City In Flux Katy Robinson
Concepts, Ideas & Experiments
Concepts Before deciding on what I want to produce at the end of this brief, I needed to come up with a conceptual idea behind this. I went on to look at what there is in every town and city, ranging from weather to textures. As well as thinking of a good concept to have
my work based around, I also need a good media technique to capture what I want to portray through my work, therefore I feel that these both have to work in parallel and run well alongside each other, or what I want to produce may not work well if these aren’t considered.
The concepts that stood out most to me were nature, signs and type, landscapes, textures and architecture. I then chose to explore these further, taking primary photos to extend my research and ideas generation. I have chosen to focus my work on Weymouth,
as I feel that there is a lot of background history and the town has changed plenty over time and would therefore fit the brief to create a good response to what it is asking me.
City In Flux
Primary Research - Photos
Textures
My reasoning for choosing to look at textures is because in towns and cities there are a variety of textures all around us. Whether this ranges from bricks of a building to rust on a lamppost, they are always there. I feel that many ideas can come from looking at textures, especially in the patterns that may occur, and the formation of the texture. The material that it is formed in also generates a big inspiration for many things, maybe even the material that the end piece is produced on.
Landscapes & Horizons I chose to photograph landscapes and horizons, as many a time they are all different at different intervals of the day due to cloud movement, weather conditions and even the season that we are in. I enjoy the beauty of them all, whether it’s a stark, bare winter tree or fully bloomed autumn blossom. They can create worlds of ideas especially with the colours in the skies and foregrounds.
Nature With nature and the natural environment, there is a lot happening all at once. It is a different part to towns and cities. It is a nice contrast, full of colour and life as opposed to city buildings, which are usually a simple one colour scheme. With nature I find that it creates more of an ergonomically designed final idea or designs, however to some this can be seen as a good thing due to the amount of ‘man made’ looking forms that there are.
Architecture I chose to look at architecture due to the structures of the buildings in Weymouth, as much of the building and brickwork dates back to Georgian times, and has barely been modified or worked on, especially the Jubilee Clock and buildings along the esplanade by the seafront. In my opinion it still also creates an old ‘vintage’ feel to the town, despite the newer and very modern buildings further outside the town and also inside. This could be a good way to generate ideas of old and new combined.
Type Type is a big part of everyday life, therefore I felt it was necessary for me to look at it in my primary research, for the fact that I would most probably be using it in my final design. With the mass of variation of font and type that is everywhere around us, I feel that it would not be hard to get inspiration for a style for my work. Primarily all of the typeface in Weymouth is ‘vintage’, however can always have a modern twist added to it to adapt it to a ‘newer’ Weymouth town centre.
City In Flux
Ideas Generation & Development
1: Collage Before I started my collage, I gathered imagery and scrap items, such as cardboard and bubble wrap, that could be used in my experiments, some of these can be seen on this page.
I also chose to use a book wrotten by the author Thomas Hardy, who was born to the east of Dorchester, a small town about seven miles away from Weymouth, therefore I felt that this would be a nice link to my work and the brief. I then went ahead and created my collages digitally on Adobe Photoshop so that I could easily edit and crop them to experiment further.
2: Drawing
I opted to do drawing as I feel that there a various ways to put across what you want, and it can easily be expanded and developed. For these drawings, I chose to take apart a photograph
that I had taken and draw back into it. I also had an idea to draw older parts of Weymouth onto newer parts or vice versa.
3: FilmPhotography
Film photography for me stands out a lot more than normal digital photography, therefore I went out with my film camera to capture some photos that I thought summed up Weymouth and its best environments. For this I went up to a small island called Portland, as there are stunning views and natural environments, however it was rainy when I went, but this also then added an effect to the photos, which I also really liked.
Final Idea For my final idea I have decided to take forward my drawings, as I feel that i can make them a lot stronger than they are, as well as the fact that they can be developed easily and to a great extent.
To link in city in flux I will also be adding in imagery of the change of beach huts over time. I feel that this will fit the brief nicely to create a solution and it also shows the change of Weymouth and its history.
Regarding this as a piece and incorporating Weymouth as a tourist town, I will be producing a ‘tourist information pack’, containing a brief history of the town with maps, postcards with the illustrations of the various beach huts and also 3 sticks of rock, also with the illustrations.
Whilst doing this I will also be looking into different formats of type to use as a good advert for people to be inclined to look at the product.
