exploration of
VODKA TYPOGRAPHY Designed by Justine Parks
© 2015 This book is set in Univers and Minion Pro. This book was created for educational purposes only.
table of
CONTENTS
04 14 06 22 INTRODUCTION
FINLANDIA
The History of Vodka
Examining News Gothic and the history of Finlandia
ABSOLUT
CIROC
Examining Futura and the history of Absolut
Examining Trade Gothic and the history of Ciroc
2 | EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY
30 46 38 48 SMIRNOFF
TYPE COMPARISON Comparing and contrasting elements from all five typefaces
Examining Bell Centennial and the history of Smirnoff
GREY GOOSE
Examining Albertus and the history of Grey Goose
ZILLA
Original slab serif typeface created by Justine Parks
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 3
the history behind
VODKA During the Middle Ages, distilled liquor was used mainly for medicinal purposes, as well as being an ingredient in the production of gunpowder. In the 14th century a British emissary to Moscow first described vodka as the Russian national drink and in the mid-16th century it was established as the national drink in Poland and Finland.
this demand, lower grade products were produced based largely on distilled potato mash.
The spread of awareness of vodka continued throughout the 19th century, helped by the presence in many parts of Europe of Russian soldiers involved in the Napoleonic Wars. Increasing popularity led to escalating demand and to meet
The distilling techniques significantly emerged in Russia from the 12th century, when they had to redistill the vodka mix to get rid of the fused oils that were used, to the 15th century, when distilling techniques were learned from foreigners, as honey by that time
Vodka came to be a huge part of the Russian culture, as it was being distilled even before the word vodka came into general use. Although it has been described by many other names, the word vodka is a diminutive of the word voda, which means water in Russian.
was used to improve the aroma and the flavor of vodka. In the 18th century, it was discovered that charcoal was a great method to filtrate the mix to get rid of the unnecessary by-products, even though the spirit had to be diluted before it was filtered.
different varieties of Vodka can be found almost anywhere. Vodka is made through a distillation process that removes most of its original flavors. True vodka has relatively no taste so that it can be added to almost any beverage.
Distilling techniques and strategies further improved with the introduction of different herbs and spices. In spite of the multiple vodka varieties to which the Russians have been introduced, including vodka made out of wheat and potatoes, rye was considered to produce the finest taste.
To remove the taste and be left with pure vodka, it is distilled roughly six times and run through charcoal in order to remove the last of its flavor. This leaves the liquid clear, odorless and generally tasteless. It is actually law that vodka is not allowed to be called vodka unless it is completely indistinct in each of those areas.
In the eighth century, strong alcohol was discovered in Poland when wine was left over during the winter to freeze; however, the solution produced was used for medicinal purposes as opposed to drinking. This continued until the 15th century, when gorzalka, or burnt wine, was produced, as a result of the knowledge of distilling spirit from wine spreading to Poland. Moreover, Polish historians claim that vodka was first produced in 1405 and is said to have reached Russia from Poland.
It came without warning during the hottest years of the Cold War, a surprise incursion from the Soviet bloc. But rather than ICBMs dropping from the skies over Washington or Red Army tanks flooding into Western Europe, this engagement came in the form of booze specifically, vodka, the colorless spirit as synonymous with Russia as balalaikas and borscht that, in the 1950s and ’60s, was suddenly everywhere.
Vodka can be created from a wide variety of ingredients. It is made from potatoes, grains, corn, sugar beets – even grapes. Potatoes and corn are the most common but
FIG. 1 Absolut Vodka print advertisement.
In 1950, only 40,000 cases of vodka were sold in the United States; by 1955, that number was up to 4 million. Sales of vodka exceeded those of the oncemighty gin in 1967, and in 1976, vodka surpassed whiskey to become the country’s biggest-selling spirit. Today, while sales of super-premium brands have been slugged by the economic downturn, vodka still reigns supreme, and according to the Distilled Spirits Council, it regularly accounts for around a quarter of all spirits sales in the United States.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 5
ABSOLUT FUTURA
Modern feel Geometric Sans Serif Young-adult demographic
6 | ABSOLUT AND FUTURA
behind the
BOTTLE Absolut Vodka is a contemporary phenomenon. First exported in 1979, Absolut Vodka quickly soared to one of the best-selling premium vodkas in the world today. Successful businessman at 10 and entrepreneur at 14, Lars Olsson Smith controlled one third of all the vodka in Sweden. For almost half of the 19th century he was known as “The King of Vodka”. In 1879, he introduced a new kind of vodka called “Absolut Rent Bränvin” (Absolute Pure Vodka) produced using a revolutionary new distillation method. The method was called rectification, a method we still use today.
FIG. 2 Logo usage on bottle.
looking at
FUTURA German type designer Paul Renner first started creating Futura in 1924. He was inspired by the Bauhaus design style, and his initial design (Architype Renner) combined geometric character alternatives and old style-figures. German typographer Paul Renner is best known as the designer of the typeface Futura, which stands as a landmark of modern graphic design. Renner can be seen as a bridge between the traditional 19th century and the modern 20th century design. He attempted to fuse the gothic and the roman typefaces. While he was never directly affiliated with the
Bauhaus movement, he became an advocate of its aims and principles and became a leading proponent of the “New Typography�. Renner sought to influence culture by designing, writing and teaching. He wanted to use his aesthetic and intellectual skills to help in shaping the new life in both its material and spiritual forms. Instead of earning a living by easel painting, Renner spent most of his life in applied art, trying to bring high cultural standards to material objects for use – typefaces and books. On this matter, he preached to his students a recommendation from Goethe, whom he regarded
FIG. 3 (left) Futura used for an Absolut billboard advertisement. FIG. 4 (right) Limited edition bottle designed by Andy Warhol.
