Phill Barnes (FMP Research Book)

Research Book FMP

Type Design.

Research book by Philly Barnes 2020 Final Major Project

06 05

Contents

Research Book

04 03 02 01

FMP

Introduction

04 - 09

Editorial Workshop

10 - 17

FMP Planning

18 - 23

Research

24 - 25

What is typography

26 - 31

History of type

32 - 35

Anatomy of type

36 - 41

Type Classifiction

42 - 45

Letter Parts

46 - 49

Typographic Illusions 50 - 55 Old Techniques

56 - 59

Current Software

60 - 61

Case Studies

62 - 83

Inspiration

84 - 91

Bibliography

92 - 95

Critical Reflection Evaluation

96 - 103 104 - 105

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01

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Image 01, Phill Barnes (2020)

Chapter 01

FMP

Research Book

Introduction.

01 / About Me.

Research Book FMP Chapter 01 06 / 07

Workshop As a designer, I like to take my influences from both historical and current techniques. Research forms a very large part of my design process with inspiration coming from books, logos, posters, films, and even record sleeves as music is a passion of mine. My style of design concentrates on minimalism, geometric shapes and grid systems for a strong structured outcome.

I enjoy manipulating, pairing, and crafting my own type to incorporate into logos and identity systems. Logo and identity design and typography is a passion which I would like to pursue for brands and main titles for film.

Creative satisfaction comes from using paper and pencil and other hands-on techniques. These sketches would then be transformed into a digital format using Adobe Illustrator, In:Design, Photoshop, and Fontself to allow further enhancement for the final design.

Image 02, FMP Brief (2020)

Research Book FMP

My final outcome will be a fully designed typeface creating the 26 letters within the alphabet in upper and lowercase. I will be researching the history of type by reading various books and also interacting with designers who specialise in Typography to broaden my knowledge.

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Chapter 01

Aims for the project My aim is to produce a typeface that is highly refined and professional which demonstrates my strengths and desired career pathway within design. For this project, I want to combine the skills I have within Logo Identity Design and develop this by learning more about typography and the process of creating a typeface. I feel these two skills work very well together because when you are creating an identity you have to understand a brand’s personality and be able to communicate this through visuals like typography. Learning more about type will help with finding the right fonts to use for a brand and also give me the knowledge to create custom fonts for brands as this is becoming a high demand within band identities. As I wanting to become a freelance designer this will also broaden the services I offer.

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Futura

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Image 03, Editorial Workshop (2020)

Chapter 02

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Research Book

Workshops.

02 / Editorial.

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Workshop In the Editorial workshop, we had to use magazines to create layouts using their typography and images. This was a great workshop as it was a new approach to generating ideas away from computers. We were given ten minutes to create a layout and to just be free and play around. I did struggle with this first task as I do not do well under pressure which then effects the way I think.

After the first layout we created, we then had to choose someone else’s piece and change it. For me, this was easier to work with as there was already an idea there.

I was able to look at the layout I chose and move things around and add other ideas. This session has helped towards the layout of my research book because of the interaction with the other classmates and combining each other’s ideas. I will defiantly use this approach again when designing layouts.

Image 04, Editorial Workshop (2020)

Research Book FMP

“Navigate The Reader” (Tony Seddon, 2015)

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Chapter 02

Navigate I then got onto the computer and started playing around with typefaces. I have a book called type team and this is great book for finding great font pairing and Typographic Hierarchy. This gives me the oppertunity to find typfaces for my Headers, Subheadings, and Body copy.

“Fonts are then implemented into a Typographic Hierarchy system for organising type that establishes an order of importance within the layout, allowing the reader to easily find what they are looking for and navigate the content” (Seddon, 2015)

Image 05, Type Team (2015)

Research Book FMP

“Good Design Is As Little Design As Possible�

(Dieter Rams, 2020)

Inspiration

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Chapter 02

I used Procreate on my iPad to sketch some layouts using the ideas I generated from the workshop and combining inspiration from Swiss Design.

Swiss Design is my go-to for inspiration especially when it comes to creating layouts. This will be one of the main sources of research. I like the clean simplicity of Swiss design and the overall structure as I feel they are well put together and easy reading especially for a dyslexic like myself who struggles with reading.

Image 05, Type Team (2020)

Image 06, Swissted (2020)

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03

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Image 07, My Plan and To Do Lists (2020)

Chapter 03

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Research Book

FMP Planning.

03 / My Plan.

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Check List I wrote a checklist of all the things I need to research for this project. As designing a typeface is a new area for myself I want to make sure I collect the right books. I researched online specific books which will help with the development of my typeface along with understanding letterforms. This checklist was put into a specific order of how I want my research book to be laid out. After each section, I complete I was able to check it off and move onto the next part of my research.

Image 08, Planning Checklist (2020)

Research Book FMP

“Failing to Plan Is Planning To Fail�

(Alan Lankein, 2020)

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Chapter 03

To Do Lists Once I had written my plan I then printed some blank calendar templates. This was used to write down all my todo lists for each day as well as make deadlines. Because of my freelance experience and our previous projects I was able to plan how long I should research. As well as give a rough time frame of how long my typeface will take to create. I spent just under four weeks researching and gave myself a time frame of eight weeks for making.

Image 05, Type Team (2020)

Image 09, To Do Lists (2020)

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04

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Image 10, Researching FMP (2020)

Chapter 04

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Research Book

Research.

04 / Research.

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What is typography?

Our job as a designer is to understand type and use it as a form of communication. Our work surrounds people and it’s our job to attract and influence them by the use of type. As I am wanting to concentrate on creating a font I am having to go back to basics to really understand what type is.

Typography “Attracts the reader’s attention and conveys a certain mood or feeling. This influences the reader’s concentration, interest level and willingness to continue reading. Second, visually appealing presentation fonts facilitate communication and audience engagement. From a technical viewpoint, different font and type sizes are used to establish content importance and functions, such as using separate typefaces for headers, paragraphs and bullet points. When it comes to graphic design, the right typefaces helps to create harmony, continuity, and simplicity. Finally, for companies and organizations that regularly communicate with the public, the typeface establishes and builds brand recognition” (What is Typography, s.d.)

Image 11, Collage Of Typography (2020)

Research Book FMP

“Making Language Visible” (Kane, J. 2011)

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Chapter 04

What is typography?

“In traditional typography, specifically in days of metal type a font was a collection of metal type, a font was a collection of metal characters representing the complete character set of a particular design (all characters numerals signs symbols etc.), all of the same weight style and size.

Today a font refers to a complete character set of particular type design or typeface in a digital form.

Although the term font refers to one weight and style, the font is not size specific as in the days of hot metal. digital fonts are scalable, that is, sized independent any point size type can be set from one font” (Strizver, 2014).

Image 12, Metal Type Pinterest (2020)

Research Book FMP Chapter 04

Why is type important?

