These are my final outcomes for the typography tour poster. Overall I think they are very successful and are strong designs. I feel that they fulfil the brief and also are suitable for the target audience, with the use of large, exciting typography. I really like the simplicity to my designs, as I feel it keeps the focus on the typography and doesn’t detract from the impact of the poster.
Whilst I think that the imagery is good, I feel that it could have been stronger, and had I explored this idea beforehand, I could’ve taken imagery specifically to fit this design. Also with a wider range of imagery I could’ve experimented with using more letters, creating a more posters in the series. However, I feel I have used my images well, and they still help to make this design work. I think I would have liked to have experimented with more ideas, or perhaps been more experimental with this idea, trying more radical processes and techniques.
So far I had only only seen my designs on screen. I figured that as I was designing a poster, which would become a printed product, it would be a good idea to print some of my designs to see how they work as a physical product. I found that the colours in the images were slightly more dull that onscreen, but still looked good. Also I can always enhance the colours using Photoshop if I feel the need to. I still really like these designs printed as well as onscreen, and I think they are still very successful. One thing that I found that I would change, and did not notice onscreen, was the size of the information. I thought the text was too big, and encroached too much on the negative space surrounding the large scale typography. I went back to my designs and tweaked the size and placement of the text to one that worked best, and allowed enough negative space to hold the large letters in.
After discussing my design with my tutor and looking back at how it worked, I though that the typography needed some adjustment. I think the large font for the word ‘Typographic’, makes it seem like a title and stops it flowing with the rest of the text. I didn’t feel that this would fit the brief, and so I began experimenting with variations. I used a larger font for the rest of the text, so help it read better and to make the first word stand out less and look less like a one word title. I think these variations are more successful, where the title reads as one, rather than breaking up. I think this works to the brief better and I will use one of these variations in my final designs.
After looking at examples with a more refined idea of styles I want to use, I started to develop some of my more successful ideas further. I started playing with very large scale typography, for example using this A the size of the full page. I used Times New Roman, one of the most common typefaces around; however at this scale I feel it gives a new life to the typeface, almost by showing it off. Taking inspiration from the obscurity task, I let some of the letter run off of the side of the poster, meaning that this will not be printed and so the letter will be cut off and create a slightly more abstracted feel. I think that this definitely appeals to the target audience, where text on this sort of scale would interest anybody with a passion for design and typography. Also, I think that by obscuring the letter slightly, this will add a slight sense of mystery and wonder to the poster, hopefully drawing in the audience more and attracting more attention.
Taking inspiration from my research into posters that use image within image/image within text, I started to introduce some of my imagery into the poster, using the Clipping Mask tool to hide it within the large scale typography. I experimented with different images of typography, altering the angle, saturation, opacity and even introducing more of the image in the background.
Eventually I found that the most successful image was this close up of a sign at Somerset House. The close up of the text allows for more to be seen through the letter. I also really like the way the image begins to move out of focus as it goes up. I quite like the neutral colours in the image, and I feel it creates a nice tone to the poster, although I wonder if maybe some brighter colours in the image would create a more exciting look.
After experimenting with the letter A, and considering there are 25 more letters in the alphabet, I thought it might be a good idea to create a series of posters, utilising different letters in each. In theory there could be a poster for each letter, but I only wanted to make a couple to fulfil the brief. However, to show how all 26 could be made, I created this grid, and used large scale typography to obscure the text again, showing how each letter could be best positioned if it were used in a poster of my design. This process has also helped me to see which letters would be more interesting than others, helping me to choose which to create another poster for next.
I chose to take the letter S forward into a finished poster. I really liked the way that the letter curves across the page and divides the poster up. I feel that this shows how different letters can, contrasting from the look of the A, where that has straight lines and sharp angles cutting through the empty space. However the S is soft and the curves seem to glide through the empty space. I decided to use a brighter image in the background of this poster, to contrast with the neutral greys in the other one. I love the shiny, elegant gold and the bold black in the image, and I think it stands out through the mask of the letter. Another reason for choosing this image was for the typography in it. I found that it follows the curves of the letter S quite nicely, and I thought that it would emphasise the shape of it, giving a more harmonious feel to the poster.
After getting a fairly solid design from this idea, I wanted to experiment with different variations on it. I decided to try inverting the white background and the image inside the typography. This almost looked as if the letters had been cut out of the image to create an area of negative space. I personally like to use a lot of negative space, which these designs seem to lack. I do quite like this idea, but I think that they are both quite crowded now, and I think the exciting typographic element is lost a little bit in these. I think that the other designs are more successful than these two; I prefer the simplicity to them.