DESIGNER
CLASSIFICATION
RELEASE YEAR
Paul Renner
Geometric Sans
1927
as the prototypical modern person: “we should direct our view outwards, away from ourselves, into the world, not into the distance, but onto those things that are neat, within a hand’s reach.” In 1927, commissioned by the Bauer type foundry, Futura was commercially released in light, regular, and bold weights. Originally, Futura was intended to be used for body text for books, but in the 1950’s and 1960’s it was commonly used in headlines and subheads in advertising. In accordance with the hugely influential Bauhaus school of design, the typeface aimed for a pure functionality, with no ornamentation or individual characteristics. It is based on the circle, the most fundamental of all typographic components and is supremely easy to read, which is a typeface’s basic function after all. Derived entirely from geometric forms (nearperfect circles, triangles and squares), with strokes of near-even weight and contrast and distinctively tall lowercase letters that rise even above its capitals, Futura looks like
Absolut Vodka is a contemporary phenomenon. First exported in 1979, Absolut Vodka quickly soared to one of the best-selling premium vodkas in the world today. Successful businessman at 10 and entrepreneur at 14, Lars Olsson Smith controlled one third of all the vodka in Sweden. For almost
half of the 19th century he was known as “The King of Vodka”. In 1879, he introduced a new kind of vodka called “Absolut Rent Bränvin” (Absolute Pure Vodka) produced using a revolutionary new distillation method. The method was called rectification, a method we still use today.
F Uappearance TURA
& has an of
EFFICIENCY
FORWARDNESS efficiency itself: clean, standardized, legible, stylish without any overt “style.” Futura gained huge popularity after a commemorative plaque written in Futura was left on the moon in year 1969. But by 90s it also had to face a movement known as Art Directors Against Futura Extra Bold Condensed” that relinquished excessive use of Futura Extra Bold Condensed. Futura has an appearance of efficiency and forwardness. Although Renner was not associated with the Bauhaus, he shared many of its idioms and believed that a modern typeface should express modern models, rather than be a revival of a previous design. Renner’s design rejected the approach of previous sans-serif designs (now often called grotesques), which were based on the models of signpainting, condensed lettering and nineteenth-century serif typefaces, in favour of simple geometric forms: near-perfect circles, triangles and squares. It is based on strokes of near-even weight, which are low in contrast. The lowercase has tall ascenders, which rise above the cap line. The uppercase characters present proportions similar to those of classical Roman capitals. Despite its clean geometric appearance, some of Futura’s design choices recalled classic serif typefaces. Unlike many sans-serif
10 | ABSOLUT AND FUTURA
designs intended for display purposes, Futura has a low x-height, reducing its stridency and increasing its suitability for body text. In designing Futura, Renner avoided the decorative, eliminating nonessential elements, but used his knowledge of how people perceive lines and shapes to make subtle departures from pure geometric designs that allow the letterforms to seem balance.
creative
HISTORY
FIG. 5 Absolut sells products ranging in sizes, including mini bottles.
The human brain interprets linear elements positioned horizontally in a composition differently than linear elements positioned vertically. Fiven the same weight, the vertically oriented line appears thinner than the horizontal line. Since this is a universal phenomenom among human beings, type designers take this into consideration by reducing the thickness of the horizontal strokes of letters, in order to create the appearance of balance and even weight.
A predominant aspect of Absolut’s success in the marketing world is its bottle. Indeed, the bottle does have a very simple and attractive look, but I bet no one expected it to become as iconic as it did. After establishing its famous bottle-centric advertising style and thus portraying stories, thoughts, visions, ideas and the whole world through its product’s simple shape, Absolut began collaborating with artists, musicians, and other famous idols. Limited editions, artistic opportunities and creative promotions now all fit into an “Absolut world” just because someone once thought that a brand shouldn’t be limited to one aspect, one type of collaborator, one approach, but that it should rather find its spark in many different creative areas. And it worked. Unveiling novel ways to tell your stories through the arts, music, fashion, people and all other symbols of the contemporary landscape keeps a brand fresh and intriguing.
In 1930, the Futura typeface family grew to include semi-bold, bold condensed, light oblique and regular oblique weights, with a book weight added in 1932. Other designers have since added to the Futura family, which now includes over 20 faces and thirteen weight variations. Futura is still frequently used, as it has a beautiful economy of form and a strong sense of balance and functionality.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 11
character
BREAKDOWN
Cap Line
Mean Line
Base Line
Futura 1
3
4
2
Beard Line
1 2 3 4
“u” wider than n; lower stem truncated
5
Vertex slightly raised
Ends with horizontal terminal
6
Circular counter shifted to vertical stem
Terminal follows path of stroke Single-story form, stroke thins significantly where it meets stem
7 8
Minimal contrast Rounded glyphs are circular
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
12 | ABSOLUT AND FUTURA
Type 6
5
7
8
useful
TERMINOLOGY COUNTER
The open space in a fully or partly closed area within a letter
TERMINAL
The end of a stroke that does not include a serif
VERTEX
The outside point at the bottom or top of a character where two strokes meet
abcdefghigjklmnopqrstuvwxyz
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 13
vodka
of
FINLAND The Finlandia brand was established in 1970 by Alko, Finland’s stateowned alcoholic beverage company. A year later, the brand became the first Scandinavian vodka to be sold in the United States. Since Finlandia Vodka is made from among the purest water in the world – born from the glacial ice that covered Finland 10,000 years ago – the new bottle captures the gentle ripples at the precise moment before ice moves from solid to liquid.