Erik Spiekermann says “Picture yourself in a world without type. True, you could do without some of the ubiquitous advertising messages, but you wouldn’t even know what the packages on your breakfast table contained. We all depend on written communication” (Spiekermann, and Ginger, 2014) And we do, Its our way of living and it is somthing we have learned to do since we were young.

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“We are all type consumers: we all interact with, and consume, a vast array of typefaces everyday in our lifes and most of the time we doo this without being consciously aware of it. Type influences what we read and affects our choices because we all instinctively understand what is communicating to us, and we have been lerning to interpret the reference all our lifes” (Hyndman, 2016).

Image 13, Breakfast Packaging (2020)

04 / Research.

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History of type “An alphabet is a series of culturally agreed upon marks letters - that represent specific sounds” (Kane, 2011).

“An alphabet was developed around 1500 B.C.E, written language had depicted entire words at a time. The picture of a bull meant a bull. There was thousands of marks that represented all things in the known world. These would be know as cuneiforms and hieroglyphs which had been practiced for several millennia” (Kane, 2011).

“Hieroglyphs are ancient Egyptian writing system. You may have seen examples of hieroglyphs in movies or TV shows before. This system of writing is over 5,000 years old. It used pictures instead of letters like our modern alphabet” (What Are Hieroglyphs? s.d.).

“Cuneiforms come from the Latin word cuneus for ‘wedge’ owing to the wedge-shaped style of writing.

In cuneiform, a carefully cut writing implement known as a stylus is pressed into soft clay to produce wedgelike impressions that represent word-signs (pictographs) and, later, phonograms or `word-concepts’ (closer to a modern-day understanding of a `word’). All of the great Mesopotamian civilizations used cuneiform until it was abandoned in favour of the alphabetic script at some point after 100 BCE, including” (Mark, s.d.).

Image 14, Cuniforms and Hieroglyphs (1500 B.C.E)

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Chapter 04

History of type “Around 800 B.C.E., the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet. They saw this form of writing as a means to preserving the knowledge they held so dear. They added vowels, reversed the orientation of reading and standardized the letterforms. By 403 B.C.E., the Greeks had a cleaned-up alphabet of all capital letters. Early capital letters were often inscribed into stone or marble.

They were thus designed with as few curved strokes as possible, to simplify the process” (History of Letterforms, s.d.)

“The Romans adopted the Greek alphabet and reformulated some letters. They added F and Q right off the bat, and gave the letters simplified names, much like ours have today. They also had only capital letters for a long time. At the time, the reed pen was in use, a tool which is held at an angle (or cant) to the page. This is what creates the variation in the line, and it had a great deal of influence on the formation of the lower case letters to come” (History of Letterforms, s.d.).

Image 15, Greek and Roman Alphabet (800 B.C.E)

04 / Research.

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Anatomy of type The anatomy of type is one of the main things to understand before jumping into typography. This is a chance to learn about each part of a letter as they are broken up into individual parts. This will help with the development of my typface so that I know how to make these parts and put them together.

“Each letter is unique, certain shapes are shared across letters. A typeface represents shared patterns across a collection of letters” (Understanding typography, s.d.).

“The letterforms within a typeface have names which are broken into small parts: aperture, ascender, baseline, cap height, descender, leading, letterspacing, sans serif, serif, stem, stroke, x-height” (Understanding typography, s.d.).

Image 16, Anatomy Of Type (2019)

Research Book

Image 17, Anatomy Of Type (2020)

Baseline

Chapter 04

FMP

The baseline is the invisible line upon which a line of text rests. In Material Design, the baseline is an important specification in measuring the vertical distance between text and an element (Understanding typography, s.d.).

Image 18, Anatomy Of Type (2020)

Cap Height

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Cap height refers to the height of a typeface’s flat capital letters (such as M or I) measured from the baseline. Round and pointed capital letters, such as S and A, are optically adjusted by being drawn with a slight overshoot above the cap height to achieve the effect of being the same size.

Every typeface has a unique cap height (Understanding typography, s.d.).

Image 19, Anatomy Of Type (2020)

X Height X-height refers to the height of the lowercase x for a typeface, and it indicates how tall or short each glyph in a typeface will be. Typefaces with tall x-heights have better legibility at small font sizes, as the white space within each letter is more legible (Understanding typography, s.d.).

Image 20, Anatomy Of Type (2020)

Ascenders & Descenders Ascenders are an upward vertical stroke found in certain lowercase letters that extend beyond either the cap height or baseline. Descenders are the downward vertical stroke in these letters. In some cases, a collision between these strokes can occur when the line height (the vertical distance between baselines) is too tight (Understanding typography, s.d.).

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Counterform “Just as important as recognizing specific letterforms is developing a sensitivity to the counterform (or counter)— the space described, and often contained, by the strokes of the form. When letters are joined to form words, the counterform includes the spaces between them. The latter is a particularly important concept when working with letterforms like the lowercase “r” that have no counters per se. How well you handle the counters when you set type determines how well words hang together-in other words, how easily we can read what’s been set”. (Form/ Counterform in Typography, 2013)

Image 21, A Type Primer Counterforms (2011)

04 / Research.

Research Book FMP Chapter 04 42 / 43

Type Classification “Classification is seen as a means of controlling the abundance of typefaces with widely differing characteristics, and for identifying, choosing and combining typefaces; although there are different approaches to classifying typefaces. The Encyclopaedia of Type Faces, originally published in 1953, lists seven categories: Roman Faces, Sans Serif Faces, Egyptian or Antique Faces, Outline, Shaded, and Three dimensional Letters, Decorated Types, Script Types� (Unger, 2018).

As a designer we have to make sure we communicate the right message through type.

Different Type styles give off certain personilties.

For example a serif type which can be quite elegant would work with a high end fashion brand.

Image 22, Type Classification by Matthew Chan (2012)

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Chapter 04

Type Classification Erik Spiekermann says that “You need to look at the task ahead. Strike a balance between practicality and aesthetics - That’s what design is all about”. I like how Erik uses fashion and people as a way to describe how to use typefaces in the right way to communicate the right message, for example, he says “Business people are expected to wear a suit (plus, naturally, a shirt and tie), text set for business has to look fairly serious and go about its purpose in an inconspicuous, well organized way. Typefaces, such as Times New Roman and Helvetica fit this bill perfectly, not by their particular suitability but more by their lack of individualism”. (Spiekermann and Ginger, 2014). This is what type classification is all about you must understand what certain fonts will work different kinds of projects to communicate the right message. This is why I need to establish where my typeface will sit within the type classification.

Image 23, Erik Spiekermann Stop Stealing Sheep (2014)

04 / Research.

Research Book FMP Chapter 04 46 / 47

Letter Parts “Letters are made up of a carefully coordinated and limited sequence of proportionally related strokes” (Unger, 2018) “The shapes of written strokes are made in radically different ways using control points with handles and segments of curves and straight lines between each points” (Unger, 2018).

“In digital type design, parts of letters, such as serifs, can be easily repeated, modified and adapted.

