in terms of kerning.

3. A condom company - The idea was to present something that would look safe and trustworthy to the consumer, so we chose to use moderately spaced letters.

4. Indie bands - Indie bands tend to use quirky lettering on their album covers, so we decided to use the baseline of our word to separate the height of the letters in an unusual manner.

5. I.T. company - With the I.T. company we wanted to communicate the idea of connectivity so we used two capital letters that weren't too close together and not too far apart.