FIG. 6 Finlandia bottle design and logo usage on packaging.
FINLANDIA NEWS GOTHIC Sleek simple design Representational to Finland Crisp design
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 15
DESIGNER
CLASSIFICATION
RELEASE YEAR
Morris Fuller Benton
Humanist Sans Serif
1908
In 1908, Morris Fuller Benton designed News Gothic for American Type Founders. The original design, with two condensed faces, is essentially a light version of Franklin Gothic. In the late 1940s, after a decline in popularity because of the success of the sans serifs from Europe (i.e., Gill Sans, Futura, Kabel), American gothic typefaces made a comeback. It was during this time that more versions of News Gothic were designed, including News Gothic Bold, which Intertype released in 1955. Like Franklin Gothic, these typefaces are classics for newspaper headlines, advertising, and packaging. Morris was a master of the technology of his day. His father, Linn Boyd Benton, invented the pantographic engraving machine, which was capable not only of scaling a single font design pattern to a variety of sizes, but could also condense, extend, and slant the design (mathematically, these are cases of affine transformation, which is the fundamental geometric operation of most systems of digital typography today, including PostScript). Morris worked on many of these machines with
looking at
NEWS
GOTHIC FIG. 7 (left) Finlandia print advertisement. FIG. 8 (right) Logo usage on bottle
his father at ATF, during which these machines were refined to an impressive level of precision. Morris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders (ATF), for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937. Benton was America’s most prolific type designer, having completed 221 typefaces, ranging from revivals of historical models like ATF Bodoni, to adding
new weights to existing faces such as Goudy Old Style and Cheltenham, and to designing original designs such as Hobo, Bank Gothic, and Broadway. Benton’s large family of related neogrotesque sans-serif typefaces, known as “gothics” as was the norm at the time, includes Alternate Gothic, Franklin Gothic, and News Gothic. These typefaces better anticipated and were more similar to later realist sansserif typefaces such as Helvetica than the other early grotesque types of his contemporaries.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 17
cultural
CONNECTION Ice has been the central design motif of the Finlandia brand from the beginning with the first bottle. The new design brings it to life in a compelling way by making it a 360-degree element of the bottle’s surface.
The typeface was originally drawn in two lighter weights, a medium text weight using the title News Gothic, and a closely related light weight marketed under the name Lightline Gothic. The typeface family was enlarged in 1958 with the addition of two bold weights. News Gothic is similar in proportion and structure to Franklin Gothic, also designed by Benton, but lighter.
The bottle has always embodied the clarity and freshness of the vodka inside, as well as embraced the spirit of the arctic country from which it came. The design of the Finlandia bottle was among his most famous designs inspired by his fascination with ice. Through the bottle’s evolution, Finlandia remains grounded in the same the principles of natural purity as it did 40 years ago. On the logo there are battling reindeer, which depicts Finland’s reindeer locked together while the Midnight Sun glows brightly above. The majestic reindeer of the great Finnish wilderness holds a hallowed place in Finnish native folklore and has adorned every bottle since Finlandia’s founding.
FIG. 9 (left)Vintage Finlandia print advertisement. FIG. 10 (right) Bottle redesign used in print advertisement.
18 | FINLANDIA AND NEWS GOTHIC
In addition to his strong aesthetic design sense, News Gothic, like other Benton sans serif typefaces, follows the grotesque model. Shapes that distinguish it from the neo-grotesque are the twostory lowercase a and the two-story lowercase g. Also distinctive are the blunt terminus at the apex of the lowercase t, and the location of the tail of the uppercase Q completely outside the bowl. The letter forms are compact, and descenders are shallow. The typeface differs from other realist sans-serifs in its organic shapes and subtle transitions of stroke
width, all contributing to a less severe, humanist tone of voice. For much of the twentieth century News Gothic was used in newspaper and magazine publishing. For use in headlines, it was designed with condensed and extra-condensed styles. ‘Gothic’ was an early twentieth century term for sans-serifs, found mostly in the United States and Canada. It was also used in the UK, along with ‘grotesque’. In Germany the term ‘Grotesk’ was used.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 19
Cap Line Mean Line
Base Line Beard Line
News 1
2
useful
TERMINOLOGY ASCENDER
A vertical stroke found on the part of lowercase letters that extends above the x-height.
LOOP
Enclosed or partially enclosed area below the baseline of a double-story g.