The meaning of the words ‘font’ and ‘typeface’ are often mixed up, or completely unknown to a lot of people. I think its probably necessary for any designer to know this, although I was completely oblivious to the difference between them before it was actually explained to me.
A typeface refers to the design of a each individual letter and number, all following the same design principals. For example, Gills Sans is a typeface. The font then refers to all of the variations to that typeface, like the size and weight. For example bold, 12pt Gills Sans would be a different font to normal, 16pt Gills Sans. In class we experimented with type and using clipping masks to obscure it on Illustrator. I began by creating a grid with a fairly large gutter, and then using clipping masks to frame a glyph inside each box. Once I had got into it I began experimenting with it a little more, stretching letters across multiple boxes and inverting the colours which reverses the way the negative space affects the glyph. I think these pieces are successful and I really like this technique. This would work very well for something such as logo design. I love the simplicity of it, and I think it is something I will definitely incorporate into my own work at some point.
After playing with some loose ideas both on paper and digitally, I wanted to look at a more refined style of poster design. I decided to search Pinterest for inspiration as there is often a lot of interesting, sometimes unusual design approaches to be found there.
I decided to look at work that incorporated image within shapes or silhouettes. I thought that this idea could work well for my poster. I thought about using different letters to frame my imagery, meaning that I could bring the idea of using large scale letters forward. I was also struggling slightly to find a successful way to incorporate my imagery into the poster, and so this helps greatly to solve that problem.
Eventually I came across this design which uses a capital ‘A’ to frame a monochrome image behind it. I think this creates a very strong image and I think that this sort of idea would be successful for my brief. After playing around with ideas, looking at where I have come to, I think that this idea will fit very all and so I will take inspiration from this and experiment with it in my own designs. I think that the monochrome Image is very successful in blending the letter into the background, where the white of the image runs straight onto it, obscuring the outline of the A. This is also something I will consider playing with in my designs.
I began by sketching out some rough ideas that I had in my head to do with layout, concept and imagery. I found this helped as getting my ideas onto paper helps me to visualise them and also clears my head, allowing new ideas to develop and spin off from the original ones. After deciding on a few ideas that might work, I moved onto a Mac to begin experimenting digitally with them.
I started by mocking up a basic grid in the background of the poster so that I could line up the typography to make the design stronger and more organised. With this in place I started to experiment with rough layout ideas, looking at rules such as the Golden Section and playing with different fonts and sizes. I started playing with large examples of typography, using a large A as the main focus of the design. I feel that this would appeal to the target audience in theory, however I don’t think it is a very strong design and I was not sure how I could develop it to a successful outcome.
After looking at some different layout ideas I decided to experiment with adding text to the poster to see how I could incorporate it with the design. I again tried out a different layout, this time using some of my imagery to help divide the poster. I think that adding imagery to the poster helped to make it stronger, and I think that the typography here needs to be developed but I like the style I have used. However I am not too sure about the layout of the design, and I feel it isn’t as strong as it could be.
After first experimenting with the typography, I found that my grid was too open and didn’t have enough guidelines for the size of text that I’m using, and so I made another. I experimented with various setups until I found this one that worked for me and I personally felt more comfortable using. I feel like the tighter boxes actually give me more space for movement whilst still having the ability to line everything up, whereas in the old grid there were not enough guidelines for that to be possible.
To gather resources and imagery for the type tour poster, we visited London and walked along the Strand, photographing the very typography that would be looked at on the type tour.
I was quite surprised at how much interesting type there was to find along the walk. I wanted to try my best to avoid photographing typography on big name shop fronts, and focus on the more unique, interesting type that is only found in that area. Some examples that I really liked were on signs and boards outside pubs. I thought the text for these was very decorative and exciting, and would be unique to that pub. I found that some of the most interesting examples of type were slightly more hidden, and that I needed to look harder, and in more discrete places to find it.
At the end of the Strand we visited Somerset house to look at ‘Time: Tattoo Art Today’, an exhibition looking at current tattoo artists. I personally am very excited by tattoos and tattoo art so I thought this exhibition, yet small, was brilliant. I was happy to find that some of my favourite tattoo artists had been included such as Chuey Quintanar and Angelique Houtkamp. I love traditional tattoo styles mostly. I love the bold black outlines and the bright, simple colours. I think this exhibition helps to shine new light on tattoo art, proving that artists can create beautiful work on paper as well as just in tattoo form.
