CONTEXT AN EXPLORATION OF AND THEIR ASSOCIATED TYPEFACES
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TABLE OF
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CONTENTS
06-07. INTRODUCTION 08-35. CONSUMER CULTURE BEAUTIQUE•HAUTE TYPE•THE CLASSY CONDO•SIMPLICITY IS KI•THE POWER OF PENMANSHIP•CORKY CHARM•VINOTYPE•RETROSPECT•FIT FOR ROYALTY 36-49. TYPOTABLOID GYPSY ROSE•(EN)DASHING•THE ART OF COMPLETION•THE MIMIC•PUNK CONTRAST 50-57. TERRIBLE TYPE COMIC SANS GALLERY•PROPRIETYPE•OVERWEIGHT•CANT BE NAMED (STORGAE)
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“MANIPULATION
TYPOGRAPHY IS A HIDDEN TOOL OF
WITHIN SOCIETY. NEVILLE BRODY
It tells people to stop. It tells them to go. It drives them to desire things they know they can never achieve, and makes them feel things they weren’t sure they could feel. There is power in typography that has shaped and transformed society, and perhaps the most inspiring (and frightening) thing about it is its ability to subtly affect how we think and live. This book explores typography and how it changes our environment. From restaurant signs to billboard ads to magazine spreads, it identifies the context in which different types of type are used, both in an analytical way and an aesthetic way. It also examines type fails to do so, and how it affects
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consume c 8
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HAUTE TYPE 10 context Typography in the Environment
A haute couture boutique that sits appropriately amongst the expensive stores of the Yorkville area, Nina Duong sells beautiful designer wedding dresses to beautifully broke wives-tobe. If there’s one thing fashionistas know, its that they’ve got to stand out in every way, particularly if they’re marketing to the wealthy in a neighbourhood where everyone’s fighting to claim
them. That’s where the signage comes in — beauty aside, if it doesn’t draw positive attention from the others, it isn’t going to succeed. On peaceful little Scollard Street, where everyone else is using standard serif typefaces to display tradition, or modern sans-serif typefaces to evoke change, Nina Duong uses a decorative script that allows the store to shine. Upon analysis, the typeface isn’t original—its a font called Bergell created by German designer Thomas Finke. According to Myfonts.com, Bergell should be “set with generous letter spacing and is perfect for any work that should have a spontaneous yet sophisticated experience”. It’s perfect for a boutique that needs to maintain a presence of luxury and exclusivity, while making sure originality is never compromised.
Duong exclusivity unique, pen-like strokes
originality hand-drawn quality
TYPEFACE: BERGELL
luxury elegant, refined tail
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BEAUTIQUE
no serifs
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angular serifs
vertical stress
Continuing the trend of Yorkville classiness, 119 Corbo is another clothing boutique that sells the latest high fashion samplings from around the world. That’s what works about the store’s sign —it blends two typefaces from different classifications together in an eye-catching, art deco-esque design that denotes sophistication and innovation. The C and the O have characteristics of transitional sans-serif typefaces, as noted in their varying stroke widths but lack of serifs. They are almost geometric in nature in their nearly circular forms. However, the o, r and b are set in a different typeface that seems to be a condensed slab serif.
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When you’re living in an area where you’re steps away from stores that can impoverish you, it’s best that your home reflects this philosophy of life. Yorkville’s very own Regency condominiums, located on 68 Yorkville Avenue, delivers that lifestyle, complete with all the fancy trimmings. If there’s one thing to be learned about anything good in the Yorkville area, it, like Corbo and Nina Duong, needs to stand out to fit in. Regency has taken a transitional serif type-
face and transformed it into a decorative one with elements from slab serifs and unconventional ligatures. By connecting the E to the G and the E to the N, a sense of community and home is created, while the classiness is maintained. Because of the condo’s overall Art Deco feel (as notable in the shiny surfacing and design of the logo)
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m r a h c y ork
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As is prominent in almost all 19th century advertising, posters made use of a variety of decorative typefaces that often overwhelmed with their in-your-face array of design elements. Today, these ads are a reminder of the past and their vintage appeal makes them beautiful. An advertisement selling Diamond Jubilee Port found in one of the Distillery District’s exhibits uses these typefaces and is instantly recognizeable as from a bygone era. All the text is centre-aligned and emphasis is drawn towards the very decorative typefaces that the main words are set in. These are similar to fonts such as Rosewood Std—while today, they are rarely used unless to reminisce the past, or advertise a circus, (or in terribly inappropriate circumstances), they were the king of decorative typefaces in their prime.
