Hand-drawn type

Two of the briefs I am working on deal with type, some of which will eventually be hand rendered. The work below is published in the book Hand Job by Michael Perry; which featur
es a whole range of illustrators, mainly focused on typographic design. I have highlighted a few artists as they're work is informing and inspiring my own.

This piece by Andy Beach has a lot of variety within it, I think that it is mainly about experimentation and the exhibition of a range of styles of design. The amount of variety is amazing, and very diverse. The two colour design here helps to highlight the strength of the letterforms, it showcases them well.

This alphabet by Robin Cameron is so beautiful. The letterforms have a sold and strong form, but appear weightless and delicate at the same time. The letterforms are also very decorative and would only be suitable for large type, but that was probably the intention for this design. This alphabet has a very feminine feel, but doesn't feel to flimsy or soft.

This work is by Dan

Funderburgh. His illustration style is very clear, but decorative and animated. These pieces demonstrate his diversity, and the range of styles he uses. The primary use of two colour design makes the type very strong and imposing. It also helps to give it some personality.

I think it is important to note that this work isn't really for anything, it is decorative and nice to see, but has no context here.

This piece is by an illustration company called Human Empire. This design is interesting and quite strong - if a little odd. The way the letters are formed makes them look cut from paper, giving a handmade style to the overall piece.

This work is by Geoff McFetridge. The decorative type is very intricate and bold, which it an unlikely combination, but seems quite popular with hand-drawn type. The style here is clearly hand-drawn, which is engaging and emphasises its beauty.

This final piece is by Adam Hayes. This beautiful illustration style has created a strong and very imposing type design which doesn't feel invasive but light and wispy. It is a very intricate and so delicate - only suitable for very large type, otherwise the detail would be completely lost.

What I have learnt from this research:

1. Intricate and decorative type needs to be large to keep detail clear

2. Using two colour printing can highlight the shape and form of the type better than four colour designs.

3. Hand-rendered type can have a less handmade quality, but still look hand-crafted.

4. The style of type can help to evoke the emotion of the words written in it

5. Hand-drawn type has a huge, and probably infinite range, there is so much diversity to be explored.

All of these images were taken from:

Perry, M. (2007) Hand Job. Princeton Architectural Press; New York, USA

Topshop Boudoir: Art Deco and Burlesque Influences...

I had the idea of creating a logo for the Boudoir sub-brand that is based on Art Deco and burlesque style design. The images below are from the book Burlesque Poster Design. I've tried to find examples that demonstrate the style of design I am thinking of pursuing.

The text I am focusing on here is 'Follies' - the script style of typeface is feminine, flamboyant and complements the imagery. The type, despite being very decorative, is still totally readable and clear. The prettiness of the type is contrasted with Fabulous, which is written in an uppercase serif, quite different, but it keeps to overall hierarch quite equal.

This design is much a much more modern approach to burlesque design; the essences of the design is the same; the style of type is very similar to the Follies type above - the decorative and calligraphic font stands out really well in this poster, because of the dark background. Again, the contrasting type is a bold, uppercase serif font, which balances the overall design well.

The type that reads 'Fluffgirl...' is a strange combination; the overall sense is quite pretty and fun, but in a bold way. Looking closely the shapes, particularly the serifs have an indication of western style type - it could almost be used for a saloon bar. The use of a small shadow on each letter adds a little depth, and more style to the overall phrase.

The central type reading Burlesque has a slightly Art Deco quality to it. The pattern within the letters is unusual, but gives the text a little more character. The uppercase is strong, and very bold - this design has a slightly harsh edge.

All of the type used on this poster is art deco style. The lightness of the text is very clear; the main title is strong, but the wide tracking makes it feel less imposing and harsh. The other typefaces used are very plain, sans serifs which complement the whole poster. The colours within this design are a little bland, but they work together and create an imposing design.

There is a lot going on within this poster, but the use of limited colour helps the type to stand out. There are about 6 typefaces used within the design, though the clash of styles does not seem obvious. The header text is strong, but has a feminine edge which softens it. The design is quite over the top, but the type stands out and is clear and strong.

The type in this poster is also quite varied. The styles differ, but the contrast is quite complimentary. The hand-written style type is typical of this era and evokes a sense of fun and mischief. The header type is a bold sans serif which looks like it has been drawn with a marker pen. It is a little odd, but works fairly well because it is shown in strong colours.