Typography Research
For my postcards and also the main body information about Weymouth, I researched into the various typefaces that were already on some postcards from the town. I chose to do this before developing my drawings as I could then relate my drawings to the typeface that i choose to use. After looking closely at them, I noticed that apart from one, they all had a fairly old style of font and all had shadow underneath some of the original text, this I want to get away from in my pieces. I also saw that five out of the eight postcards had a small point size. It wasn’t hard to read, however for me, having it in the corner did not do it any favours and the point size could have been made bigger that it was. For me, the postcards that I looked at all seem fairly out-dated and could do with updating, therefore, this is what I am going to try and do in the next stage of my research and look into modern typefaces, whilst also linking them to the imagery that I am using.
Typography Experiments
WEYMOUTH
Abadi MT Condensed Light - 118 pt
WEYMOUTH Bradley Hand - 100 pt
WEYMOUTH Letter Gothic Std - 105 pt
WEYMOUTH WEYMOUTH Helvetica - 93 pt
I next chose to look at and experiment with various styles of typography. This then made me think, do I want a similar style to the type face on the postcards that I had looked at, or do I want something completely different so that it stands out and defines the image that I have also placed it with. I also need to take into consideration the typeface for the information leaflet as well as the postcards. Within my research and thinking, I wanted something that represented a seaside town, but not too over the top that it took away from the main piece.
Courier New - 93 pt
WEYMOUTH Chalkboard - 80 pt
WEYMOUTH Hobo Std - 87 pt
WEYMOUTH Mistral - 107 pt
WEYMOUTH WEYMOUTH Nanum Brush Script - 90 pt
Nanum Pen Script - 90 pt
WEYMOUTH
Noteworthy - 77 pt
WEYMOUTH
Courier - 93 pt
WEYMOUTH
WEYMOUTH Trajan Pro - 88 pt
Trattatello - 92 pt
After looking at the fourteen different fonts, I have chosen to look further into four of them. I have opted to look at two for the main body text, these being Helvetica and Letter Gothic Std and then a further two for the titles, these being Trattatello and Nanum Pen Script. I will be looking into the point sizes from twenty five to sixty five, to make sure that they are readable for the audience and also looking at the uppercase and lower case variations of each font in different letters.
Trattatello Aa Bb Jj Kk Ss Tt
TRATTATELLO
Cc Ll Uu
25 PT
TRATTATELLO 30 PT
Dd Mm Vv
TRATTATELLO 35 PT
TRATTATELLO 40 PT
TRATTATELLO 45 PT
Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ww Xx Yy Zz
TRATTATELLO 50 PT
TRATATELLO 55 PT
TRATTATELLO 60 PT
TRATTATELLO 65 PT
With this font, I definitely prefer the capital letters to the lowercase letters, as I feel that they have more character and boldness to them. In my opinion the capitals also stand out a lot more and are easier to read. I find that the font works best from the point size fifty and over as below this the letters are very close together, unless you opted to change the kern or letter spacing in the text. I also feel that the font replicates a very historical, old style of writing, especially when it is in the lower case, which in my opinion relates well to Weymouth as there is a lot of background and history to the town.
Nanum Pen Script Aa Jj Ss
Bb Kk Tt
NANUM PEN SCRIPT
Cc Ll Uu
Dd Mm Vv
Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ww Xx Yy Zz
25 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 30 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 35 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 40 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 45 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 50 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 55 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 60 PT
NANUM PEN SCRIPT 65 PT
Similarly to Trattatello I prefer this font in uppercase, however feel that it works better from a smaller point size, for example this typeface is readable from point size thirty upwards. Despite the font looking slightly childlike, I feel that it gives off a nice feel and would fit nicely to the work that I want to produce, as to me and also from seeing it first hand over 19 years, a seaside town is a place where you take children so that they can enjoy the sun and the beaches on a small family holiday. Whilst on small holidays, people do also write postcards or take them as a little memento, therefore this font gives off the feel that the children have also had an input in choosing and/or writing the postcard as well.
Helvetica
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Helvetica
Ff Oo Xx
Gg Pp Yy
Hh Qq Zz
Ii Rr
25 pt
Helvetica 30 pt
Helvetica 35 pt
Helvetica 40pt
Helvetica 45 pt
Helvetica 50 pt
Helvetica 55 pt
Helvetica 60 pt
Helvetica 65 pt
I really like Helvetica as a body font due to the versatility of it. It is also a universal font and even a variation of it is used for iPhones, therefore it is known worldwide and is readable for everyone. From the perspective of point size, Helvetica works at a variety, from the really small, including sizes under a point size of twenty five, beyond the point size of sixty five. The font works well in upper and lower case, which is why I feel it suitable for the main body copy font. It would also give a modern twist in my work, especially if I chose to use Trattatello as my title font.