And composite parts, for example a foot serif with part of a stem attached, or even half a letterform, are used as well. Such elements are assembled into letters, are moved from one character to another temporarily, positioned and adapted or redesigned and fed back to previous design letters”(Unger, 2018).

This is a great way for me to learn how to build my letterforms and to see how they are put together. A lot of letters are using similar or the same shapes.

You are then putting a puzzle together to create the letterform. I could create a palette of shapes which are broken into sections like serifs and horizontal and vertical shapes for my process.

Image 24, Unger Letter Parts (2018)

Research Book FMP

Image 17, Anatomy Of Type (2020)

Image 25, Cheng Organising Letterfroms (2005)

Organising Capitals

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Chapter 04

“Capitals should first be organised into large subgroups with similar shapes, circular, triangular or Square.

Of course, some of the upper case letters require the definition of more complex combination groups. For example the letters D, B, P and R are circular squares, while the M, N, K and Y are diagonal squares. Making these and other fine distinctions is helpful as an on initial step in the creative process since letters with similar structures can and should be designed as related forms�

(Cheng, 2005)

Image 26, Cheng Organising Letterfroms (2005)

Organising Lowercase “As with the capitals, the lower case letters can also be organised into groups with similar formal attributes.

However because the structure of lower case letters is more complex, they require two additional categories�

(Cheng, 2005).

Organising letterforms will help with the overall process and development of my typeface. Once I have sketched all my letterforms I can then create small sub sections. It means I can concentrate on letters that have similar forms instead of jumping to different ones and slowing down my process of the build.

04 / Research.

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Typographic Illusions I came across a practioner called Jonathan Hoefler who runs a type foundry in New York.

He had released some infomation on designing typefaces. Witihn this infomation it is concentrating on typographic illusions which is seen across most typefaces today. This will help with the balance of your letterforms.

Hoefler says that “Type design is a battle with optical illusions� (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.)

The guide he provides concentrates on vertical, horizontal, ciruclar, and diagonal strokes and what it is we need to do when building our letterforms.

Image 27, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 01 “Making all the letters appear the same height means drawing round characters to be measurably taller than flat ones which type designers call “overshoot.”

Overshoot will apply throughout the character set, to the lowercase, numbers, symbols, and punctuation” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Image 28, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 02 “Our misperception about circles and squares extends to triangles, too: letters whose strokes converge into a point are prone to appear smaller than they actually are. So type designers customarily apply some degree of overshoot to diagonal letters like A, V, and W, and often, if the design calls for especially sharp corners, the acute points of the letters N and M as well” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Research Book

Image 29, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Chapter 04

FMP

Illusion 03 Making a letterform appear equally balanced requires drawing it to be measurably smaller on top. These expectations about “natural balance” are at work in letters like B, E, and S, which are visibly smaller above and larger below — and even in the letter H, which in order to appear symmetrical, needs a crossbar that’s just above centre” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Image 30, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 04

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“Take the letter A, whose most basic recipe is “a delta with a horizontal bar in the centre.” By rotating this letter about the centre of the crossbar, we can see just how far below centre this waistline really is. This is because perception is subject to context, and for the bar of the A, what we perceive as its relevant context isn’t the entire letter, it’s the much smaller region that’s inside the delta” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Image 31, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 05 “In the letters E and F, whose center arms appear identical, but in fact almost never align. Following what we know about natural balance, the arm of the E will be positioned just above center, in order to appear equidistant from the two other strokes (Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Image 32, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 06 “The simple letter T conceals one of typography’s great paradoxes: that lines appear thicker when oriented horizontally than vertically. Type designers call this property “contrast,” and because it behaves differently in different directions, it’s said to be “anisotropic.” To create letterforms that appear to have a consistent weight throughout, a type designer will make sure that vertical strokes are measurably thicker than horizontal ones; diagonal strokes, therefore, will fall somewhere in between” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Research Book

Image 33, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Chapter 04

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Illusion 07 “Anisotropic contrast affects not only weight, but also dimension: just as we perceive horizontal strokes to be thicker than they really are, we perceive horizontal distances to be longer than they actually are. To create what appears to be a perfect circle or a perfect square, a type designer will create a shape that’s measurably narrower than it is tall.

Image 34, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 08

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This pattern of thins and thicks is apparent in many of the typefaces we read every day, but it’s also imperceptibly fossilized in even the most evenly-weighted design.

Looking at a mirror image of the letter A reveals that its left leg is subtly lighter than its right, a necessary maneuver to satisfy our subliminal expectations about weight — all the consequence of ancient right-handed scribes” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Image 35, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 09 “To see all of these phenomena at work, look no further than the letter S: it only takes viewing the letter from a different angle to reveal all the sleight-of-hand that goes into making it appear balanced. Turning the S clockwise reveals the different proportions of its top and bottom halves, a necessity to maintain natural balance. (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

Image 36, Hoefler&Co Illusions (s.d)

Illusion 10 “Looking at its mirror image reveals an additional illusion: that the S is considerably thicker in the middle than above or below, a consequence of the calligraphic bias that expects downward strokes to be the heaviest. Nowhere is this more dramatic than in its lower left quarter, where the letter’s heavy spine rapidly thins out as it approaches the baseline, the combined effects of anisotropic contrast and calligraphic bias that are both undetectable in its normal orientation” (Fonts by Hoefler&Co, s.d.).

04 / Research.

Research Book FMP Chapter 04 56 / 57

Old Techniques As a type designer it is essential to understand the old techniques used to create type. When I start to design I always put pencil to paper to generate ideas and clear the mind. Hands on techniques like this have been used for many years. Printing typfaces was done by using letter pressing which is completely different to how we print today as we have so much more advanatges and flexibility.

“In the 15th century was figuring out how to create multiple letters with which to print, and print again and again — a system of “movable type,” where each piece is cast in a mould from an alloy of metals (lead, tin, and antimony). These pieces, all the letters and numbers and punctuation, etc., of the alphabet, could be used and reused. Movable type had been used in Asia hundreds of years earlier, but Gutenberg’s innovation was developing a casting system and metal alloys which made production easier” (Hancock, 2016).

Image 37, Guttenbergs Innovation (15th Century)

Research Book FMP

Old & New Techniques

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Chapter 04

“Back when there was no technology designing typefaces meant only planning and sketching or drawing them, as they were produced by people other than the designer. Products of craft are essentially handmade: whether it is a table, a vase, or lettering cut into stone, everything is done by one person from planning to realization” (Unger, 2018).

“Since the advent of digital design in the mid 1980s the planning sketching and drawing of typefaces can be done on screen with a handheld instrument and digitisation has brought production the finishing of fonts and preparing these for various applications into the hands of designers” (Unger, 2018). We are now combining hands on techniques and the digital age to create typefaces which now gives the advantage of a faster process and accurate final outcome.

Image 38, Erik Spiekermann Nokia Typeface Sketch (2014)

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Current Softwares When I was researching old techniques of how type was made some approaches are still the same to this day an age as mentioned. The use of these handcraft techniques and technologies has now blended to create typefaces within this modern era which now gives further enhancement to the design.