What I have learnt from this research:

1. Calligraphic type needs to be easy to read, otherwise it becomes redundant.

2. The use of a contrasting type is very popular, it helps to show hierarchy and variety within the design

3. Simple contrasting colours work best and help to create a strong and bold design

4. The type needs to be feminine and light, not to heavy or harsh

5. Sans serifs are very popular with this style of design, they demonstrate a modernist view.

All images are taken from:

Droubie, Y & Parliament, I. (2009) Burlesque Poster Design. Korero Books; London

Typographic Books Covers 2

More type based book covers from the Book Cover Archive
This covers uses image to create type. The design is interesting, but a little clumsy. The idea is clever and would attract interest, but the other text on the cover is unbalanced, and doesn't look like it was considered in the overall layout.

The layout of the type on this cover is simple and well balanced. The use of uppercase text helps to balance the white space. The overall shape is a christmas tree - the representation of an image through type is suitable for this sort of book as it encompasses a large number of authors and it enables all of them to be shown on the cover, without it being a list of names. The use of a reduced colour palette makes the text itself stand out more and emphasises the uncomplicated design.

I think that this cover design is really interesting and engaging. The design is made entirely of type, and the variation is size, typefaces and colours creates a sense of excitement and strange craziness. The complimentary colour palette helps to make the title readable, whilst the smaller text breaks up the cover into sections. Overall this cover is very appealing and doesn't dictate it's genre at first glance - having to read the blurb on the back will encourage people to pick it up and have a look.

The design of this cover is de-bossed, making the design harder to pick out - which is rather appropriate for a horror novel. The type face that has been chosen looks gothic and therefore ties in with the theme (though on closer inspection I think it looks like a Western font). The authors name is picked out in black, and uses a different but also decorative type face, which I think clashes with the main title type. It is nice to see a cover that is using more intricate processes to produce designs, but overall I think that this design fails in the execution.

The hand drawn nature of this cover is quite endearing. The inclusion of illustration within the type makes the cover more interesting and more creative. The lack of colour doesn't seem to be apparent because the design is interesting and engaging. the lack of colour also creates intrigue, making the customer want to read the blurb etc.

This cover is VERY plain, but still really interesting. The type has been styled to represent the word 'Oil', which engages the viewer straight away. It seems a little odd that there is no other type on the cover - no author or publisher information. Overall, interesting idea, but not exactly a book cover - more an illustrated word.

This cover is design in a landscape format, which is a little odd. The mixture of type faces is slightly over the top, but it see,s to work quite well. The design seems to represent the type of advertising candidates running for government etc. which is quite an interesting and eye-catching. The limited colour palette is suitable, and clearly represents the genre and theme of the book.

This cover is a little weird. It is designed to look like a worn and used file with type printed across the front in angled lines. The juxtaposition of the typefaces is rather confusing: the black type fits well with the paper file design, where as the red decorative type seems rather out of place against the background. The angle of the type also makes it difficult to read, and crossing of the type seems unfounded and little pointless. Overall, a weird design that is more confusing than anything else.

This cover design is really inventive. It lists everything that the story contains, but gives none of it away, which is quite a challenge. The use of just two colours makes the design really eye catching, whilst the different sizes of type make it quite expressive. Great idea, more book covers should be like this!

Morrison's Value Range

The current Morrison's Value range...

Pros

• Two colour printing - yellow and green are the only printed colours, in some cases white is required and in some white is the substrate colour. Low printing costs
• Clear - the VALUE stands out well, as does the name of the product.
• Recognition - the brand colours make the products instantly recognisable as own brand products. Strong brand.

Cons

• Cheap - The instant reaction is that the product is cheap and therefore lower quality
• Colours - the colours clash and the yellow is ridiculously garish and bright. The yellow tone also seems to vary across the products
• Hierarchy - the VALUE text is larger than the name of the product. The product name should be the first thing you see so that you can identify it on the shelf.
• Information - the amount of information on the front of each product is limited. This looks a little careless and unconsidered.
• Circle - the name of the product is designed to fit inside the circle, but in most cases the name is too long or short and there is a lot of wasted space within the circle with looks silly.
• Ink - the amount of yellow ink on each product is huge which increases the cost of printing.

Do cheap brands require design of brutal economy?

JKR - Do Cheap brands require design of brutal economy?

This article asks the question of how far do you strip back a design for a value product before it devalues the product and the store?

Martin Francis laid into value own label packaging for looking not just cheap but ugly. His point was not a designer lovey one - rather he was saying that everyone, no matter what they are spending, deserves to have nice looking packs - why make folk feel like they are getting the cheapo rubbish with design to match? Making the basics range look more attractive might confuse a “good, better, best” strategy, but I suppose there are degrees of design refinement that can be applied. - JKR

I think the main issue here is that value packaging needs to do its job, be easily disposable and ultimately low cost. The sacrifices made to design within these parameters have been so far removed that the design work is simply ugly rather than low-key or budget.

