Week 10 - Type & Page

Tramaine Berry
Nov 22, 2020
9 min read

Updated: Sep 21, 2023

RESEARCH //

Farwell, 1978

Type: New Perspectives in Typography

This is a list of things from the book that interested me and it has provided me with a large list of resources for further research.

Helvetica Documentary 2007 by Gary Hustwit

This is a film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture, which looks into how type affects our lives.

Eduard Hoffman and Max Miedinger made a modernised version of Akzidenz Grotesk, which is how Helvetica was born.
Linotype now owns Helvetica.
Helvetica is Latin for 'Swiss'
Neutral but human quality. Makes a brand feel accountable, transparent and more accessible. Invites open interpretation, which I think links back to the book on 'new perspectives in typography' because there was a research project on how the treatment of type influences the message. I think the neutralness of Helvetica creates opportunities for designers to be playful with treatment and produce various types of tones or voices.
Wim believes design needs to be neutral , which is why helvetica was ideal. What used to take days to add layers to designs now takes an hour on computer.

We are all Homeless project

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1079780652062792

The Homeless project began in 1993 due to the awkwardness felt by Willie Baronet when encountering a sign asking for help. He connects avoiding seeing homeless people to avoiding seeing parts of himself, which is altered once he has conversations with those people and asking to purchase their signs.

The most interesting question he asks is 'what is home?' Is it a physical place, a state of being, salty, of being provided for or identity? This is a question I've been struggling with answering during week 9 because my chosen word was 'welcome' inspired by the feeling of being home, but I wasn't sure why that was since Falmouth isn't a place I grew up. I think that is why he has named the project 'we are all homeless' because home isn't a physical place, it's a state of being. And even in lockdown where many people are feeling financially and emotionally insecure, there are many people that have been brought up in low income neighbourhoods (myself included) or feel unsafe in their own house. It makes me wonder why people in these positions don't hold up signs of their own and ask for help. Is it pride that holds us back? Or not being able to see the situation for what it is? Does a building create the illusion that you or someone else is fine?

In response to this project I have created my own sign. I am fine at the moment as I am planning on having full concentration on the job hunt during christmas, but there are worries going on that has been covered by outer exterior, whether that being a physical building or pride. This research has force me to have a closer look at week 9, asking mysef whether despite feeling welcomed, is it really home when I feel insecure about where I am?

This is me rethinking last week's project and how I could intergrate two emotions together. The bag of scrabble letters came to mind when descibing my emotions about Falmouth. 'Welcome' is placed on the board because it was the first emotion I felt and its something that has always been permanent, and the 'scared' is a bunch of scrambled letters that have been randomly chucked onto the table. This reminds me of the concept I had about flatmate games making me feel welcomed and the idea of being accepted in a group. Maybe 'welcome' could be my flatmate mates letters, symbolising how they make me feel, and then on my go I only have enough letters for 'scared'. I might need to change the word from 'scared' to 'concerned' because it sounds like the flatmates are scaring me.

I like the juxtaposition on this piece. I would like to develop this further by making both emotions look like they are battling each other- maybe an animation that has 'concerned' bump 'welcome' out of place.
Or maybe there can be curtain shades that open up to reveal the inside of the house: welcome can be seen when the shades are closed and 'concerned' when looking 'inside'.

What is style?

Looking at the resource Piotr has provided, style is 'the way in which something is said, done, expressed or proformed', so I think it is a way of thinking. Although I can see how sustaining particular aesthetics would give clients a sense of your brand, creatives like Glenn Jones sustains a sense of 'style' through funny concepts.

The blog concludes with three definitions of 'style':

Feeling (subconscious) - visual aesthetic, a tone, a mood
Thought (conscious)- a creative way to visualize a concept, idea, subject matter
Subject Matter - an expert in a specific subject matter (ie: famous people, medical illustration, etc

At the moment, I don't think my portfolio has a particular subconscious or conscious 'style', however, I think I am consistent in terms of subject matter; I am always looking to see how I could give my projects a sense of social purpose, whether it being to spread awareness or create something that makes people smile. Although, I have noticed that my porfolio is mostly (if not all) digital, which could be argued as a style but I see it as a cost effective medium.

Type & Typography

Guest Lecture: Ophelia Ford-Welman

Ophelia Ford-Welman is a Futures Analyst at Pearlfisher, which involves helping brands find their feet in the world and designing a world that we want to live in rather than relying on trends. And her education with Design Academy didn't categorise design and focused on the importance of an idea, which is why she enjoys working accross a wide range of sectors.

I am an experiential designer.

I take a multi-disciplinary approach to design and explore beyond aesthetic and function. I consider how every sense is activated along an experiential narrative to build engaging products, services and brands. As a result, my projects are diverse in their outcomes and in their thinking – be they a meal, a book, a piece of furniture or an entire world. Each is an experience in its own way.

Looking at her portfolio, I am very interested in how she presents her skill levels for future clients (see below), which would be a good feature in my current portfolio.