When I met with Paul McNeil he mentioned a couple of programs called Glyphs and Fontself which are used to create your typefaces. Fontself is a plugin for adobe illustrator which gives you the chance to make all your letters within Illustrator and simply drag and drop your vectors into the plugin. You then have the chance to edit the spacing between each letter and tweak certain elements if needed. As I am already familiar with illustrator and the tools I feel this software would be the best option but also gives me the chance to learn more about Fontself as it will be the first time using this.

Image 39, Fontself Plugin (2020)

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Image 40, Practioners Collage (2020)

Chapter 05

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Case Studies.

05 / Cases.

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Ed Benguiat “Ed Benguiat was born in Brooklyn NewYork 27 October 1927. He is an American typographer and lettering artist. He has crafted over 600 typeface designs including Tiffany, Bookman, Panache, Souvenir, Edwardian Script, and the eponymous Benguiat and Benguiat Gothic. He was also a talented progressive Jazz musician under the name Eddie Benart, and played with numerous big bands around NewYork” (Edward, s.d.). I feel a connection with Ed Benguiat because my background before design was being involved in the music industry. Ed Benguiat says in an interview “Music and Art are defiantly related and that’s how he accidentally tripped into the Graphic Design community” (Very Nice Industries, 2013). My involvement within the music industry led me into design, I started designing logos and artwork for producers and DJ’s and this was what started my love for design.

Image 41, Ed Benguiat (s.d)

Research Book FMP

“Music is pleasing to to the ear and design is pleasing to the eye” (Ed Benguiat, 2013)

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Chapter 05

His Work I first came across Ed Benquiat after seeing the series “Stranger Things”. The main title stood out to me because it is a retro-looking typeface. My approach to design is to always look back at the history of design for inspiration and this was why the title stood out for me because it had that old school style. The typeface is called “ITC Benguiat” and was designed in 1977 and was very popular within the 80s and 90s in other forms of visual communication” (Edward, s.d.). The series “Stranger Things” was based in the 80s and so you can see this style of font fits perfectly with the series and communicates the right message. Taking on Paul McNeil’s advice by thinking about what genre or sector would my typeface be based on to help with the development and style I want to go for so these are things to think about.

Image 42, ITC Benguiat Typeface (1960)

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Bauhaus Typography played an important role in the founding of the Bauhaus in 1919 which contributed to the spread of the so-called new typography. I like the construction of how Bauhaus creates its typefaces by using grids and shapes. The Bauhaus School taught typography and says that they are “Strong advocates of sans-serif type, as they believed that its simplified geometric form was more appealing and useful. Bauhaus style of typography is effective in conveying the message of the design.

Balanced layout, harmonious geometric shapes” (The Modern Letter, s.d.).

Image 43, Bauhaus Building (s.d)

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Bauhaus Work

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Chapter 05

This element of using geometric shapes and grids to build a typeface is an approach I want to use to build my own. I am pulling together different design styles I like which is, clean, bold, and geometric but making sure it has a sophisticated look so it can be used in today’s modern age a bit like “Gotham” or my favorite “Futura”. I already use this similar approach within my logo designs, the use of grids and simple shapes. This is a great opportunity to keep that consistency throughout my design work as it shows my design personality. ”Adobe is releasing five fonts based on designs by prolific Bauhaus figures, which have been revived by German typographer Erik Spiekermann and a group of students. The typeface designs were “lost to history” after the school’s sudden closure in 1933.

But with the school set to celebrate its centenary next year, Spiekermann decided it was time to finally share them with the public. So, working with Adobe and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, he enlisted five typography design students from around the world to complete the unfinished designs.

Image 44, Bauhaus Hidden Treasures (2020)

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Erik Spiekermann Erik Spiekermann is a typographer, type designer, and author. In 1979 he co-founded MetaDesign, followed by FontShop in 1989 (with Joan Spiekermann) and Edenspiekermann in 2002 (with Susanna Dulkinys). He has offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Singapore.

Erik designed several typefaces (FF Meta, ITC Officina, FF Info, FF Unit, FF Real, as well as custom type for The Economist, Deutsche Bahn, Cisco, Bosch, Mozilla, Autodesk). In 2013 he founded p98a.berlin, a typographic workshop dedicated to post-digital letterpress printing

Image 45, Erik Spiekermann (s.d)

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Chapter 05

Spiekermann’s Work “The exclusive Nokia corporate typeface was created as part of a project for which Spiekermann had to produce bitmap fonts separately in many different sizes for screens. What they all had in common was the marked contrast between vertical and horizontal strokes. This design principle is what characterizes the typeface used for the brand until recently” (Erler, 2014).

This project stood out to me not only because I was one of the kids who had a Nokia phone but the way the typeface has been built. It has a nice structured form with a unique character. I think it is because of the thick and thin strokes used as you don’t normally see this within sans serifs. The thick and thin strokes gives a nice contrast. I feel with the bitmap version Erik created sits nicely with what I am wanting to achieve by sticking to a grid formula and using shapes.

Image 46, Corporate Typeface Nokia (2002)

Research Book FMP Chapter 05

Brief Conversation I came across Erik Spiekermann when watching the video about himself and adobe reviving some of the old Bauhaus typography that had never been completed. I decided to get in contact with Erik through Linkdin and ask and few questions and see if I can get some valuble knowledge and direction before starting my typface. The reason being is because I like how Bauhaus’s typography is very structured and built within grid systems and shapes and these are the elements I want to bring through my own typeface.

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Erik was very blunt with his replies but I understand people are busy. One thing I have taken from him is when digitalising my typeface I will compare with others and measure them so that I can get a sense of how big certain letterforms should be. I have also read so many books during this research period and I now feel confident to build a typeface.

Image 47, Conversation With Spiekermann (2020)

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MuirMcNeil Muir McNeil was Founded in 2009 by Paul McNeil and Hamish Muir, MuirMcNeil’s activities are focussed on exploring systematic and algorithmic methods in type design, graphic design and moving image.

Paul McNeil is a typographic designer, educator and author. He was Course Leader of the MA Contemporary Typographic Media at the London College of Communication from 2010–15 Hamish Muir was co-founder of the London-based graphic design studio 8vo (1985–2001), and coeditor of Octavo, journal of typography (1986–92).

He was a part-time tutor at the London College of Communication from 2001–2019, and has delivered workshops and short courses at Fortuny Graphic Venice, Basel School of Design, Porto Design Summer School, ESAD Porto, National College of Art and Design Dublin, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Institutt for design Universitetet i Bergen.

Image 48, Paul McNeil Talk (2020)

Research Book FMP

MuirMcNeils Work

Chapter 05

I was lucky enough to have met Paul McNeil as he is the first year tutor at our university for Graphic Design. We met for a chat and hopefully will have an on going meet up to discuss the process of my typeface when it’s in development.

MuirMcNeils work has some relation to mine and the style I am into. A lot of their typefaces they make are built within grids and the use of geometric shapes. They build typefaces which are focussed on exploring systematic and algorithmic methods in type design by pushing typography to the limits but making sure it is still legible (MuirMcNeil s.d.).