EYE
Much like a counter, the eye refers specifically to the enclosed space in a lowercase ‘e’.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
20 | FINLANDIA AND NEWS GOTHIC
character
BREAKDOWN
gothic 4
5
6
7
3
1
Rounds are oval, almost egg-shaped making the eye larger
2
Width of “s” reduced for density
3
Binocular “g” with squat loop
4
Minimal Contrast
5
Tall ascender on “t”
6
Stroke thins when nearing joints
7
Square tittle just below cap line
abcdefghigjklmnopqrstuvwxyz
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 21
CIROC TRADE GOTHIC Clear, lustrous typeface Promote social appeal
22 | CIROC AND TRADE GOTHIC
become the
SOCIAL ELITE Cîroc is a brand of eau-devie vodka, made in France from fine French grapes, produced and distributed by the British-based multinational alcoholic beverage maker Diageo. The world's largest producer of spirits, Diageo, also owns the leading vodka brand Smirnoff and a 50% venture in the Dutch vodka brand Ketel One. Since 2007, marketing and promotion for Cîroc in the United States has been handled by Sean "Diddy" Combs in an "equal-share venture" with the proceeds from Cîroc being split between promotional partner Combs and manufacturing partner Diageo. The name “Cîroc” is a combination of the French word cime, meaning peak or summit-top, and the French word roche, meaning rock. A reference to the high-altitude vineyards of the Gaillac region where the Mauzac grapes are grown.
FIG. 11 Logo usage on bottle.
looking at
TRADE
GOTHIC
Trade Gothic is a sans-serif typeface first designed in 1948 by Jackson Burke (1908–1975), who continued to work on further style-weight combinations (eventually 14 in all) until 1960 while he was director of type development for Linotype in the USA. The family includes three weights and three widths. He continued to work on further weights and styles until 1960 while he was director of type development for MergenthalerLinotype in the USA. Trade Gothic does not display as much unifying family structure as other popular sans serif font families, but this dissonance adds a bit of earthy naturalism to its appeal. Trade Gothic is often seen in advertising and multimedia
Ciroc’s previous platform, “Luck Be A Lady,” provided glimpses into Diddy’s lifestyle and influential people in his world. “Step Into The Circle” turns the lens outward. It captures scenes of celebration amongst everyday consumers that enjoy CIROC as a centerpiece of their special occasions.
24 | CIROC AND TRADE GOTHIC
in combination with roman text fonts, and the condensed versions are popular in the newspaper industry for headlines. He was also responsible for a number of other achievements at MergenthalerLinotype including: development of fonts for native American languages, development of the TeleTypesetting System (TTS) for magazine use, and development and implementation of the first phase of Linotype Group’s photocomposition library. Like many gothic fonts of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Trade Gothic is more irregular than many other sans-serif families that came later, especially later ones like Helvetica and
“‘Step into the Circle’ embodies the philosophy, ‘If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk together,’ honoring the indestructible bond of an inner circle of friends, colleagues, and long-time connections,” says Combs. “The campaign is genuine, real and reflects the journey that you take with the people who matter to you most.”
DESIGNER
CLASSIFICATION
RELEASE YEAR
Jackson Burke
Gothic
1948
FIG. 12 (top) Print advertisement showcasing club life. FIG. 13 (bottom) P Diddy featured in one of the print advertisements.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 25
Univers. This variety is often popular with designers who feel that it creates a more characterful effect. Since its initial release, Trade Gothic has been a stable part of American graphic design work, and has been used internationally as well. For a time, it was even seen a competitor to Helvetica®. Today Trade Gothic is often seen in advertising and multimedia in combination with serif text fonts, and the condensed versions are popular in the newspaper industry for headlines. For all its success, Trade Gothic does not display as a coherent unifying structure across all members of its family, although this dissonance does adds a bit of earthy naturalism to its appeal. Like other fonts that use the nineteenth century grotesque style, Trade Gothic has a large x-height. The x-height, or corpus size, is the distance between the baseline and the median, often times the height of the letter x. Also, because of Trade Gothic’s condensed faces, it is often a classic font used for designs on headlines and sub-heading for newspapers, magazines, and classified advertisements. Many designers consider Trade Gothic a great no-nonsense typeface making is perfect for headers. The typefaces large x-height and counter shapes help with readability. Over a period of two decades, Burke developed various additions to the Trade Gothic family, making it a popular choice in the design community for many years. In 2008 , Linotype developed a refined version of the typeface known as Trade Gothic Next. Today, both versions are is still used on the cover and in the pages of many books. These were condensed sans serif designs that proved to be very popular for what was then called “jobbing” or “trade” work. It wasn’t until several years later that designs of regular proportions were drawn and the group of faces was given the name “Trade Gothic.”
26 | CIROC AND TRADE GOTHIC
FIG. 1 4 (top) Trade Gothic used in logo type on a billboard. FIG. 15 (bottom) Advertisement featuring P. Diddy and promoting the luxurious aspect of product.
MANY DESIGNERS CONSIDER
TRADE GOTHIC A GREAT NO-NONSENSE TYPEFACE
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 27
character
BREAKDOWN
Cap Line Mean Line
Base Line Beard Line
Trade 1
3
2
1
Shoulder slightly wider than stem
2
Bowl has low center of gravity, stem slightly bends to right
3
The bowl widths of the “e” are thinned to compensate for reduced aperture
4
Binocular “g” with squat loop
5 6 7
Minimal contrast
8
Terminals turn inward
Horizontally cut terminal Square tittle just below cap line
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
28 | CIROC AND TRADE GOTHIC
gothic 7
5
4
8
6
useful
TERMINOLOGY SHOULDER
The curved stroke aiming downward from a stem. The curve at the beginning of a leg of a character.
BOWL
The curved part of the character that encloses the circular or curved parts of some letters .
