Studio Brief: "Alphabet Soup- Typeface" Research

For our research, we had to fill out a questionnaire of facts about our partner, Danielle. They included a lot of random questions which were suppose to help you get to know your partner but I didn't feel like they helped a lot. Instead, I began to ask my own questions to my partner to find out more about her personality and how she views herself and made notes at the bottom of the same sheet (see picture).


Questionnaire Given & Notes on Danielle to the side

In order to know what existing typeface to begin with, I decided to ask Danielle what her favourite font was so that I would be able to manipulate her personality into a font that she already feels a connection to which seemed like a rational and reasonable idea and made logical sense in terms of project progression.

"Adobe Caslon Pro Typeface Family"
Reference- Available from http://identity.usc.edu/print/typefaces/ (Accessed 10th October 2012)

Danielle said her favourite font is 'Adobe Caslon Pro' so I felt that it would be a good idea to get acquainted with this font so I could understand it better before I tried to manipulate it.

"Adobe Caslon Pro Alphabet"
Reference- Available from http://www.identifont.com/show?E8 (Accessed 10th October 2012)

Relevant Information:

• Designer- Carol Twombly (reviving the 18th Century designs originally made by William Caslon)
• Purpose- A practical, reliable and legible font used in formalities (The Declaration of Independence)
• Suitability/Usability- Recommended for Magazines, Publishing, Journals & Formal Communications

Font Characteristics:

• Cropped at the Apex of the A
• Serif Font- Predominant on Letters C, E & T
• Long Arms on L, Z, V and W
• Curvature paramount within lowercase letters- c, p, e & k

                                    Reference- Christensen, T "Typeface: Caslon"[weblog post] The Typehead Chronicals Available from http://www.rightreading.com/typehead/caslon.htm (Accessed 10th October 2012)


Graphic Design Influences:

Based on the face that I will be basing my typeface on Adobe Caslon Pro, I wished to see how other designers had approached using this particular font within thier work and how they have presented it

"Adobe Caslon ProType Specimen" by Two Times Elliott
Reference- Two Times Elliott "Adobe Caslon Pro Type Specimen" Available from http://www.2xelliott.co.uk/projects/adobe-caslon-type-specimen (Accessed 10th October 2012)

Two Times Elliott- The self-initiated brief allowed the Creative Agency to experiment with layout as they explored the characteristics of 3 particular fonts that they liked, including Adobe Caslon Pro. The booklet shows the dynamics of the letterforms and the versatility of the font as it is put into different scenarios within the booklet, such as on it's own, with image (editorial style) and with different font styles (e.g.. mixture of italics with bold and regular font weights). I like this as it is interesting yet unpredictable as each page is unique and showcases the fonts different capabilities.

"Adobe Caslon Pro: Book & Poster" by Marius Holtmon
Reference- Holtmon, M "Adobe Caslon Pro" [weblog post] Marius Holtmon Available from http://www.mariusholtmon.com/77239/266850/gallery/adobe-caslon-pro (accessed 10th October 2012)

Marius Holtmon- Holtmon's advertisement of a poster and book combination to convince others to use the Caslon type family is successful in its aesthetic appearance and the quality of the print which adds an historic, aged appearance to the products. In my opinion, I would have rather had the poster and book have more fluidity and continuity between each other so that they look like they are linked, however, I like the illustrational representations of the Caslon Typefaces on the poster as they are inventive and I think the book holds a certain quality/class of its own right.

Detailing/Intricacy in Typefaces:

From the information I collected and from the designs I have settled on from my ideas, I have decided that I am going to produce a simple alphabet that depicts the idea of detail and intricacy. I wish to keep the feel of the traditional within my typeface and wish to look for inspiration within other hand-drawn typefaces as Danielle prefers things that are hand-rended or handmade/drawn.

"SVSV" (2009) by 86era
Reference- 86era (2009) "SVSV" [weblog post] Behance Network Available from
http://www.behance.net/Gallery/SVSV/246831 (Accessed 15th October 2012)

86era- This hand-drawn lettering showcases the use of swirls that is relevant to the design that I have preposed. The paper and pen media is nearly unrecognisable as it is so clean and detailed. I like how 86era has managed to put the detail within the lettering and allow that to make up the form of the alphabet rather than having just detail inside as it gives the letters more personality and individuality. The traditional feel and values that the image upholds is something I wish to emulate within my alphabet.

"Paper Typography Alphabet" (2011) by Sabeena Karnik
Reference-  Starr, B. (2011) "An Alphabet of Ornate Quilled Typography"[weblog post] Visual News Available from http://www.visualnews.com/tag/quilling/ (Accessed 15th October 2012)

Sabeena Karnik- The beautiful paper typography has ornate swirls and circles encased in the letterform that give the alphabet a mystique appearance. The detail is astonishingly profound, making the viewer take thier eye from the type and deep into the depths of the letterform itself. The fluidity of the letterform makes it a very successful piece of design as the crafting allows a uniformity amongst the type without loosing its individual identity.

"Paper Typography Alphabet" (2011) by Sabeena Karnik

 The rest of the alphabet can be found via http://www.behance.net/gallery/paper-typography/858836 and is definately worth a look.

"The Magic is in the Telling" by Yulia Brodskaya
Reference- Yulia Brodskaya "The Magic is in the Telling"Available from http://www.artyulia.com/index.php/Illustration/PAPERgraphic/5# (Accessed 15th October 2012)

Yulia Brodskaya- Brodskaya uses ornate swirls and flurishes with fluid handwriting to produce a modern twist on the traditional presentation. The white on white colouration means that there is more focus on the linework keeping it pure and simple. The detail is crucial to the overall design as it gives it more backbone, enhancing the viewing pleasure of the audience.