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I have spoken to him about the design I am into and what my final outcome is hoping to be. Paul first said I need to think about the direction I want this typeface to go. For example the style and where it may be used out in the world. I then went away and created three different concepts focusing on three areas which I will then pick one to develop on.

Image 49, MuirMcNeils Work Apple Music (s.d)

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Chapter 05

Paul McNeil Talk During Pauls talk he spoke alot about his work and their process to creating a typeface. He also spoke alot about the history of type which was very interesting and helpful towards my project. One thing he mentioned was the ‘Roman Du Roi’ which was “The result of rational design---the letterforms were mapped on grids by compass and ruler using geometric shapes and was published it in 1463

by Felice Feliciano” (Typefaces, s.d.). This is a similar process to what I take within my design and have used on a number of my own logo designs.

This process will be used to create my first proper typeface as it will be a consistant theme throughout my design work.

Image 50, MuirMcNeils Talk Roman Du Roi (2020)

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06

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Image 51, Sans serif display font Bauhaus (1924)

Chapter 06

FMP

Research Book

Inspiration.

06 / Inspiration.

Research Book FMP Chapter 06 86 / 87

Nina Lee Storm This tall x-height short-ascended typeface was published by Linotype in 2004 (Jong, 2006) This typeface has some unique elements to it which you don’t actually see in many typefaces. They have very short ascenders and descenders which are straight and diagonal. Normally they have curved ascenders and descenders within lowercases. These elements are what make it stand out and be unique compared to other sans serif typefaces out there.

This is something I want to really think about so that I can try and be different and push boundaries.

Overall its a nice clean typeface and its one I would defiantly use.

Image 52, Noa by Nina Lee Storm (2004)

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Chapter 06

Cassandre Deberny “Peignot is a sans-serif display typeface, designed by the poster artist A. M. Cassandre in 1937. It was commissioned by the French type foundry Deberny & Peignot� (Jong, 2006).

This typeface really grabbed my attention due to its sans serif style but uses thicks and thins which you would normally see within a serif typeface. This was actually something I used within my personal branding for my logotype as it reminds me of Jazz music. This Peinot typeface has a nice geometric shape to it which is what I want to bring through my typeface.

Image 53, Peignot Typeface (1937)

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Chapter 06

Wim Crouwell “This sans serif typeface was created by using geometrics and square grids. It was designed

by Wim Crouwell in 1974 and was created for electronic typewriters. The typeface is called Politene / Gridnik� (McNeil, 2017).

As I have mentioned throughout this research. I like the style and character of well-structured designs that use grids and geometric shapes. This is a great example to show the style I am into and wanting to bring through my typeface. Because I have always used grids and shapes for my logo designs it will be a great way to use this similar process within the letters I create. This typeface has some lovely straight and diagonal edges which give it its own individual personality.

Image 54, Politene / Gridnik Typeface (1974)

Bibliography.

Research Book FMP FMP Bibliography

List of illustrations Image 01 Barnes, P. (2020) [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 02 FMP Brief (2020) [Screenshot] Image 03 Barnes, P. (2020) Editorial Workshop [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 04 Barnes, P. (2020) Editorial Workshop [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 05 Seddon, T. (2015) Type Team: Perfect Typeface Combinations [Photograph] Image 06 Swissted (2020) [Screenshot] At: swissted.com (Accessed 04/02/2020) Image 07 Barnes, P. (2020) Plan and To Do Lists [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 08 Barnes, P. (2020) Planning Checklist [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 09 Barnes, P. (2020) To do lists [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 10 Barnes, P. (2020) Researching FMP [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 11 Barnes, P. (2020) Collage of Typography [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 12 Metal Type Pinterest (2020) At: pinterest.co.uk/ pin/303148618648908273/ (Accessed 04/02/2020) Image 13 Barnes, P. (2020) Breakfast Packaging [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 14 Mark, J. J. (s.d.) Cuniforms and Hieroglyphs [Screenshot] At: ancient.eu/cuneiform/ (Accessed 04/02/2020) Image 15 History of Letterforms (s.d.) Greek and Roman Alphabet [Screenshot) At: openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/ type-history/ (Accessed 08/02/2020) Image 16 Understanding typography (s.d.) Anatomy Of Type [Screenshot] At: material.io/design/typography/ understanding-typography.html (Accessed 10/02/2020) Image 17 Understanding typography (s.d.) Anatomy Of Type [Screenshot] At: material.io/design/typography/ understanding-typography.html (Accessed 10/02/2020) Image 18 Understanding typography (s.d.) Anatomy Of Type [Screenshot] At: material.io/design/typography/ understanding-typography.html (Accessed 10/02/2020)

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Image 19 Understanding typography (s.d.) Anatomy Of Type [Screenshot] At: material.io/design/typography/ understanding-typography.html (Accessed 10/02/2020) Image 20 Understanding typography (s.d.) Anatomy Of Type [Screenshot] At: material.io/design/typography/ understanding-typography.html (Accessed 10/02/2020)

Image 21 Kane, J. (2010) Counterforms [Photograph] In: A Type Primer, 2nd edition. (2 edition) (s.l.): Laurence King Publishing.

Image 38 Erler, J. (ed.) (2014) Nokia Typeface Sketch [Photograph] In: Hello I am Erik : Erik Spiekermann: typographer, designer, entrepreneur. Berlin: Gestalten.

Image 22 Chan, M (2012) Type Classification [Screenshot] At: behance.net/gallery/5646981/TYPE-Classification (Accessed 25/02/2020)

Image 39 Fontself (2020) Fontself Software [Screenshot] At: fontself.com/blog/design-a-color-font-with-illustratorfontself-in-one-afternoon (Accessed 10/02/2020)

Image 23 Spiekermann, E. and Ginger, E. M. (2014) Type classification [Photograph] In: Stop stealing sheep & find out how type works. (Third edition / Erik Spiekermann.)

San Francisco, CA: Adobe Press.

Image 24 Unger, G. (2018) Type classification [Photograph] In: Theory of Type Design. (01 edition) (s.l.): NAI Publishers Image 25 Cheng, K. (2005) Organising letterforms [Photograph] In: Designing type. London: Laurence King Image 26 Cheng, K. (2005) Organising letterforms [Photograph] In: Designing type. London: Laurence King.

Image 27 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 28 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 29 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 30 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 31 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 32 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 33 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020) Image 34 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020)

Image 40 Barnes, P. (2020) [Images] Practioners Collage In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 41 Halperin, E (2000) Ed Benguiat [Screenshot] At: adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/edward-benguiat/ (Accessed 10/02/2020) Image 42 Halperin, E (2000) ITC Benguiat [Screenshot] At: adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/edward-benguiat/ (Accessed 10/02/2020) Image 43, Bauhaus Building (s.d) [screenshot] At: bauhaus-dessau.de/en/architecture/bauhaus-building.html (Accessed 21/04/2020).