Forever is a long time, Angelique HoutkampTimeless Beauty, Chuey QuintanarErzsebet, Theo Mindell
Since the project brief asks us to design a poster for a typography tour, I thought it made sense to research into different posters, looking at the different styles and techniques used, and analysing the good and bad aspects of different examples. We were given a research task, aiming to find examples of posters that fit various descriptions. This task has shed some light onto the vast range of styles used in poster design and also the variety of brands that use posters as a means of communication.
A poster that provides too much text based information to be visually interesting
This is a poster based entirely on typography, using various different styles to present a quote. There are a huge amount of designs like this around, and some are extremely well designed and I really like this. However some are not quite as effective. I think that this example, whilst not necessarily being badly designed, is just too cluttered with text. It is a very long quote and I think that the constant changing of size/colour/font of the text breaks it up too much, making it hard to read and a fairly unpleasant experience. I think the colour scheme works well and it is a solid idea, however with a piece of text this long, I think a simpler, less broken up design would be much more effective and would look a lot better.
A poster that is too image based with insufficient inclusion of text-based information
Advertisement warning against smoking during pregnancy, Vermont Department of Health, 2012
This public safety poster carries a very strong message, and is designed very cleverly to show this. The image used is simple and yet very powerful and I think it is very successful in relating to the cause. However, the text at the bottom is very small and is a grey colour so it does not stand out from the background a great deal. Whilst I think I could get a close idea of what the poster is about from the image, it may not be as clear to others, and the small text does not necessarily make it easy to view. Whilst this can be seen as bad design, I think there may be some method to this. Where the strong image in the centre of the poster will catch peoples eye, this will hopefully get them interested, wanting to find out more. The small typography will force viewers to look closer at the poster to read it, and therefore be taking in the message so it will hopefully stay in their mind, and communicate the ideas more successfully.
A poster that combines text and image in an imaginative way
This is a concept poster for the original screenplay of ‘The Birds’ made famous by the Alfred Hitchcock film. The idea behind this is quite simple and I actually really love this design. I would say that the designer has been extremely imaginative in the way he has combined text and image. I think it is quite successful, and also very clever, where the typography is quite obvious and legible, although no actual text had been used. The smaller typography at the bottom that has been included, I think has been integrated very well, and I think it fits well with the rest of the design.
A poster that makes good use of a limited colour scheme
Star Wars: A New Hope, Olly MossMy Neighbour Totoro, Olly Moss
These posters come from English designer, artist and illustrator Olly Moss, famous for his reimagining of movie posters. Since discovering Moss’ work I’ve found that I really like his style and I will most definitely look to him for inspiration in the future. Looking at these posters I would say that Moss has been very successful in using a limited colour scheme. Each poster uses only different shades of the same colour, using a layered silhouette effect. These designs are quite simplified, but I think are very good representations of the movies. The two posters I have included are for movie’s that I personally love, and I think that they relate well to the films. Also I feel that they are not so minimalistic that they would be lost on someone who has not seen the movies, where I feel that they still give a fairly good idea of what kind of movies they are.
A poster that makes good use of text set at an angle
Workers, Everyone must vote in the Election of Soviets!, Gustav Klutsis, 1930
This is an example of Russian Constructivist design. Constructivism was a design movement that was prominent in Russia and eastern Europe around the 1920’s. It was known for its loud, strong style, often including big, bold typography set at angles. I really like Constructivism and I think this is an excellent example of it, showing a good use of angled text to fit with the position of the imagery. Constructivism was an incredibly influential movement and it is obvious that without it, today’s design would be vastly different.
A poster that makes good use of multi-directional text
A concept poster for one of my favourite Wes Anderson films, ‘The Life Aquatic’. This poster is filled with text set in different directions which I think works very successfully. The text is a variety of different quotes from the movie, and I think placing it in various directions helps to break them up, making it easier to distinguish between them. I think it also helps to show the image behind, where the text on his hat is at a different angle to that on his face to show that it sits at an angle.
A poster that creates an image from the arrangement of text
This piece uses only typography to to create an image of Einstein. There are many design pieces that use this style, but I think this is a very successful example. The way they have used size, colour and direction helps to accentuate the contours and details on his face, making it easier to recognise who it is.
A poster that is very unusual in its approach
I think that the designer of this poster has taken quite an unusual approach, whilst also being incredibly clever. The obvious use of a ketchup bottle in place of a tomato is quite unusual and very unexpected, which I think makes this a very strong design. It is very simple, although Heinz is a very well known brand, which means they can get away with taking a simplified approach with minimal suggestions to the company, as everybody can recognise the brand. I think that often some of the more unusual approaches to design can be some of the most effective work, where it takes the audience by surprise and grabs their attention successfully.
SMITH 