Studio Brief 02 - Crit & Evaluation

The work I had for my crit:



I asked two questions:
1. Do you think the typeface flows well?
2. Can you see this being used on clothing labels or food packaging? If no then why?

The feedback I got:

1. Yes but the added tails and lines would work well linked to the same point, it links well to calligraphy which is inherently satisfying.
2. I can see it on clothing labels but maybe not on food packaging as it's too intricate.

1/2. I can see it being used as shop signage and clothes packaging but I wouldn't say it is overly easy to read because it flicks at the beginning of the letter which is uncommon therefore the brain takes longer to register it.

1. I think the typeface does flow well and does communicate satisfying although I would like to see what the lettering looks like joined up.
2. I think the font appeals to cloth branding but not so much food.

1. the handwritten vibe of the typeface works really well to emphasise a feel of flow and continuity. To develop further possibly try and join the letters as ligatures on the design specimen.

1. A distinct flow, be careful of stroke/stem widths to allow a consistent flow to be present.
2. display large

1. could be slightly more oblique to emphasis the flow
2. flow - aeroplane branding ? has a 'wing' quality. some tails are in wrong place in my opinion, not needed on c,g,q etc..

1. The typeface flows well because each letter has the same similarities and ideas applied to them.
2. I can see this typeface being used for a display font or the logo food packaging.

1. The curved serifs work well to reflect the idea of 'flow' and I like the way that when used in words or a sentence they all slightly join up to enhance this sense of flow. However perhaps make some of them less sharp.
2. works well for clothing labels but not so much for food packaging although I could see it working for bakery products such as cakes not just food in general.


Evaluation

Overall I am pleased with my final outcome as I think I have managed to create a satisfying typeface. I think the typeface flows nicely and is therefore quick and easy to read which is what I set out to produce in my rational. The feed back I got in my crit was very positive and everybody agreed that the letters flow well together. I am pleased with my final ‘f’ and think it relates well to the ‘j’, ‘l’  and the ‘i’. One piece of criticism I did receive was that it takes a while to register what each letter is because the serifs are unnaturally placed however I disagree with this and think it is a bit over analytical. To me the letters flow naturally like they would if they were handwritten which is also backed up by the feedback I received in my crit as people think the curved serifs work well to create a flow. Through the process I enjoyed creating the typeface as it was an idea that sparked lots of other ideas which made the whole process enjoyable. I finalised my first idea pretty quickly but many problems occurred when trying to put it into context, however luckily I had plenty of time to tackle these problems. Prior to the crit I was worried that the work I produced wouldn’t be received well by others and I over analysed every little detail and thought it seemed too childish. However I got some really positive feedback in my crit, which has taught me a really valuable lesson. As long as you have reason behind the decisions you have made and present your work well most people will understand your idea and appreciate your work.

Studio Brief 02 - Colour Research & Creating My Type Specimen

Before doing any design work for my specimen I wanted to spell out the name of my typeface “universe satisfying’ in the typeface I had created therefore I sized down each letter which was needed and edited them togther. However through this process I realised the fancy f I had created didn’t work in context therefore it had to be simplified. 

What colour should I use ?
I want to make the design of my type specimen look satisfying to showcase the typeface therefore I did some research into satisfying colours and what certain colours make you feel/ what they represent.

GREEN. Balance
Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace.
Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.

Green strikes the eye in such a way as to require no adjustment whatever and is, therefore, restful. Being in the centre of the spectrum, it is the colour of balance - a more important concept than many people realise. When the world about us contains plenty of green, this indicates the presence of water, and little danger of famine, so we are reassured by green, on a primitive level. Negatively, it can indicate stagnation and, incorrectly used, will be perceived as being too bland.

http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours 

After researching all colours I decided green was most suitable, it is harmonious and reassuring therefore satisfying. It is restful to the eye and is often used in hospitals because it is calming.



To add in this green element I created a circle because I wanted to exaggerate the roundness and flow of the text. However I found this design too boring.


I then went on to create a block of green that covered almost half the page to make it more interesting, I also added a rectangle next to the rational to make it stand out but to also have these straight lines as a contrast to the curviness of the typeface.

Then when I thought about printing I googled satisfying paper and things related to that to decide what to print on. However I found looking at satisfying paper size much more interesting and found when things are in an square they are more satisfying to look at. This influence my decision to create a square type specimen.

Studio Brief 02 - Rational

Univers Satisfying

Univers Satisfying is a curvy serif typeface, the flicks that feature in it help the text to flow therefore making it quick and easy to read. It maintains the clarity associated with univers without being too formal. It is commonly used for headlines in magazines, shop signage and clothing labels.