Image 44 Silverman, B. (2018) Adobe revives fonts from legendary Bauhaus Design Masters [Photograph] At: designconf.vma.bz/adobe-revives-fonts-from-legendarybauhaus-design-masters-read-more-https-www-dexignercom-news-31017 (Accessed 21/04/2020) Image 45, Erik Spiekermann (s.d) [Screenshot] At: ankitbariadesign.wordpress.com/typography-2/thepioneers-of-graphic-design/research-erik-spiekermann/ (Accessed 21/04/2020) Image 38 Erler, J. (ed.) (2014) Nokia Typeface & Packaging [Photograph] In: Hello I am Erik : Erik Spiekermann: typographer, designer, entrepreneur. Berlin: Gestalten.

Image 47 Linked In (2020) Conversation With Erik Spiekermann [Screenshot] Image 48 Barnes, P. (2020) Paul McNeil Workshop [Photograph] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Image 49 Barnes, P. (2020) MuirMcNeil Apple Music [Photograph] Image 50 Barnes, P. (2020) Paul McNeil talk on Roman Du Roi [Photograph] Image 51 Jong, C. de (2006) Sans serif display font Bauhaus 1924 [Photograph]Â In: Sans serif : classic and contemporary sans serif typography. London: Thames and Hudson.

Image 35 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020)

Image 52 Jong, C. de (2006) Noa by Nina Lee Storm 2004 [Photograph] In: Sans serif : classic and contemporary sans serif typography. London: Thames and Hudson.

Image 36 Hoefler&Co (s.d.) Typographic Illusions [Screenshot] At: typography.com/blog/typographicillusions (Accessed 30/01/2020)

Image 53 Jong, C. de (2006) Peignot Typeface 1937 [Photograph] In: Sans serif : classic and contemporary sans serif typography. London: Thames and Hudson.

Image 37 Biography (s.d.) Guttenbergs Innovation [Screenshot] At: biography.com/inventor/johannes (Accessed 06/02/2020)

Image 54 Jong, C. de (2006) Politene / Gridnik Typeface 1974 [Photograph] In: Sans serif : classic and contemporary sans serif typography. London: Thames and Hudson.

Bibliography.

Research Book FMP FMP Bibliography

List of sources Adobe Create: Creative Voices (2018) ‘Hidden Treasures: Reconstructing Lost Bauhaus Typefaces’ At: https://vimeo. com/276095832 (Accessed 21/02/2020).

Adobe Revives Unfinished Fonts From German Design School Shut Down In 1930s | Brandikaran (2018) At: https://brandikaran.com/free-design-classes-2/ (Accessed 11/02/2020).

Astbury, J. (2018) Herbert Bayer: creator of the Bauhaus’ universal typography. At: https://www.dezeen. com/2018/11/06/herbert-bayer-bauhaus-100-typography-universal-typeface-font/ (Accessed 21/02/2020). bauhaus.typography (s.d.) At: https://www.bauhaus100. com/the-bauhaus/books-on-the-bauhaus/bauhaustypography/ (Accessed 11/02/2020).

Bartram, A. (2004) Bauhaus, Modernism and the Illustrated Book. (s.l.): Yale University Press.

Brändle, C. (2014) 100 years of Swiss graphic design.

Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers.

Cheng, K. (2005) Designing type. London: Laurence King.

Could A Font Have Won An Election (2012) At: https:// network9.biz/designing-obama-the-brand-of-a-president/ (Accessed 17/02/2020).

Digital OneTwo (2019) On Typography. At: https://medium.com/@digitalonetwo/on-typography-9ab8548946e5 (Accessed 21/02/2020).

Ed Benguiat (s.d.) At: https://fontsinuse.com/type_designers/59/ed-benguiat (Accessed 24/02/2020).

Edward Benguiat (s.d.) At: http://adcglobal.org/hall-offame/edward-benguiat/ (Accessed 10/02/2020).

Erler, J. (ed.) (2014) Hello I am Erik : Erik Spiekermann: typographer, designer, entrepreneur. Berlin: Gestalten.

Fonts by Hoefler&Co (s.d.) At: https://www.typography. com/blog/tag/Obama (Accessed 17/02/2020).

Fonts by Hoefler&Co (s.d.) At: https://www.typography. com/blog/typographic-illusions (Accessed 30/01/2020).

Fonts by Hoefler&Co (2019) At: https://www.typography. com/blog/type-design-on-netflix (Accessed 30/01/2020).

Form/Counterform in Typography (2013) At: https:// heckdon.wordpress.com/formcounterform-in-typography/ (Accessed 04/02/2020).

Gale, N. (2002) Type 1 : digital typeface design. London: Laurence King.

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Hancock, E. (2016) How Type is Made, Part 1 — St Brigid Press. At: https://www.stbrigidpress.net/blog/how-type-ismade-part-1 (Accessed 06/02/2020).

Hyndman, S. (2016) Why fonts matter. London: Virgin Books.

How to create a color font with Illustrator & Fontself (Part 1) (s.d.) At: https://www.fontself.com/blog/design-a-colorfont-with-illustrator-fontself-in-one-afternoon (Accessed 10/02/2020).

Jong, C. de (2006) Sans serif : the ultimate sourcebook of classic and contemporary sans serif typography. London: Thames and Hudson.

Johannes Gutenberg (2015) At: https://www.biography.com/inventor/johannes-gutenberg (Accessed 06/02/2020).

Kane, J. (2011) A Type Primer, 2nd edition. (2 edition) (s.l.): Laurence King Publishing.

Mark, J. J. (s.d.) Cuneiform. At: https://www.ancient.eu/ cuneiform/ (Accessed 20/02/2020).

McNeil, P. (2017) The visual history of type. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Müller, L. (1995) Josef Muller-Brockmann: designer - a pioneer of Swiss graphic design. (s.l.): Lars Muller Publishers.

Projects « MuirMcNeil (s.d.) At: https://muirmcneil.com/ projects/ (Accessed 30/01/2020).

Seddon, T. (2015) Type Team: Perfect Typeface Combinations. (01 edition) (s.l.): Thames and Hudson.

Spiekermann, E. and Ginger, E. M. (2014) Stop stealing sheep & find out how type works. (Third edition / Erik Spiekermann.) San Francisco, CA: Adobe Press.

Spencer, H. (2004) Pioneers of modern typography. (Rev. ed. / with a new foreword by Rick Poynor.) Aldershot: Lund Humphries.

Strizver, I. (2014) Type rules! : the designer’s guide to professional typography. (Fourth edition.) Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Software For Type Designers (s.d.) At: https://www. fontsmith.com/blog/2017/10/25/an-introduction-to-software-for-type-design (Accessed 10/02/2020).

The Modern Letter - The Best of the Bauhaus Typography (s.d.) At: https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-typography/ (Accessed 17/02/2020).

Typefaces (s.d.) Romain du roi. At: http://luc.devroye. org/fonts-89919.html (Accessed 16/03/2020).