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The Old Spaghetti Factory, a warehouse-turned-restaurant that has been serving diners since 1971, plays hugely on its historic heritage in its marketing. The interior is decorated with all manners of antiques — including a streetcar —and the atmosphere just reaks (pleasantly) of age. This is where the beauty of the endearing logo comes in, notably because it’s the same one the place has been using ever since they’ve opened. The blending of a sans-serif typeface accented with decorative elements recalls an era of flashing signs and smoky lounges, creating a sense of timelessness that suits the area well. The little touches that modify the typeface add even more of this charm; namely the ligature formed by connecting the tail of the g with the terminal of the f. In addition, the organic, arabesque-like forms surrounding the text give a an even older vibe, bringing a pleasant contrast and framing the logo to further accent the look.
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A fine dining Japanese restaurant that emphasizes its simplicity, ki means pure; undiluted; raw. Fittingly used, then, is a simple, unadulterated sans-serif typeface that indulges this notion. The entire restaurant itself pays homage to its name—mounted on a red glowing square structure , it
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is as minimalistic as its definition suggests, and fits beautifully into the sweeping postmodern architecture of the Allan Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place. Because so few letters are used, a number of typefaces could have been used to develop this logo. To the right is a comparison between Helvetica and the original, noting the slight differences in the k and the more noticeable differences in the i. If Ki had any more than two or three letters, the logo would be in danger of possibly looking as if it were designed by the sign printers themselves. It’s because its such a short name that one can feel the little, often overlooked details found in standard typefaces, and can learn to appreciate them all the more.
ki
ORIGINAL LOGO
HELVETICA
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Signs are all about making statements, and in a society where individualism screams from every street corner, its refreshing to see logos that aren’t all set in Helvetica or some generic script typeface. Bymark Restaurant successfully uses a hand-drawn script typeface that gives real emotional flavour in its originality.
It’s interesting how much character and quality the title loses when it is set in Papyrus,the go-to font for anyone trying to add ethnic flair to their restaurant. Tackiness and notoriety aside, there’s a prefabrication in the brokenness of the letterforms that looks childish and fake.
Bymark
SET IN PAPYRUS
Meanwhile, the original, because of its custom designed typeface made specially for the restaurant alone, is able to create a true sense of feeling and makes a statement. Perhaps its the melodramatic swash in the B that just goes on and on— whatever it is, it works. ORIGINAL
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FIT FOR ROYALTY Sitting majestically amongst the dense clustre of skyscrapers in Toronto’s financial district, the Fairmont Royal York houses the queen when she decides to pop over to Canada for a spell (and, of course, normal people can stay there too). Thats why it needs to proclaim royalty with its every element—including its lettering. Fairmont is rendered in a script typeface that has the stroke widths of a modern font, while the Royal York uses Trajan Pro.
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The beauty of the iconic hotel is its preservation of heritage. Because of dutiful protesters, Fairmont merged the two names when it acquired the hotel, and the results are obvious in the continued usage of both their logos, as exhibited on the next page.
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This Fairmont Logo The flailing, swash-laden F (as exhibited in generous detail on the previous spread) is elegantly encircled with a flowery design. Together, they embody the hotel chain’s promise of luxury accomodations.
The Royal York monogram Using a slab serif typeface that seems to have been custom-treated (hence the reversed, unconventional Y), the monogram does look a bit dated but fits in perfectly as the floor rug and door handles in the stunning interior.