Letter Gothic Std Aa Ii Qq Yy
Bb Jj Rr Zz
Cc Kk Ss
Dd Ll Tt
Ee Mm Uu
Ff Nn Vv
Gg Oo Ww
Hh Pp Xx
Letter Gothic Std 25 pt
Letter Gothic Std 30 pt
Letter Gothic Std 35 pt
Letter Gothic Std 40 pt
Letter Gothic Std 45 pt
Letter Gothic Std 50 pt
Letter Gothic Std 55 pt
Letter Gothic Std 60 pt
Letter Gothic Std 65 pt
Letter Gothic Std is also another font that is easily readable in the majority of smaller point sizes, hence why I also opted to look into this font instead of settling with Helvetica. Similarly to Helvetica, Letter Gothic Std works in both lower case and upper case, making it readable for everyone. However unlike Helvetica, there is more spacing between the letters making it slightly clearer to read as well.
Font Combinations WEYMOUTH WEYMOUTH Weymouth Weymouth
Weymouth Weymouth
Trattatello (Title)
WEYMOUTH
Nanum Pen Script (Title)
Weymouth
Letter Gothic Std (SubTitle)
Letter Gothic Std (Body copy)
Weymouth
Letter Gothic Std (Body copy)
Trattatello (Title)
WEYMOUTH
Letter Gothic Std (Sub-Title)
Helvetica (Sub-Title)
Helvetica(Body copy)
After looking at these four combinations, I feel that Letter gothic Script and Trattatello with Letter Gothic Std. Std works best for the subtitles and the body copy therefore I am going to use this in my final piece. After much thought and deliberation, I decided to include all three typefaces in my work, as I did not want to have to I am however undecided on which font to use for the main title forcefully choose between the two title fonts, I opted to use and also the font on the postcards, as I like both Nanum Pen Trattatello for the postcards and Nanum Pen Script for the titles
Weymouth Weymouth
Nanum Pen Script (Title)
Helvetica (Sub-Title)
Helvetica(Body copy)
on the information booklet. I then played around on illustrator with differnet effects and tools to create some kind of ‘pattern’ for my postcards as opposed to having just the plain text.
W E Y M O U T H
Out of the six ideas that I played around with, there are not many that I like, as to me they look very ‘artificial’ which is not the look or feel that I want in my work. Out of these options, I would most likely go for the plain horizontal wording, as I am not very keen on the 3D effect on the others. Colour wise I chose blue as this links to beaches and the sea, therefore I thought that would link nicely in with my project. As for the blue and red colouring this matches the towns football club.
Drawing Development
I decided to develop my drawings to make them bigger, better and bolder, as I felt that these were the stronger out of my ideas and also with drawings there are many ways that they can be developed.
Differently to the initial drawings, I started off by sketching out the different beach huts that there are and have been in Weymouth throughout history, as this was what I decided upon for my final design so that it would fit the brief.
After completing the drawings, I felt that they were too ‘still’ and there was not enough character and ‘personality about them, and were too much the same due to them all being drawn in pencil and in just one colour. I then decided to change this around and use adobe illustrator to digitally create these drawings and further expand on their development.
These images I preferred greatly as there was colour and they all had their own individuality and you could clearly see what drawing was what as opposed to having them all in pencil.
I had an idea to place the illustrations over some of the primary research photos that I had previously taken to make my postcards. I then proceeded to make small thumbnails as to where to place the illustrations so that there would be a nice,
well planned and thought out composition throughout each image and postcard that was produced.