TypeRoom (s.d.) From Star Trek to Stranger Things: how Ed Benguiat’s iconic font haunted us forever - TypeRoom.

At: https://www.typeroom.eu/article/star-trek-strangerthings-how-ed-benguiats-iconic-font-haunted-us-forever (Accessed 17/02/2020).

Unger, G. (2018) Theory of Type Design. (01 edition) (s.l.): NAI Publishers. GOT Understanding typography (s.d.) At: https://material. io/design/typography/understanding-typography.html (Accessed 04/02/2020).

Valeanu, D. (2016) Typography Cheat Sheet [Infographic]. At: https://designmodo.com/typography-cheat-sheet/ (Accessed 13/02/2020).

Very Nice Industries (2013) Ed Benguiat. At: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=coZnAdoV82M (Accessed 17/02/2020).

What is Typography? – Graphic Design Degree Hub (s.d.) At: https://www.graphicdesigndegreehub.com/faq/ what-is-typography/ (Accessed 04/02/2020).

What Are Hieroglyphs? (s.d.) At: https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-are-hieroglyphs (Accessed 20/02/2020).

Critical Reflection.

Research Book

Typography is the area that I am focusing on in my Final Major Project and the typeface I have designed is primarily a display font that can be used in headings and subheadings. In this essay I will be examining the influences on my work including the Bauhaus, Herbert Bayer and the Universal Typeface, the Ulm School and Swiss Design.

Bauhaus I am using similar design principles to the Bauhaus within my design process. The Bauhaus first emerged in 1919 as a school that focused on Art, Design and Architecture (Ryan, 2010) and this has heavily influenced my design work. It was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany. The Bauhaus made a significant contribution to the field of Architecture and also Typography (Niyazi, 2018). Bauhaus’s name is synonymous with Modernism.

Modernism refers to a global movement and culture that started in the twentieth century that sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. Building on late nineteenth-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies (Tate, s.d.). I find these techniques and processes inspiring because they focus on keeping up with what is new within the world and being able to create design for and around it, I like a challenge and working with new techniques and softwares to help me grow as a designer.

Critical Reflection

FMP

Introduction

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Fig. 1 The Bauhaus Puzzle

Fig. 2 The Bauhaus Dessau

In 1926 the Bauhaus school moved to the distinctive Bauhaus building in Dessau, Germany. Modular and grid-based thinking can be seen in this building which was made up of three L-shaped wings, interconnected in a pinwheel arrangement. Each cubed section within this pinwheel contained the teaching facilities and 28 residential apartments for the students and junior masters.

These also included workshops, assembly hall, and the Bauhaus stage and canteen. There is no central point within the Bauhaus building as such, rather a number of entry points that highlight the various functions of the house. One has to walk around the building to appreciate the individually designed cubes and their purpose (Bauhaus-Archiv Museum, s.d.). Erik Spiekermann states that:

“The architecture of the Bauhaus school buildings

in Dessau, Germany is made with cubes which

already shows the modernism of Bauhaus.

Everything that comes out of Bauhaus all relates

to one another and is all built using geometric

shapes” (Adobe Create, 2018).

Seeing this building broken down into these components resembles what I do as a designer. My designs within logos and typography are constructed by using similar styles of geometric forms. One of the main systems I used was called a ‘rhythmic system’ where you use one letterform and create other letters using the same elements. At the Bauhaus they influenced the design of everyday products and became an international art movement (Ryan, 2010). Niyazi states that:

“Bauhaus was a school whose approach to

design proved to be a major influence on the de

velopment of graphic design as well as much of

the 20th century modern art” (Niyazi, 2018).

Mies Van Der Rohe based his designs on the idea that simplicity and clarity are more effective than ornament and complexity. “As far as architectural aphorisms go, Mies van der Rohe’s ‘Less is More’ seems to succinctly define a modernist ethic” (Mertins, s.d.). Mies Van Der Rohe’s efforts reduced and distilled buildings and their components into simple forms using geometry. The Bauhaus style of typography also focused on conveying this message through their typography design (Niyazi, 2018).

Fig. 3 The Bauhaus Typography Archives

Form follows function The Bauhaus was known for the design principle of “Form follows function” (Niyazi, 2018). This is a principle where the form or shape of a building or object should primarily be based upon its use or purpose (Bellethana, s.d.) This principle of design was influenced by the new technologies, machines and changes in the lifestyles that people were living due to the industrial revolution after world war one (Niyazi, 2018). Bellethana states that: “The way the design professions approach this, was to appreciate geometric forms and to limit on design into unity, sameness, and an absence of ornamental, only focus on functional use” (bellethana, s.d.).

My design process is inspired by this principle of form following function. I work with geometric shapes to create my typefaces and logo designs. As the Bauhaus put function first, I do the same within my design process. I have to consider where this logo or typeface will be seen and then create something based on its use, so that it works within the areas it is supposed to. As in fig. 4 the letterform was created for a roofing company and the shape of a roof is incorporated into this design using the negative.

Fig. 4 Letterform (Phill Barnes) Erik Spiekermann who was part of the Adobe Collab for reviving Bauhaus Typography states that:

“After the first world war Bauhaus wanted

to prove they can make something mechanically

and reinvent things. The architecture of the

Bauhaus school buildings in Dessau, Germany

is made with cubes which already shows the mod

ernism of Bauhaus (See Fig. 2). Everything that

comes out of Bauhaus all relates to one another

and is all built using geometric shapes. They

want to keep it simple, strict, clear and precise

using grid systems” (Spiekermann, 2018).

The Bauhaus did not turn back to pre-industrial period of craftsmanship, they embraced the new technologies and the aesthetics of machinery. This allowed the Bauhaus designers to create a style compatible with growing industrialisation (Moulton, s.d.).

Bauhaus Typography The Bauhaus typography was instantly recognisable. It consisted of simple geometric forms, unadorned with serifs, and balanced layouts that conveyed a clear message. (Adobe Hidden Treasures of Creativity, s.d.).

The final director of the Bauhaus, architect Mies Van Der Rohe, pledged the school to “Honesty of construction, death to decoration” (Walker and Sala, 2014).

Fig. 5 Letterforms from Final Major Project (Phill Barnes)

Critical Reflection.

Research Book FMP Critical Reflection

Mass Production The main aim behind Bauhaus was to encourage designers to create products that could be manufactured on an industrial scale (Ryan, 2010). As with form and function, the Bauhaus created this methodology for mass production using simple forms which can then be produced over and over again (Niyazi, 2018). Niyazi states that: “The theory of Modular Design, which allowed the system to be subdivided in smaller modules which then can be replicated and mass produced resonated with the initial Bauhaus principles of “Form follows function” (Niyazi, 2018). Emphasising that modular design sits within modernism, Nauman states that “The use of solids and voids within the context of modernist modular design and the grid had emphasised the economic advantages of the modular design” (Nauman, 2004).

Ryan states: “The products were manufactured in a basic functional way, with little thought being put into aesthetics” (Ryan, 2010). Bauhaus became the centre of new thinking by focusing on just the functionality and simplicity which were combined with aesthetics, to produce a purer form.