Comparing these 4 tins of own brand, budget value baked beans clearly shows the differences in the consideration of presentation. All of the brands, bar Morrisons show the product - one is a photo graph, one a line drawing and the third some kind of coloured illustration. The image is not totally necessary, but it helps the customer to create a link to what they are buying more quickly.

The Morrisons Brand

"We are one of the country’s largest supermarket chains, offering a range of goods including both branded and own label products. Our aim is to provide all our customers with the very best value for money wherever they live and uniquely, we have always charged the same prices in every one of our large stores." - Morrisons

Morrisons market themselves as a friendly and value for money brand. As a Morrisons customer I can safely say that they are just as dull and commercial as any other British supermarket chain, with no real feature to set them apart. I would suggest that; in terms of their branding and company image, they sit just between Sainsbury's and Tesco in the supermarket hierarchy:

1. Waitrose 2. Sainburys 3. Morrisons 4. Tesco 5. Asda 6.Lidl/Netto/Aldi

In terms of cost Morrisons are equal to Sainsbury's, and in some cases are more expensive. As a brand they want to give value for money, and offer own label products sold along side brands. The issue arises with the own-brand products - these need to equally appeal to the customer, if not more so. So how do Morrison's convince the customer into buying own brand products?

Typographic Book Covers

I have been researching book cover designs that use type as the main communication vehicle. I have tried to find mainly fiction novels, as this is the genre in which I am designing, but a few non-fiction covers may have snuck in.

This Tolstoy cover is

very modern considering the content of the novel. The typographic element is strong, but equally complimented by the swirly explosion going on behind it. The sub-heading, author name and publishing information are in a contrasting sans serif, slightly hand-styled type. This gives variety to the cover, and brings a feeling of more constructivist design - note the G in great and penguin. The cover is engaging, interesting and gives little away about the books content.

This cover looks like it has a more low-fi production. The type itself is messy and like it may have been done with a thic

k marker pen. It is an intriguing cover, but doesn't really engage the reader, the design is a little off putting.

This design uses photographed typography. The variety within the design is good, and each is representative of the word. The smaller print is a bit overly decorative when placed next to the decorative title type. A lower key sans serif would have been better, less intrusive to the rest of the design.

This design is interesting - the style of type is strong, but has a hand drawn quality to it. The way the type has been set within a shape makes the design more illustrative, but also gives it more of a context. The colours used are very strong and eye-catching and the type really stands out against the vibrant background.

The design for this cover is very busy and intriguing. The amount of type is unusual, but gives a sense of questioning and philosophy, which the book is essentially about. It is nice to see the use of colour here, showing the title, and then a sub-heading in a hierarchy of colours. Over all this cover is very simple but beautiful and delicate.

This cover is an odd juxtaposition - the low key penguin 70 logo in the top corner, and then this massive uncontrollable design that spreads across the whole page. The style and texture of the design is really interesting and definitely represents the title accurately. The size of the design is good, is uses the page and is a strong and imposing design.

The digital base of this design is strong, but the illustrative additions a sense of foreboding, darkness and something maybe a bit spooky. The design is beautifully executed and well styled, overall is works well as a book cover because it uses the space available.

The typographic design on this cover is very strong, using no illustrative elements or images. The style of the type is unusual, evoking an odd sense of something a little off balance. The body copy section is unusual to see on the front cover of a book, but it sort of breaks up the large and imposing text a little. The colour scheme is simple, two colours and therefore relatively cheap to produce.

This intricate and decorative design is quite interesting. The book is in fact an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson focusing on transcendentalism. The design may suggest something quite different, maybe something less hard going and philosophical. The intricacies within the design are beautiful, and was obviously design with great care. The design is quite engaging, but is a little vague as to the content.

This design is more about the texture and minimal colour use than the actual type. The stitched aesthetic of the letters is interesting, but doesn't really seem to have a reasoning behind it - at least not one that is clear from the front cover. The sub-title and author type is sort of odd, free floating and random, but is quite cool and different. Overall a weird cover, but then it might be a weird book.

This is a very bold and weirdly explosive cover since the illustrative elements are nature based. The type itself is very clear and nicely balanced down the page. The lack of colour is a bit odd, it doesn't really evoke 'glory'. The overall design is good though, and it has intrigue - I'd like to read it just based on the cover.

What I've learnt from this research:

1. The theme of the book should be apparent from the cover design, but shouldn't give away what the content is about.

2. Hand-drawn and digital type can work equally well, and work well together as long as they are balanced.

3. The overall cover should be balanced - top to bottom, left to right

4. Using to type as a main focus and incorporating illustration as a secondary tool can work well