Typography II Process Book: Monogram

PROj E C T / II monogram

Molly Magnell BFA Candidate in Communication Design, 2018

Washington University in St. Louis Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art

Typography II Fall 2016

— Molly Magnell —

INTRODUCTION

I had never heard of April Greiman before I picked her name out of Chrissy’s hand. When I was scrolling thoruhg her work, I felt like I stepped back in time into the early stages of digital design. The bright layers of shapes and collaged pieces of information followed a system of logic. Her aesthetic clearly manifested itself throughout all of her pieces. I knew that her logo had to incorporate elements of her work to feel like it was a part of her brand identity.

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— Project II —

DISCOVERY + RESEARCH

April Greiman helped pioneer the digital graphic design revolution by embracing the use of computers to render visuals. Her work encapsulates the late 70’s and early 80’s aesthetic of loud colors and shapes floating in different planes of space. I decided that my monogram should mimic the style of her early work, which is the most recognizable.

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— Molly Magnell —

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Early on in the process, I focused on overlapping letters and creating depth in space. I also considered mixing typefaces and weights to reference the Swiss punk style. I also considered abstracting letterforms into shapes that can contain patterns. I was particularly inpsired by her Cal Arts View poster in terms of determining color, content, and shape.

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— Molly Magnell —

MONOGRAM INSPIRATION

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— Molly Magnell —

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Left: I instantly thought about incorporating a halftone pattern into a design with overlapping parts. I wanted to see how much I could reduce an “A” and a “G” to shapes and still be legible.

Right: Inspired by the Cooper Union logo, I thought about shapes as modular pieces to a puzzle. As I experimented with transparancy and positioning, I considered ways I could warp and expand the planes of the shapes. However, transparant layers weren’t a signature part of April’s body of work.

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— Molly Magnell —

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The colors on the left-most column were sampled from the poster.

The adjacent colors are possible Pantone substitutes. This sheet served as a color guide for printing.

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— Molly Magnell —

REFINEMENT

My refinement process started with more experimentation that focused on an interaction between typefaces. These designs felt more traditional and I think were worth exploring as a possible route.

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MONOGRAM EVOLUTION

In the end, the monogram constructed of shapes was most successful in capturing April Greiman’s spirit. The design went through many iterations, with special attention to the legibility of the “G.” My biggest struggle was making sure it couldn’t be interpreted as a “C” or “e.”

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— Molly Magnell —

I played with the idea of stamping the monogram across four business cards to create a unique set

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FINAL DESIGN

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—— Molly Project Magnell II ——

CRITICISM

I think the biggest improvement I could’ve made was making further refinements to my final business card.

I think the finished product is a safe, effective design.

I thought a parallelogram-shaped card would add continue the geometric language used in the logo while adding a unique element. The information side of the card uses a sans serif that feels like it would belong in her body of work. I think I could’ve considered adding layers of hierarchy through point size, tracking, font weight, etc.

When I used a different monogram iteration, I was able to use a bright yellow background without losing the legibility of the emblem. I couldn’t apply that strategy to the finalized mark with the slice missing from the circle. The yellow really popped and created a loud first impression upon interacting with the card.

I think I would like to rework the final card design by finding more places to incorporate the yellow beyond the adge details.

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