TITTLE
A small distinguishing mark, such as an diacritic on a lowercase i or j
abcdefghigjklmnopqrstuvwxyz
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 29
based off
TRADITION Pyotr Smirnov founded his vodka distillery in Moscow in 1864 under the trading name of PA Smirnoff, pioneering charcoal filtration in the 1870s, and becoming the first to utilize newspaper ads along with charitable contributions to the clergy to stifle anti-vodka sermons, capturing two-thirds of the Moscow market by 1886. Early in the next century, when the company was under the control of Pyotr’s son Vladimir, political upheaval shook the foundations of Russia. In 1904, the Tsar forced nationalization upon the Vodka industry, and Vladimir was forced to sell his distillery and the Vodka brand to the state. Later, during the Russian Revolution, the situation declined further for Vladimir, and he (and many others) fled Russia.
FIG. 16 Bell Centennial typeface usage on bottle
SMIRNOFF BELL CENTENNIAL Geometric Sans Serif Modern Young demographic
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 31
looking at
BELL
CENTE
Matthew Carter, the creator of Bell Centenial began his career at the Enschede foundry in the Netherlands, where he learned the art of punch cutting, and spans over four decades through different media and technology. His timeless designs are based on pratical solutions to specific design problems, taking into consideration the characteristics and constraints of each medium. Carter’s typography has seamlessly integrated aesthetics, functionality, and the technol-
ogy of the time, resulting in typographic forms that encourage the organization of information. Over the years, his work as significantly influenced our visual language.
Carter’s Bell Centernial replaced Bell Gothic as AT&T worked toward a new identity in the mid 1970s. The font had to be legible at very small sizes (6 point) on both the CRT typesetting moni-
FIG. 17 Bell Centennial typeface featured on a print advertisement.
NNIAL DESIGNER
CLASSIFICATION
RELEASE YEAR
Matthew Carter
Humanistic Sans
1976
In May 2015 the company released a new packaging design for their bottles. The “clear and impactful new look” increases the prominence of Smirnoff ’s logo and introduces a new label to add texture and contemporary typography to the bottle. A new, improved footer label featuring the brand’s shield, crown and signature imagery also emphasises Smirnoff ’s heritage and commitment to product quality. The red shield that previously adorned Smirnoff Red bottles has been replaced with a clear glass background and a footer label now features the brand’s shield, crown and signature designs.
tors as well as on the highly absorbent newsprint pages used to produce telephone directories. Carter’s extensive printing and technology experience paid off; he was able to maintain legibility and printability at that small size. In 1976, AT&T commissioned the design of a new typeface whose sole purpose would be for use in their telephone directories. The design had to solve multiple technical and visual problems related with the existing phonebook typeface, Bell Gothic. The solution, named in honor of the company's 100th anniversary, was Bell Centennial. Bell Centennial is a family of four weights, designed by Matthew Carter at Mergenthaler, to take advantage of the then-newer composing and printing technologies, while still compensating for the limitations that did exist. Bell Centennial is a condensed sans-serif design that maintains legibility at very small sizes, allows for clear information structures, is economical on space, and accommodates for adverse production conditions; all while keeping to an intended typographic style.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 33
Since the intended final use was so specific, the restrictions on the design were extremely stringent, down to the minimum thousandth-of-an-inch in stroke weight, but this was all solved through careful planning and extreme attention to detail. Bell Centennial was designed to address and overcome most of the limitations of telephone directory printing: poor reproduction due to highspeed printing on newsprint, and ink spread which decayed legibility as it closed up counterforms. Carter’s design increased the x-height of lowercase characters, slightly condensed the character width, and carved out many more open counters and bowls to increase legibility.
34 | SMIRNOFF AND BELL CENTENNIAL
The new typeface, above all else, had to be very legible at small sizes (6 point, to be exact) – especially the numbers; according to Carter, the most valuable aspect of Bell Centennial is allowing for this by using very open forms. To do this, Carter emphasized counter space by using square cut terminals on letters with curved strokes, like in the a, c, e, g, and s. He also increased the white space of the letters by not using horizontal terminals, as well as straightening and shortening curves in characters like g, y, r, e, C, G, J, S, 3, 5, 6, and 9. The letters were allowed a bit more breathing space as far as letterspacing which prevented characters from bleeding together on the page.
FIG. 18 (left) Billboard advertisement that showcases logo and Bell Centennial typeface. FIG. 19 (right) Magazine advertisement that showcases the usage of different colored logo faces.
Carter began when typefaces were families of lead blocks, one for each character or punctuation mark, and a series of blocks for each style and for each point size, and then moved seamlessly to the digital realm when commissioned by the telecom company AT&T. Bell Gothic, the company’s existing typeface, had been designed for use on a linotype printing press, and its letterforms became eroded when run through the new offset presses, especially when used in lighter weights. Using CRT composition, Carter increased the widths of the letters to prevent the separation of strokes (where the leg of an h meets its stem, for example) or the crowding of letters at small sizes. To start with, CRT composition removed the limitation imposed by the Linotype requiring the same letter in different weights to be the same width; i.e., the light M no longer had to be the same width as the bold M. With this freedom, Carter was able to improve the clarity of visual hierarchy between all weights in the family. He made the Name & Number face heavier and wider, increasing its prominence over other information. Also, the width of the less prominent Address face was decreased; a reduction that would more than make up for the added width of the Name & Number face. This allowed more information to fit in a small space, thus saving paper, print time, shipping, and consequently, huge amounts of money.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 35
Ascender Line Mean Line
Base Line Base Line
Cent 1
2
3
4 5
u s e f u l
TERMINOLOGY TAIL
The descender of a Q or short diagonal stroke of an R.
