EXPRESSIVE TYPE LEAH WALTERS | TYPOGRAPHY 1 | FALL 2014
BALLOON I wanted to do “balloon” because there’s a clear, universal image of a balloon. Balloons are fun, festive and light. A lot of ideas came to mind while I brainstormed, but some of my favorites were the ideas of inflating and buoyancy.
I thought “balloon� and thought big, full, round. I sketched out all sorts of ideas: thin type, script type, and big, rounded type. I liked the idea of trying to make the type fit into the shape of a balloon, too, but the execution seemed to literal. I got the best feedback from classmates on the bubbly letters and I think those options best conveyed the ideas I came up with in my brain map. My final type began with Chalkboard. I converted to outlines and then deleted the counters so the shapes look more balloon-like. I also edited the letters with the pen tool and direct-select so they are more full. Finally I added the tied off ends to each letterform. I set the type high on the page to exaggerate the feeling of floating.
COPY “Copy� immediately brought technology to mind. It is so simple now to replicate type/objects/idea with the aid of a computer. My brain map also conjured ideas about cheating or peeking, but the idea that really stuck was multiplying and having a bunch of the same thing.
A lot of the ideas I came up with for “copy� came from the ideas about computers and copiers. I tried giving the illusion of stacked papers and dog-eared corners like the copy icon on computers. That concept got a good response, but I still liked the more simplistic idea of duplicating type. I sketched that idea out, but not well so in my second iteration I played around with it on a computer. I tried the final look with a couple of narrow sans serif fonts before settling on a wide option. When I converted to outlines, I took out the fill and gave the shapes a black stroke. This makes the effect of copying more apparent. Initially all of the text was straight, but I ended up setting each copy slightly askew. The slight imperfection is a visual cue that there a several layers and feels like a realistic stack.
BOOST I liked the word “boost” because of all of its connotations. It can be a physical action or a more abstract idea, but it is always positive. In brainstorming I was more inclined to go the action route. I thought about lifting, heaving, and “powering up.”
I wanted “boost” to be very simple looking and convey the action of “giving a lift.” Many of my sketches were simple sans serif type with floating letters. I think that idea worked well, but I got good response for the arrow shaped “t” and wanted to proceed with that concept. For my final design, I started with a chunky, sans serif font called Nevis Bold. I was happy with its weight as it looks sturdy, which a “boost” ought to be. After I created outlines from the type, I added an extra anchor point to the shoulder of the “T” and pulled it up to create the arrow shape. I could have left it as is, but I wanted to break the triangle up from the letter form for the sake of recognition. I added a white “I” shape horizontally to create that effect.