Studio Brief: Typogateaux Research

To start with, I need to determine which of my 2 main ideas I am going to use therefore I wanted to do a little bit of research into both so that I could make my choice from that.

Braille

"Braille Alphabet"
Pharmabraille (2012) "The Braille Alphabet- Letters, Puinctuation & Numbers" [Internet] Available from http://www.pharmabraille.com/pharmaceutical-braille/braille-alphabet.htm (Accessed 10th December 2012)

• Invented by Louis Braille
• Done in cells which compromises of 6 spaces thats filled with a dot or left empty
• The different combinations allow for not just the alphabet but for punctuation marks and glyths
• Dots are usually raised off a page so that the letter is easily deciphered by the embossed dots
• The fact that the user can't see means that there is no emphasis on the aesthetic therefore it is usually plain and white- the system is all that is important in its communication

Alphabet Blocks

"Wooden Blocks" (2010) by Maxim Enterprise
Maxim Enterprise (2010) "Wooden Blocks" [Internet] 19th August Available from http://www.maximenterprise.com/preschool/all-preschool-toys/ (Accessed 11th December 2012)

• Used for educational value- Learning through play
• Invented by John Locke, an English Philosopher in order to encourage the enjoyable experience of reading to children

"dice and playthings, with letters on them to teach children the alphabet by playing"

• Make Children aware of Gravity, Spatial Awareness of objects and Relationships between objects
• Aesthetic design is simple with basic colours to be inticing yet limited decoration in order to not take away from the functional purpose of the objects
• Affordable and simple in order to be accessible to all children in order to aid development

                                                       - Joey, E. (2012) "Rich History of a Building Block"[Internet] 17th January Available from http://www.free-press-release.com/news-rich-history-of-a-building-block-1326852239.html (Accessed 11th December 2012)

Based on the research that I have done into both possible ideas, I think the idea of a building block would be more successful as I think the audience would understand the concept and the idea alot more than if I produced a cake with Braille on it- It would be more communicative and easier for the larger mass audience to get even thought he concept of a Braille cake is interesting. Plus, I have to consider the hygiene of the cake if it is going to be judged and tasted by other people and by encouraging people to touch and feel the Braille cake for the message, Im not encouraging hygiene for others.

To produce my cake, I will need to determine what font I should use on my Blocks and I will need to get inspiration into how I could present my blocks.

Typeface- Times New Roman

So I am able to produce an accurate interpretation of this tool, I decide to use the typeface that would be closest to the actual thing. I used the Identifont 'Find By Appearance' option by comparing the alphabet blocks above and found that the closest typeface used was Times New Roman.

Idenitfying Font

Times New Roman Typeface

This means that the blocks will have quite a traditional style to them but this makes sense in regards to the need for the letters to be legible and readable for a young audience to learn.

Then I wanted to look at other styles of Blocks for inspiration to see how it has been interpretted by other people.

 Graphic Design Alphabet Blocks:

"Alphabet Blocks" by Alexander Girard
House Industries "Alexander Girard Blocks" [Internet] Available from http://girard.houseind.com/blocks.html (Accessed 11th December 2012)

Alexander Girard- I have probably referenced these Blocks before on my blog but they are incredibly relevant here. These alphabet blocks by Girard are full of personality and vivacious life due to the bright colours and childish letterform choice. The blocks are handmade which makes them appear a lot more considered and the physicality of the 3-Dimentional object means that they may be used by an audience, allowing for audience interaction so the user can develop a personal bond with the product.

"Worth 1000 Words" by Jason Gomez
Mari (2012) "[ weblog] Small for Big Available from http://smallforbig.com/2012/01/modern-alphabet-blocks-art.html (Accessed 11th December 2012)

Jason Gomez- The mixture of typefaces that is used in this montage of alphabet blocks makes it appear quirky which is reflected in the variation of patterns and the choice of colours that have been chosen, making it appear modern and fresh. The black lines and thick weights allows for the letterforms to be readable from a distance, particularly when they are mounted on a wall.

"Eames Alphabet Blocks" by House Industries
House Industries "Eames Century Modern" [Internet] Available from http://www.houseind.com/press/eames/eames_blocks_07.php (Accessed 12th December 2012)

House Industries- These blocks are different to regular blocks as they include type but also numbers and symbols as part of the set, making them appear unique and making sure each block is individual. This would make it difficult to use but it does provide a fascinating visual experience. Despite this, they are quite disjointed and disconnected yet the colouration and the inclusion of the packaging means that they have a uniformity in that sense.

Despite the fact that these are all interesting interpretations, I think I will stick with the traditional aesthetic as it will allow for a simple presentation of the cake which I think will need to be clean and easy to recognise.

Primary Research:

Before producing the final cake, however, I knew it would be important to test out how successful it would be to make these cakes before producing the final one. I needed to test the flavour and how successful they were at baking in order to determine which cake I would use, therefore I made 3 different types.

3 Cakes I've cooked for testing: Madiera, Victoria Sponge and Chocolate Sponge

It was between 3 options due to the fact that it would need to be a structured and sturdy cake if it was going to be based on blocks; Madiera, Victoria Sponge and Chocolate Sponge.

Madiera Cake

Madiera Cake- Traditional, Subtle Flavour that can be added to, Risen well and not not collapsed, Structured, Shape goes well with the cake design idea

Victoria Sponge

Victoria Sponge- Subtle Flavour, Allows for Additional Ingredients to be included to the taste of the Cake, Nice Colour, Would need more attempts at cooking in order to prevent it from collapsing in the middle, Shape goes well with the cake design.

 

Chocolate Sponge Cake

Chocolate Sponge- Flavour wouldn't allowed for additional ingredients, Overpowering, Would need more attempts at cooking in order to prewvent from collapsing in the middle, Shape would be unconventional for cake design idea.

From the success of the 3 cakes individually based on my physical testing and note taking, my primary research has determined that I will use the Madiera cake for my actual final cake itself as it was successful at baking while having a nice colour and allowing for additional ingredients due to the fact that the flavour wasnt overpowering.