APEX
A point at the top of a character where two strokes meet.
CROSS STROKE
A horizontal stroke that intersects the stem of a lowercase t or f.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
36 | SMIRNOFF AND BELL CENTENNIAL
character
BREAKDOWN
Type M 6
1
Squared terminals
2
7
8
5
Sharp curve to straight, horizontal tail
Large eye made larger due to ink traps
6
3
Shoulder thins at connection with the stem
Vertex raised slightly above the base line
7
Short descender
4
Crossbar does not intersect evenly through stem. Right side is longer than left side.
8
Apex is heaviest part of glyph, requiring a large ink trap
a b c d e f g h i g j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 37
GR EY life of
L U X U RY Grey Goose was originally created by Sidney Frank Importing Co (SFIC). Sidney Frank, founder/CEO of the company, developed the idea in the summer of 1996. The initial idea for Grey Goose was to develop a luxury vodka for the American marketplace, something Frank had been considering for a while when he came up with the name. Grey Goose was made more expensive than other premium vodka brands in order to produce a better product and to create a “superpremium” category in the American liquor market.
38 | GREY GOOSE AND ALBERTUS
FIG. 20 Albertus is used as the typeface for Grey Goose Vodka’s logo.
GOOSE ALBERTUS Stylized glyphic Showcase luxurious lifestyle
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 39
DESIGNER
CLASSIFICATION
RELEASE YEAR
Berthold Wolpe
Monotype
1940
Albertus is a glyphic, serif typeface designed by Berthold Wolpe in the period 1932 to 1940 for the Monotype Corporation type foundry. Wolpe named the font after Albertus Magnus, the thirteenth-century German philosopher and theologian. The publisher Faber & Faber hired a German-Jewish typographer named Berthold Wolpe, fresh out of an Australian internment camp. Wolpe had designed the typeface Albertus during a prewar stint with Monotype in homage to the lofty lettering carved into bronzes and tombstones. In addition to Albertus, Wolpe designed several other typefaces including Hyperion, Tempest Titling, Sachsenwald, Pegasus, Decorata and LTB Italic. Albertus can be seen as Morison’s improvement of Othello, Monotype’s 1928 copy of Neuland, executed by Pierpont.Wolpe studied as a metal engraver, and Albertus was modeled to resemble letters carved into
40 | GREY GOOSE AND ALBERTUS
bronze. The face began as titling capitals. Eventually a lowercase roman was added, and later a strongly cursive, narrow italic. Albertus has slight glyphic serifs. It is available in light and italic varieties. The project began in 1932. Titling caps were released first, and the Monotype Recorder of sum-
looking at
ALBERTUS Grey Goose was originally created by Sidney Frank Importing Co (SFIC). Sidney Frank, founder/CEO of the company, developed the idea in the summer of 1996. The initial idea for Grey Goose was to develop a luxury vodka for the American marketplace. After its launch in the American market, Grey Goose became very popular due to a confluence of timing and trends. Grey Goose was made more expensive than other premium vodka brands in order to produce a better product and to create a “superpremium� category in the American liquor market.
FIG. 21 Old bottle cap that features the Grey Goose logo. FIG. 22 Magazine advertisement for Grey Goose Vodka.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 41
Luxury is embedded in this brand’s story, and they know it. Just watch the film paired with the campaign; it’s that coy and elusive drama that intrigues you and convinces you that you’re missing something crucial. It’s romantic. It’s private, captivating, and calculating. This aura is designed, and it’s the same aura many people seek to create about themselves through social media. Bacardi said that the campaign appeals to “sophisticated consumers” who “care deeply about where their products some from”, adding that these customers “value quality, style, authenticity and craftsmanship, and they want to know the story of their favorite brands”. Packaging also plays an important role in the identity of the Grey Goose brand. The vodka comes in elegant, frosted glass bottles that are packaged in wooden boxes similar to French Wines. The bottles are also corked rather than a screw-top cap.
42 | GREY GOOSE AND ALBERTUS
mer 1935 presented the capitals as an advance showing. Other characters and a lower case were added by 1940. Wolpe had experience at a bronze foundry so he was inspired by bronze inscriptions. On the bronze inscriptions mentioned, the letters were not incised but raised; in other words the background was lowered and the outline only of the letters cut in. Such a metal inscription is cut with a chisel and not drawn with a pen, which gives it sharpness without spikiness, and as the outlines of the letters are cut from outside (and not from the inside outwards), this makes for bold simplicity and reduces the serifs to a bare minimum. If you were to ink the inscription you could actually take an impression from it which, of course, would reverse the letters in mirror fashion. This sounds fairly easy to convert into a type, but when it came to preparing the working drawings for the cutting of the type careful adjustments had to be made to allow for a smooth working of all the innumerable combinations necessary in a printing type. The discipline involved in making an inscription is considerably less than that required for designing a printing type. But the experience gained in the one was of great help in the other. For instance, I found it justifiable to keep certain letters narrow, such as E, F, L, T, which are often used, as the visual effect is broaden by their horizontal lines. The advantage is especially obvious when these letters are doubled.