Studio Brief 02 - Making it Digital

Before I started creating my typeface in illustrator I did some rough sketches in my workbook that represent the general idea that I want to reflect in my digital work. This made it a lot easier when trying to edit each letterform.



















I started off with univers in italics because think this represents the flow of handwriting more.


The first four letters ' a b c d'  were easy to create as they had this repeated flick next to them all. I like the look of them all together and think they flow nicely, the changes I have made are very minimal, the letters have been rounded and the ends of the stems have been curved off.  I think it makes this quite serious typeface much more approachable and nicer to read.




I then went on to create the 'e' which was much harder because I wanted it too look like it had been drawn in one stroke. I found it hard trying to do this in illustrator because my knowledge of it is very limited, however after asking Jasmine for help I was able to create a much more fluid letter.

It still contains this same repeated flick, however rather than having it on the baseline where it sat unnaturally, I moved it to flow off near the counter of the 'e'.

To help create the more detailed letters such as the 'f' I did some drawing underneath using the paintbrush tool that I could reference when trying to alter it. I found it hard to alter the f therefore combined the letter with one of the drawings I had done to create this. I thought because it stands out from the letters it could be the feature letter that makes the typeface recognisable, the same way that the W in Bodoni stands out.








The other letters I created after this were pretty straightforward until I reached the k which was hard to create without it looking like a capital R. I again played around with doing rough drawings underneath with the paintbrush tool but I think it looks too curly against the i and the j.














My final outcome was this which I think works well as the curves flow nicely agains the j and the l.

Studio Brief 02 - Crit

Here is my work displayed for the crit. I haven't done any digital work yet as I want to experiment as much as possible by hand and I know that as soon as I start creating digital work I will stop doing this.
The feedback I got was to experiment more with the handwriting idea and work bigger, rather than having 5 ideas per page having 1 idea per page and expanding on it.
To research movement and how to illustrate this through a typeface.
To look at handwritten letterforms and re watch gentlemen of letter.
Try using italics.

Studio Brief 02 - 'Satisfying' Development

IDEA 1:

To start generating ideas I focused on what makes something 'satisfying' and what in particular would make a text satisfying. I initially began writing the word 'satisfying' down on a piece of paper in one stroke without taking my pen off of the paper because I found this satisfying. To make it writable in one continuos line it had to be joined up and  I liked the look this created. I then broke up each individual letter to see what they would look like on their own but still drawing on serifs that come naturally to my hand writing yet trying to make them more readable as sometimes joined up handwriting is a bit messy. What I like about these experiments is them movement through the letters which relates to the flow and fluidity through words that I initially wanted to create.








I then wanted to develop capital letters and not just lowercase however this was more difficult. Capital letters are usually on their own so are not commonly joined together. To overcome this I wrote out the lowercase letters and then tried to copy the common characteristics from this into uppercase letters.  I still don't think this idea works very well so I probably won't continue  with it.
























I chose to look as a sans serif typeface so that I could add my own serifs to it which are similar to the ones in my handwriting. I like the outcome as I think it makes a typeface like univers, which is commonly used for quite serious things such as exam papers and street signs, more fluid and friendly.
















I then tried to transfer this same idea to capital letters like I had done previously, however I think it looks too subtle and doesn't work as well as it does on lowercase letters.











IDEA 2: 

My second idea was to play around with the thickness of strokes in each individual letter, I chose Clarendon to do this with because I thought a serif typeface would give me more to play around with. I didn't enjoy this process as much as I did with the previous one. I think it is hard to have multiple alternatives where as the other is open to experimentation.

Studio Brief 02 - Univers Research

Universe was created by Adrian Frutiger and published by Deberny & Peignot in 1957 which was around the same time that Helvetic and Optima were published. Initially Frutiger was asked to adapt Futura but instead he suggested he wanted to work on something else, by referring back to old sketches he had done he was able to create 'Univers' in just 10 days.
Common characteristics associated with it are:

• Squaring of round strokes 

• Two-storied a is the most distinctive letter, with a straight back, no baseline curl, and perpendicular connection at top of bowl

• G lacks Helvetica spur

• Diagonal strokes of k meet at stem

• Has a smaller x-height than Helvetica

Univers was popular in the 1960s and 1970s and was used by brands such as: Deutsche Bank, General Electric and Apple who used it on their laptop keyboards until 2007. Due to it's clarity and the fact it is easy to read, it was perfect for signage and was used in Frankfurt International Airport and on London street signs, in Disney World and  the 1972 Olympics in Munich. It is still regularly used today by brands such as CNN and eBay, it is also used on tests and exams in the UK because of its clear distinction between the characters I and 1.

In 1967 new street signs were created for the city of westminster using univers. What I like about this design is that it doesn't look dated to say it is almost 50 years old. The use of univers which was a fairly modern typeface at the time has helped this as well as the kerning.