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EXPLORING THE WORLD OF MAGAZINE TYPOGRAPHY context Typography in the Environment
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“BY ALL MEANS, BREAK THE RULES, AND BREAK THEM BEAUTIFULLY, DELIBERATELY, AND WELL. THAT IS ONE OF THE ENDS FOR WHICH THEY EXIST.” ROBERT BRINGHURST
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A lot of times, type artists and layout designers decide to break the carefully laid out rules they’ve learned all through design school. Many times, its because they aren’t good designers, but sometimes, it’s purposeful and it becomes interesting. This magazine spread, from Vault Magazine, sidesteps several conventions, most notably the hyphen/endash/em-dash rule. Normally, its only hyphens that are used to join a word split between two lines. And yet, upon closer inspection, its quite clear that the character being used is not a hyphen, but indeed is an en-dash. However, it
works for several reasons. First, the typeface is already wonky, with its variable-width letterforms. Second, it has been purposefully arranged—the by separates the two names, Nicola Formichetti and Christopher Makos, and each are entitled to one en-dash. The
IT’S AN EN-DASH BECAUSE IT IS EXACTLY THE WIDTH OF AN N IN THE TYPEFACE.
would-be-awkward rag is filled in by the placement of the subtext. Thirdly, the en-dashes give the entire title an artistic, loose quality which is exactly what the man on the adjacent page is doing.
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All magazine layout designers know that every element on their pages must work together to complement and create the entire image. It’s the basic principle of gestalt— the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This spread, from indie fashion magazine Papercut, uses well placed and well chosen typography to
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complete the photo. It is cropped so that the arm linking the shoulder and the hand is missing, but that’s where the word Pyro comes soaring in across the pages. Set in an equal weight slab serif typeface, it commands attention due to its bold appearance. The darker shade of red provides nice contrast as
the accent colour on the ever-popular black-whitered scheme. If the text and picture are separated, both look uncannily awkward alone. They are designed to work only as a spread, which is exactly what magazines should have on most of their pages.
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THE MIMIC 36 context Typography in the Environment
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In this case, its the sincerest form of good design. Here, the text on the left panel seeks to imitate the photo on the right, unifying the entire spread. The definitely decorative typeface is a condensed sans serif that has been textured with gradient colour. This reflects the lustre on Kirsten Dunst’s skin, while the way the strokes are rendered imitating her pose. Next there’s a meandering black line that weaves through the letterforms, taking the character of the splay of feathers protruding from Dunst’s hair. FInally, the centre-aligned text denotes the balance and posture in the portrait. The subtext takes the green from the photo’s background, further showing a desire to harmonize the spread. Yet, there is still enough contrast to provide visual interest, creating a beautiful overall composition.
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each letter is resized so that the entire
quote pops
If anything is clear from the world of magazines, its that the good ones strive to reflect the character of their article in their titles and headers. It happens here again, with this article on Lily Allen, who is known for her brash uniqueness and innovation in the pop industry. Described in the article as “a breath of fresh air” in a “world of bland, identikit popstars”, the view of the author is reflected in the giant quote that serves as the title. It uses a bold but regular sans-serif typeface, in all caps, and incorporates some simple but effective modifications.
creating contrast and visual interest between the
letterforms
First, each letter is resized so that the entire quote pops, creating contrast and visual interest between the letterforms. Secondly, a simple series of rectangles is employed as backgrounds to the text, further emphasizing the edginess that Lily Allen is known for. In this situation, the slight directional contrast is welcome, as it leads into the composition and complements the layout.