FIG. 23 Albertus used on special edition Grey Goose Vodka
Special features of Albertus include the pointy inside bits in the capital B and the capital P. The counter of the “O” leans back somewhat because the bowl strokes are a little eccentric. The middle part of the “M” doesn’t touch the baseline. The upper aperture on the “S” is slightly more open than the lower one. Albertus is not used for body text it’s slightly wearisome to read long passages set in such a quirky face, even when the quirks are slight and the text is written in a more normal kind of language. While the letterforms are for the most part fairly open and extremely legible, they’re constructed from rela-
tively thick strokes, which can make text styled in a smaller size of Albertus sit a little heavy on the page. Additionally, the distinctive pointy serifs, which derive directly from carving and not from drawing or handwriting, pretty much start to disappear at around 18 points, which means there’s a built-in limit to how small Albertus can get and still have the effect it’s supposed to have. And if there’s any truth to the theory that serifs promote readability, then Albertus presents us with a bit of a problem, since the serifs are practically all bracket. Handsome as they are, they don’t provide quite the same sense of flow that you sometimes get from other classic serif faces.
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 43
character
BREAKDOWN
Cap Line Mean Line
1 Base Line Beard Line
alber 2
5 6
Short descenders
Arm meets stroke at thin point
7
Eye shows how typefaces counters appear to be carved out
Diagonally cut terminals
8
Flaring, asymmetrical crossbar
1
Short arch with sharp lapidary terminal
2
Flaring terminals
3 4
3
Counter reaches stem with very think strokes
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
44 | GREY GOOSE AND ALBERTUS
Type E 4
7
5
8
6
u s e f u l
TERMINOLOGY DESCENDER
The part of the letters that extends below the baseline.
BOWL
The fully closed, rounded part of a letter.
STRESS
The direction of thickening in a curved stroke.
abcdefghigjklmnopqrstuvwxyz
EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 45
FUTURA NEWS GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL ALBERTUS
TRADE GOTHIC
Width Width Width Width Width 46 | EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY
Futura is the widest typeface out of the five that have been featured. This is due to its strictly geometric proportions. News Gothic is wider than Trade Gothic.. Futura is just slightly wider than News Gothic. The least widest typeface is Bell Centennial this is due to its condensed construction that was essential for small text used in phone books. Albertus is in the middle compared to all the widths. It is not condensed but also isn’t design geometrically so it is not as wide as Futura or News Gothic. The tallest typeface is Bell Centennial this is due to the fact it is extremely condensed compared to the other typefaces. All other typefaces are relatively the same height. Trade Gothic, News Gothic, and Bell Centennial are pretty similar in structure when it comes to height and width. Albertus and Futura are larger letter forms in height and can be compared although they are very different in structure since Futura is more geometric and Albertus is more stylized.
type
COMPARISON
HEIGHT HEIGHT HEIGHT WK K K WW p pp a aa p a EXPLORATION OF VODKA TYPOGRAPHY | 47
I SIMILAR TYPEFACES Rockwell
48 | ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION
Courier
Claredon Adelle
DESIGNER
CLASSIFICATION
RELEASE YEAR
Justine Parks
Slab Serif
2015
Inspired by bold and sleek designs, Zilla’s intended use is for alcohol brand identity. Most efficiently used on larger scales for product labels and marketing materials such as billboards, magazine advertisements, and television advertisements. The typeface also features half serifs for a more modern feel,
but still giving the typeface individuality. The slab serif design featuring diagonal terminals set this typeface aside from traditional slab serifs. I sought inspiration from famous slab serifs such as Rockwell, Courier, Adelle and Claredon. But also examined more modern and stylistic typefaces.
ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION | 49
lowercase
The x-height for Zilla is rather large. This will shorten both the ascender height and descender length. The terminals in a lowercase “x” extend outwards from the center creating half a serif, and end in vertical terminals. The strokes are the same sizes giving the typeface no contrast.
xx x x x FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
50 | ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
The lowercase “a” has a teardrop shaped counter. The top terminal ends at a diagonal. The bottom terminal ends with a unbracketed serif that extends outwards and ends vertically parallel to the stem. There is no stroke contrast.
aaa a a FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION | 51
The lowercase “r” has an upper terminal that extends away from the letter and closes at a diagonal. The bottom terminal however, extends inwards towards the letter and closes at a vertical that is parallel to the shoulder terminal.
rrr r r FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
52 | ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
lowercase
The lowercase “z” has vertical serifs that go inwards towards the letter form. The top serif ends with a diagonally cut terminal, while the bottom terminal is cut horizontally. The letter form also has vertically cut perpendicular strokes, which can be seen where the stem meets the top and bottom strokes.
zzz z z FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION | 53
lowercase
The lower case “t” has a short ascender which is caused by the large x-height. There are no serifs, however the top terminal is a cut at a diagonal. The cross stroke is parallel to the stem and is balanced evenly on both sides. The bottom terminal curves horizontally and cuts vertically parallel to the stem.
t ttt t FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
54 | ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
The lowercase “y” has a short descender that is slightly bigger than the ascender height. The top terminals have bracketed serifs. The bottom terminal curves to the left slightly ending vertically parallel to the top terminals.
yyy y y FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION | 55
UPPERCASE
The uppercase “G” is more oval in shape compared to other geometric fonts such as Futura. It features a stop serif that extends upwards away from the letter and is closed by a diagonal terminal. The cross stoke is even on both sides, but the left side is closed with a diagonal terminal.
