OUGD403 - Typeface Design

Using Mueller-Brockmanns classic for the basis of a design we can attempt to create our own bespoken typeface. Using a random given adjective we should be able to communicate effectively within the means of only type.

My given adjective was: Bitter 

The definition of bitter is:

1. Having a sharp, pungent taste or smell
2. Feeling or showing anger, hurt or resentment because of a past bad experience feeling a sense of unjust treatment

Sharpness: Being precise, being abrupt
Synonyms: severe, acute, keen, fierce, searing, stabbing, intense, exquisite

Pungent: sharp or strong tasting smell,
Synonyms: Strong, powerful, persuasive, penetrating, pointed, venomous, cutting

Garamond 

Described as being a long lasting typeface for its offering in elegance, clarity and harmony" it has an appropriate use in a wide range of formats. Within 

Caslon

Known for being sturdy in appearance has nice curves and lines with varied weights. Doesn't always translate into modern design as it does have quite an old and classic look, its better used on e-ink screens and should typically be avoided for screens.

Baskerville

Seen as a reliable and stable, studies shows that the use of Baskerville increases the likelihood of any reader agreeing with a statement by 1.5% in comparison to other fonts, its apparent to why its so often chosen for making large statement, within advertising and media. Know for its clean crisp edges first hand observations say the original prints were almost razor sharp, the high contrast and curves within Baskerville's appearance give it a definite look of elegance and is definitely appropriate for making any bold statement.

Bondoni

Has a classic and elegant look but because of the extreme variations of thick and thin strokes its best suited being viewed largely, is quite a modern design and has been used for album and movie posters. 

Times

Has a firm and authoritative look and feel, with its economy of space makes it easy to read and is appropriately used for reading plain texts, described as being 'sharp'.

Helvetica

Helvetica is a symbol for the shift in the digital world, giving it that modern look and feel. Its been described as being neutral, pragmatic and rational of structure giving it more accessibility and for that it is commonly used for corporate use.

Univers

Although its been critisised for its lack of originality Univers' clear lines and legibility at great distances means that its used commonly for signs and school exam papers. 

Clarendon

Named after Clarendon Press, Clarendons thick lines and serif detailing give it an elegant yet versatile use, its commonly used for wood displays and western style posters but it also used for road signs and and railway locomotive due to its easy to read appearance.

As I'm wanting to encompass sharpness into my design, looking at objects that have a sharp quality could help inform my design decisions and generate new ideas.

Contextual research:

Looking for a context for my outcome of font the first thing that came to mind when connecting bitterness and sharpness was possibly using it within a horror movie context.

Commonly horror movies use quite a similar font called 'Trajan'

Trajan's design comes from roman square capitals which were used for the inscription at the base of the Trajan's column. From this we can see Trajan has an elegant and strong look and also used well universally. T sharpness of the serifs is something that I think connects well with the context of fear and horror and something I've taken into mind when looking at my own designs.

used baskerville regular as a starting point, only a rough design. Thick stems to emphasise stabbing synonym and the harshness of the adjectives nature.

Different adjustments within the serif design, making the more rounder shape sharper and seeing what effect that had but also looking at the boldness of the letters and whether it worked as a design. From feedback I've learnt that the subtle changes rather than making it a very bold look were prefered, therefor I think i'll attempt to look at this choice and work with subtle sharp changes as the boldness doesn't necessarily mean its more impactful, also something about 'bitterness' seems to be quite subtle its usually a concealed emotion in comparison to anger, its not an obviously shown and I think that could be shown in the normal boldness. 

I found working with baskerville itallic quite difficult as I found the sharpness quite overwhelming and I thought in a title context might become unreadable. I prefer the subtley that  Baskerville regular has 

Baskerville lowercase itallic:

Uppercase Baskerville:

Baskerville regular upper and lowercase:

For my final design I took Baskerville as an original font, made the weight thicker and sharpened the serifs, this way it has a bolder and more impactful effect, I wanted it to be used in a title context due to its boldness and the aggressive nature I wanted it to possess, more specifically I wanted it to be used for a horror or thriller poster. 

     Original Typeface         

Uppercase Bitter

Lowercase Bitter

Uppercase regular

I prefer the outcome of Baskerville regular, the weight has been increased and the serifs have been sharpened to really exentuate the theme of bitterness, although more subtle than the other outcomes I think this can be related to bitterness being a rather hidden but still strong emotion.

In the case of it being used in context on a poster, it remains readable and still has an alternative feel from its original design. I think as a typeface I've managed to encompass various elements that I originally set out to achieve and hopefully created an effective outcome.

Used in a modern design:

I wanted to explore whether this font could have a timeless look to it and not been too outdated in a modern design.

I think in this context it works quite well, the original design for this poster uses a neon effect which could be an attempt to relate to the films ambiguous timeline. I think 'Bitter' has the possible ability to remain timeless, the sharpness of the serifs (especially in red) gives this poster a more sinister design and was part of my original idea to produce.

Evaluation

Research into baskerville revealed that is had a strong trait of being 'razor sharp' a phrase in which I found connected to the synonyms of bitter, making me  choose it initially out of all the font choices we were given, another factor that I thought could be interesting to work with was that baskerville was described as a convincing font and to challenge that was interesting as possibly making it the opposite would fit with my design goals.

My idea was to make it quite abstract but keep to being sharp, and definitely be alternative in its outcome. Research into other poster designs using similar fonts gave me a clear goal of its context making it much easier to work with and design as other work proved as good inspiration. 

I wanted my type to be distinguishable, sharp, impactful and bold and be able to establish a certain mood, and I think I was able to achieve this, my informed choices based on my research, testing of different ideas were imporant parts of making a full typeface.