My favourite project in her portfolio is 'Languages of Learning' because has a dyslexic I can relate to how passive learning from textbooks can be.

https://www.opheliafordwelman.com/languages-of-learning?wix-vod-video-id=1521c8277b0c48158ac49567afb20a8b&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-j9o3qlin

Notes:

Design Indaba - like TedTalk but for creatives
In 10 years time 85% jobs will be invented
She talked about her passion for Food Design and how scent was most closely linked to memory, which is linked to my workshop challenge in week 7. Charles Spence was mentioned because she is interested in multisensory experiences and how it is linked with food design. A book called, 'The man who tasted shapes' was suggested.
Noma is a restaunant run by Rene Redzepi in Denmark, which opened in 2003. It's best known for its reinvention and interpretation of Nordic Cuisine, which focuses on purity, seasonal, local, animal welfare-fare, Nordic tradition, and high-quality food.
Advice was to start an idea from your interests or fascination and make sure it is desirable and understandable to people
Air company has deveped the world's most sustainable spirit. The company developed a process that transforms carbon dioxide into impurity-free ethyl alcohol that can be used in spirits, fragrances,sanitisers and carbon-negative fuel! My only concern is that sustainable products like this are too expensive for the everyday consumer.
Bompas & Parr was also mentioned, which is recognised for their multi-sensory experience design.

She also mentions 'The Fat Duck', which I find fascinating because of how much imagination is used in food. I am in love with the website and how it takes you back into your childhood, which I think link to how the guest lecturer was refering to the senses and memory. There were a few references that could be linked to dyslexia such as the scrambling of letters and how you magnify something and see something very different that no one else can see; it's made me rethink how I could be presenting my website and expose how I see the world and make the user feel as curious as I felt with Fat Duck's website. This is definitely a project for me to undertake over the Christmas break.

I remember seeing this chef in master chef where he asks people to re-create his pillow dish.

What are the barriers you have to consider when predicting the future?

Timeframe and the availability of materials or technology needed for the product; it may take years before the right material can be invented.
Culture understanding because you can't force new traditions on people and people have to want it. Biodigradable plastic was mentioned, which I think applies to this because people are recycling it rather than providing it with the correct enviroment to decompose; the public need to be educated on new traditions even if it is a desirable change.
Affordability for the client as well as being able to justify the client's investment.

Trends to consider :

Sustainability
Inclusivity
Multi-Local - designing for different locations
Shifting Global Powers (Africa is developing)
Space Travel - Air company's rocket fuel

WORKSHOP //

I am not a fan of poetry, however, these two poems have captured my attention because I like horror stories and thought they would be interesting to experiment with.

Chosen poem: My sweetheart says . . .

I was thinking of the candy 'sweetheart' and replaced 'I' with 'you' to make it sound like the sweetheart is giving orders. I used rounded arial to match the sweethear candy style.

I changed the typeface to Helvetica Neue, which allows me to play around with tone of vioce without changing the typeface too much. Rockwell was chosen to represent 'The News' but I didn't think this could only work if it was a collage poster. Below is a more simplistic and clean apporach were it only uses one typeface, but the heart has condensed bold so it can look similar to the BBC's type as well as giving a forceful approach.

The piece below is inspired by my personal preference for illustrative typeface.

This reminds me of Oscar Wilson's work due to how he is able to turn type into art, which I think can be interesting in terms of how I can turn a poem into a visual story. Oscar's hand-drawn letterforms and typography mainly influenced by 70s and 80s BMX and skateboard cultures.

Ideas

Use suitcase labels
'Mine mine mine' reminds me of the seagulls from Disney's Nemo
Sugar wonderland; lots of sugar references
Heart can be bread with a piece missing. Ants lined up. string pegging down the heart
The wife is the poet

To make this poem more understandable context-wise, I've decided to make it look like the poet is at the breakfast table writing down her worries, whilst her partner spreads jam on her toast in the form of a message.

To improve this I would use real jam and use my own handwriting. Might also look more effective if all the elements were photographed in my kitchen.

This piece is inspired by Oscar Wilson's work. I thought a perspective of the poet looking at the front door (from inside the house) shows how worried she is of the outside world and how she wants to keep her children from experiencing it.

I feel that the version below makes the body text ore in focus, and I think the distortion of the imagery makes the door feel further away and more threatening.

I couldn't decide which piece I wanted to claim as my final piece, so I decided to merge them together into a gif. The idea is to make it look like a horror film where everything is flickering and the door is being ditorted into something threatening and grotesque.

The first clip was suppose to be an image sequence with a black frame inbetween each image, giving a more menising transformation. The second one is more subtle, a bit like how grandmother willow from Disney's Pocohantas transforms to life.

Other ideas on how to improve this

Lights can be flickering at the start
The red shadow could grow across he walls
Maybe the door can open with a suitcase rolling in or the suitcase appears on top of the poem after a flicker of the light.
A man could appear like a weeping angle from doctor who - each flicker brings him closer
Ants can travel from under the door across the hallway (making sure they go around te text).

DISCUSSION //

FEEDBACK //

Claustrophobic and scary. Reminds me of comic book style. You've summed it up well.
Hard to read but makes you work hard for it
A lot of texture makes the bottom half seem flat - floor area needs layering. Looks like star wars introduction text.

REFLECTION //

I am not fond of poetry, which is why I went for something thrilling and exciting. Lately, in my independent work I've been playing with lettering in the form of imagery so I spent this week finding out where I could have picked it up from. I vaguely remember seeing Wilson's work in my A level Art lecture. I wanted to create something that I am interested in as well as create a story.

The imagery for the poem went from an endearing husband making his wife breakfast to a mother staring at the door in fear. I think this contrast was due to the fact that I was trying to make sense of the poem and looking at what possible perspectives there are.