GGG G G FUTURA
56 | ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION
NEWS GOTHIC
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
The uppercase “K” features a leg that is extended to the other arm and not the stem. The top of the stem ends in a diagonal terminal. The leg extends outwards away from the stem and has a serif that directed outwards from tem and is cut vertically.
K KKK K FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION | 57
The uppercase “P” is even in stroke width. The bowl does not thin when reaching the stem, instead it blends together as one form. The top serif extends away from letter form and cuts at a diagonal terminal. The bottom serif extends inwards and is cut vertically.
P PPP P FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
58 | ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
UPPERCASE
The uppercase “N” is one of the few letter forms in the set that does not have diagonally cut terminals. Instead the diagonals of the stokes themselves are emphasized. Both serifs extend away from the letter form and are vertically cut.
N NN N N FUTURA
NEWS GOTHIC
TRADE GOTHIC
BELL CENTENNIAL
ALBERTUS
ZILLA: TYPEFACE CREATION | 59
IMAGE LIST FIG 1: http://kult.com.hr/beta/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/absolut.jpg FIG 2: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/thumb/3/36/Absolut_Pure.jpg/512pxAbsolut_Pure.jpg FIG 3: https://c1.staticflickr. com/3/2373/2352678895_d906e285bc_b.jpg FIG 4: http://www.goguide.bg/upload/ckfinder/images/Abslout_Warhol.jpg FIG 5: http://www.goodfon.su/download/absolutvodka-fon-5193/1440x900 FIG 6: http://x3.cdn03.imgwykop.pl/c3201142/ comment_qMjedqpgr6mQfn1RY5M5Fo5FDxXkriJo.jpg FIG 7: https://static.squarespace.com/static/525366 52e4b007332ef4ecf4/52dec946e4b0ca499f87bce7/5 2dec954e4b0ca499f881531/1310444197003/1000w/ Untitled-1.jpg FIG 8: http://ebid.s3.amazonaws.com/upload_medium/0/2/8/1394431433-32763-19.jpg FIG 9: https://m2.behance.net/rendition/pm/25733585/max_1200/ a4bcda6a2228ed7690f39220d029904.jpg FIG 10: http://da.aiga.org/#/ entries/%2Bid%3A13729/_/detail/relevance/ asc/0/7/13729/when-you-serve-finlandia-vodka/1 FIG 11: http://www.31dover.com/media/catalog/ product/cache/1/image/1000x1000/9df78eab33525 d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/1/31dover-ciroc_700ml320x1000.png FIG 12: http://www.westsidestudio.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2014/12/Ciroc-Final_Landscape.jpg FIG 13: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/y5uNoKzX1zY/ maxresdefault.jpg FIG 14: http://www.dailybillboardblog. com/2013/01/sean-combs-ciroc-vodka-billboards. html FIG15: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F22m1RzHe9k/ TQUlcsdCGAI/AAAAAAAACsk/sMxYUSfmnwc/ s1600/ciroc_vodka_ad.jpg FIG 16: http://www.smartgrocerystore.co.uk/media/catalogue/vodka.jpg FIG 17: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/be/53/de/be53de123a25d913ec40e5740e8084ce.jpg FIG 18: http://isthisfrisco.tumblr.com/image/119684118424 FIG 19: http://files1.coloribus.com/files/adsarchive/part_1867/18673055/file/smirnoff-vodkasmirnoff-sorbet-light-raspberry-pomegranate-600-92163.jpg FIG 20: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/ files/1/0336/7193/products/Grey_goose_vodka_litro.gif?v=1404849075 FIG 21: http://simonledder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/grey_goose_vodka_cocktails_fly_beyond_advert_atmospheric.jpg FIG 22: http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/ v0/1344739257_1/nc0132-Grey-Goose-font-b-Vodka-b-font-font-b-Bar-b-font-Beer-Neon-Sign.jpg FIG 23: http://www.csmau.com/ upload/3c/61/3c6137ef79e6ae78.jpg
SOURCES “Absolut Vodka - Official Site.” Absolut Vodka. Absolut Vodka. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.absolut.com/us/ Clair, Kate. A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry. New York: Wiley, 1999. Print. Coles, Stephen. The Anatomy of Type: A Graphic Guide to 100 Typefaces. New York: Harper Design, 2012. Print. CÎROC® Ultra-Premium. Ciroc Vodka. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.ciroc.com “Finlandia Vodka.” Finlandia. Finlandia Vodka. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.finlandia.com/en Garfield, Simon. Just My Type: A Book about Fonts. NY, NY: Gotham, 2011. Print. GREY GOOSE® Vodka | The World’s Best Tasting Vodka. Grey Goose Vodka. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.greygoose.com/us/en/home.html Himelstein, Linda. The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. Print. Jong, Cees De, Alston W. Purvis, and Jan Tholenaar. Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles. Print. Lewis, Richard W. Absolut Book: The Absolut Vodka Advertising Story. Boston: Journey Editions, 1996. Print.
Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2004. Print. Matus, Victorino. Vodka: How a Colorless, Odorless, Flavorless Spirit Conquered America. Print. Meggs, Philip B., and Rob Carter. Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993. Print. Schrad, Mark Lawrence. Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State. Print. “VODKA | Smirnoff.” Smirnoff US Home Comments. Smirnoff Vodka. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.smirnoff.com/en-us/