WEYMOUTH ROCK ingredients: sugar, glucose syrup, flavourings and one or more of: E102, E110, E22, E124,E129, E132, E133, E142, E153, E163, E171. may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
ingredients: sugar, glucose syrup, flavourings and one or more of: E102, E110, E22, E124,E129, E132, E133, E142, E153, E163, E171. may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
WEYMOUTH ROCK
WEYMOUTH ROCK ingredients: sugar, glucose syrup, flavourings and one or more of: E102, E110, E22, E124,E129, E132, E133, E142, E153, E163, E171. may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
ingredients: sugar, glucose syrup, flavourings and one or more of: E102, E110, E22, E124,E129, E132, E133, E142, E153, E163, E171. may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
WEYMOUTH ROCK
I really liked this concept for my work and these pieces, however I felt that they did not look right, or come across how I wanted them to be portrayed. In my opinion it was clear that they had been photoshopped and looked too much like the illustrations had been copied and pasted straight on top of the picture and weren’t very visually
I like the way that these came out as labels and they work really well when placed on to the sticks of rock. Still wanting to try and make the postcards look nice and look like postcards as
captivating to the audience. I, however, still wanted to keep these illustrations therefore I used them for the labels for the sticks of rock that I was to include in my ‘tourist pack’. I chose to keep the layout of the labels the same throughout
opposed to something that looks copied and pasted, using some of the primary images I took whilst at home I placed text over those to see what that would look like.
and just change the image. This way there would be a constant in the design. By adding the black border I also feel that it makes the piece bolder as a whole as they will only be small pieces on the sticks of rock.
I started to really dislike the postcards as I continuously looked at them, especially when I used the text over the photos. I feel that they did not come out to their best ability and the typeface does not match the image at all. As well as this I think that the images used are too dark and therefore do not have as much potential as they could have done if they had been taken in the summer as opposed to October. I decided to put these aside and if needs be, not use postcards and instead just include photos of the town and its landmarks within the package. With this in mind, I proceeded to start working on the final information booklet. I had a rough idea in mind of what I wanted it to contain information wise, such as the history and change of Weymouth up until the very present time, information of what you can do in and around the town for both, adults and children as well as family activities. I wanted to include a map either within or alongside the booklet, therefore this would probably go on the very back page so that it was easily accessible.
New Idea
After receiving much needed feedback from tutors, I have had another idea which I feel will better suit what I want to put across. Whilst still using the idea of the change of beach huts as opposed to having postcards, I shall be placing them into one poster.
I then went on to look at an illustrator and a typographer who both work in a very unique but contemporary style, and this pushed me into the more hand drawn or just a simpler digital illustration style of work, similar to the previous drawings that I had done of the beach houses before making them a digital illustration
Whilst I now knew again what I wanted to produce as a final piece, it was also important that I still considered who the target audience was and why. I feel that I could still aim the piece at tourist families that would come on a holiday to Weymouth, however I also feel that if executed well, locals that live in Weymouth may be interested in purchasing the product.
Jessica Hische
Jessica Hische is a letterer, illustrator and type designer, who grew up in Pennsylvania, America. She has worked for, and still continues to work with clients such as Penguin Books and
Wes Anderson. Jessica works in a very bold style that is definitely recogniseable to herself. She uses a very iconic, stand out font in the majortiy of her pieces.
Her unique way of creating posters really caught my eye, especially the intricate details in some of her pieces, such as the hope piece with the pig and the spider.
Gemma Correll
Gemma Correll is a cartoonist, illustrator and a writer. She is the author of many books such as “A Cat’s Life” (Te Neues, 2012), “A Pug’s Guide to Etiquette” (Dog N Bone, 2013) and “The Worrier’s Guide to Life” (Andrews McMeel, 2015). She also publishes comics online and draws a monthly cartoon
for the Emirates Airline Open Skies magazine. Her clients include Hallmark, The New York Times, The Observer, Oxford University Press and many more. I really like Gemma’s illustrations as they have a quirky feel and look to
them, which is what I feel, makes them different to other illustrations that I have seen before. Not only are they quirky, but they are also all hand drawn and then slightly edited with the levels tool in Photoshop, which makes them that little bit extra special.
Poster Layout
In my mind I had a rough idea of what i wanted the new idea to look like, however just so I did not forget what was what. After sketching down a very small three ideas, I really liked the thumbnail in which the drawings
were placed in a row. In many ways this showed a kind of time line for the images. I then proceeded to design them up digitally, developing as I went along.
WEYMOUTH
1805 | 2015
WEYMOUTH
1805 | 2015
WEYMOUTH
1805 | 2015
WEYMOUTH
1805 | 2015
WEYMOUTH
1805 | 2015
I really liked the final development that I had done, therefore I decided to use this as my final design. I liked how it was all
combined into one, especially with the outline surrounding it and the font being slightly modern, to go with the more contemporary style of beach hut.