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WHEN TYPO GRAPHY GETS UGLY 40 context Typography in the Environment
TYGOOD F O ECE S OF RY PI RED PIECE E MANY E V E TH ND ERE D WH D BY A HU RIBUTE TO L R O E T A W EMENT TION IS A E IN L V P I M L O WE SEC S C PHY I ESS. THIS A R G O P UGLIN SHEER AUSE TH, C R O A E OVE T HIS T L N L R L ADO E A THAT ACE IT—W ISTAKES. F M LET’S AT THEIR H LAUG
S R E T SAS
DI
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a tribute to the most used (and abused) typeface in the of mankind.
history
LA GALERIE
COMIC SANS GALLERY
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NOTE: PLEASE REFRAIN FROM THE GROWING URGE TO TEAR OUT THESE PAGES IN SHEER DISGUST. THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY—EVERYTHING NEEDS A SCAPEGOAT AND WHO KNOWS, WITHOUT COMIC SANS, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN HELVETICA...
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Walt Disney CanaBee Baby There are certain typefaces that are custom-designed for certain companies. When these companies are, say, the world’s largest media conglomerate, their logo should not be used on, say, a baby store. CanaBee Baby, one of these such stores, has taken the typeface of the famous Walt Disney logo for their own sign, and it just isn’t right. The script typeface was developed from Walt Disney’s actual handwriting, being stylized to form the look we all know and love today. When it’s that personal, it becomes proprietary—it’s Disney’s, and should not be shared. Even if they allowed it, it still wouldn’t look right because of how iconic it is.
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ONCE AGAIN THE AUTHOR GIVES HIS SINCEREST APOLOGIES AND WISHES THE SENSIBLE READER TO NOT PUKE ON THIS BOOK. HOWEVER, IF YOU FEEL COMPELLED TO DO SO, BY ALL MEANS GO DOWN TO THE ACTUAL STORE AND PUKE AWAY.
There really isn’t a catchy title that can describe this mess. The sign(s) just says it all. Certain things in life weren’t meant for all people to indulge in, and fortunately, typography— and, well, design in general—is one of them. Typefaces aside (yes, the one on the left is a decorative hand-drawn script and the one of the right is your typical sans-serif), who decided that the phrase “can’t carry with you ..... storage by the grange” makes any sense at all? And there’s just no point in tilting the lettering at an angle of about 3 degrees or warping the Grange into an obnoxious abomination. In feeble defense, the sign does draw one’s attention, and perhaps the typical person looking for storage units isn’t thinking about the image branding of their extra locker space. Then again, the place has closed down. Maybe plunking it next to an art college wasn’t that great of an idea after all.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. Storgae by the.
STORGAE. context Typography in the Environment
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IMAGE CREDITS PAGES 8-9, BACKGROUND IMAGE
PAGE 20, BACKGROUND IMAGE
http://fc05.deviantart.net/
http://transit.toronto.on.ca/photos/imag-
fs70/f/2010/261/1/1/yonge_dundas_
es/75-sherbourne-esplanade.jpg
square_by_kellerac-d2yzkyl.jpg PAGES 24-25, BACKGROUND IMAGE PAGES 10-11, BACKGROUND IMAGE
http://tavakkolian.net/imag-
http://chloemagazine.ca/wp-content/up-
es/20120514153239_ocad_page_www.jpg
loads/2012/07/bridal-splash.jpg PAGES 34-35, MAGAZINE SPREAD PAGES 18-19, BACKGROUND IMAGE
http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.fash-
http://thetruecollection.co
ionweekdaily.com/uploads/97927/lead.
m/wp-content/gallery/tuscany/trpaso-
png?1337203245
jpg-2c7adf226346ee66.jpg
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PAGES 36-37, MAGAZINE SPREAD http://www.magazinelaunch.com/sites/ default/files/images/launches/july-2011/ papercuts-magazine-spread2.jpg PAGES 38-37, MAGAZINE SPREAD http://www.simplyjess.com/wp-content/ uploads/2010/03/Kirsten-Dunst-for-V-Magazine-03.jpg PAGES 40-41, MAGAZINE SPREAD http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XAnDCxfUHwY/ TV2siI8AjcI/AAAAAAAAABI/krglUZGwk-4/ s1600/double+page.jpg
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