Ryan states: “Previously, Art Nouveau had been about creating ornate, complicated, decorative products. The Bauhaus reduced the complexity of design to simplicity, functionality and a pure form of aesthetics” (Ryan, 2010).

The Bauhaus was considering mass production for the general public in their design. Within my design process, with the growth of the digital age, I need to adapt my designs over multiple screen sizes which the general public use to view content. My work needs to be accessible and adaptable to different groups of audiences. Andra (s.d.) states that: “Bauhaus isn’t simply a style of the past—the school’s experimental approach to design and wholehearted embrace of new technology makes it just as relevant for designers working today” (Andra, s.d.).

Simpler forms need to be created to work within our new technologies, for its functionality. In discussion with app designers they state that it is more helpful and important to design with simplicity and basic functionality because the user will want simple navigation in its use. Ewen states that: “You should design in a way to make it easy for your users to navigate the app and access the most important features, without distracting them with too many options” (Ewen, 2019).

Because of the diversity of smaller devices, Andra says: “Now, modern-day designers are reviving or reinterpreting Bauhaus typefaces for the digital era” (Andra, s.d.).

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Herbert Bayer

Fig. 6 Universal Typeface

capitals, ascenders and descenders” (Motley, s,d.).

These are principles that I use within the design of my letterforms.

Bauhaus influence on Adobe

Fig. 7 Herbert Bayer After the move Bauhaus made to Dessau Herbert Bayer was appointed as a junior master in 1925. He was the director of the newly founded printing and advertising workshop at the school (Bayer, s.d.).

Herbert Bayer can be credited as the father of Bauhaus typography. Bayer came up with new principles for modern typography to reduce letters to their essentials, without any additional adornments (Moriarty, 2016).

Moriarty states that:

“He was an advocate of greater legibility

which he provided with his design of

geometrically formed characters with the greater

distance between them. He removed the upper

and lower cases and serifs, leaving simple, yet

effective design, popular to this day” (Moriarty, 2016) The most iconic typeface to come out of the Bauhaus, Universal, was designed by Herbert Bayer in 1925. This typeface did not include any uppercase letters - as it was felt to be a waste of time using uppercase in both production and use of typewriters. Serifs were also removed in pursuit of something as crisp as architectures international style (Astbury, 2018).

In this famous lowercase typeface, Universal, (see fig. 6) the shapes used to build this typeface can be clearly seen.

I will be using this design approach within my typeface for my final major project but combining the anatomy of type and taking on board typographic illusions for a more balanced and sophisticated design. I still like this modular typeface Bayer created but I feel there is some inconsistency within the letterform proportions. As can be seen in fig 5 the proportions of the letters differ markedly from one another. For example the letter ’n’ is much bigger than the letter ‘m’. I prefer a balance between each-form for a more consistent typeface. Letterform proportions need to be considered and Motley states:

“The proportion of the individual letterform

are an important consideration in typography.

Four major variables control letterform

proportion and have a considerable impact upon

its visual appearance of a typeface: The ratio of

letterform height to stroke width; the variation

between the thickest and thinnest strokes of the

letterform; the width of the letters; and the

relationship of the x-height to the height of the

In 2018 Adobe teamed up with typographer, Erik Spiekermann to revive some of the unfinished Bauhaus typefaces which had been kept since the closing of the Bauhaus. Fig. 3 shows a piece of Bauhaus typography which was pulled out of their archives. “Adobe has breathed new life to incomplete typography sketches and fragments from Bauhaus Dessau, an honourable design school that was closed in 1932 by the National Socialist Party in Germany” (Brandikaran Creatives, 2018). From this one can see how they used the grid within their letterforms. This caught my attention because of the clean, well-structured letter forms made by the use of grids and shapes. As a designer I find it very satisfying seeing a design that has such great form and structure and this is what I bring into my design work which can be seen in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. The use of grids also plays a major part in the development of my ideas. Ambrose states that they create “A sense of balance and harmony, which results in an attractive, coherent appearance (Ambrose and Harris, 2008). In designing a typeface I start with sketching concepts which I then bring into the software I use to enhance the design. I create grids around the sketches within the software and start applying shapes to build the design.

Ulm Design The Bauhaus was forced to shut down in 1933 due to pressure from the Nazis during the Second World War. However, its ideas continued to spread all over the world (Bauhaus-Archiv, s.d.). In West Germany, the Bauhaus principle of linking the arts and crafts continued with the founding of the College of Design in Ulm in 1955, which claimed to be working in the spirit of the Bauhaus (Bauhaus-Archiv, s.d.). Its goal was to improve the quality, form and usefulness of consumer goods that were manufactured in Germany. Max Bill, a Swiss designer, architect and former Bauhaus student between 1927 and 1929, headed the construction of the Ulm School building which was clearly marked by the Bauhaus (Bill, 2011). The college in Ulm became the internationally most important college of design after the Bauhaus, and its products represented German design for many decades (BauhausArchiv, s.d.). Lindinger states that it aimed:

“To give a coordinated program of instruction

in the areas of civic responsibility, cultural

productivity, and technical skills to the end of

improving the quality, form, and usefulness of

consumer goods manufactured in Germany”

(Lindinger, 1991).

With Max Bill as its first director from 1955, the influential Ulm School became the centre of industrial design and architecture (Heathcote, 2019). Bill had been taught by Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Oskar Schlemmer from 1927 to 1929 in Dessau Bauhaus, and Ulm’s new three buildings were based on the concept of the Bauhaus buildings (Bill, 1974). During his time at Dessau Bill had not only gained experience in a range of artistic disciplines but also, and no less importantly, built up enduring contacts with many well known figures in the avant garde. Herbert Lindinger, professor of the Ulm School from 1962 to 1968 states that:

Critical Reflection.

Research Book FMP

“To set out to continue the work of Bauhaus, in any literal sense, would mean trying to restore the past. The best of the former Bauhausler will certainly agree that to continue the Bauhaus’s work means going, in sense against Bauhaus.

We adopt only its progressive, anti-conventional attitude. The effort to contribute to society in the specific historical situation in which we find ourselves. In this sense, and in this sense only, we are continuing the work of the Bauhaus” (Lindinger, 1991).

Ulm replicated the same principles as Bauhaus. Ulm used the terms form and usefulness. Bauhaus’s terms were form follows function and they had set out to created products that were created for their purpose and use also. Bill states:

“The term form was originally combined with the

word ‘good’ in order to emphasise the utilitarian

nature of form. This ‘good’ stands in opposition

to ugly, useless, bad, nasty, and has the implied

characteristics of useful, practical, functional,

usable and even beautiful” (Bill, 2010).

The word function is part of the Bauhaus’s terminology and means the way in which something works. Bill states:

“The mathematical concept of function, as

defined by Leibniz, Riemann and Weierstrass,

forms the framework for an extended conception

of function. This concept is the abstract schema

that practice refers back to and that also forms

part of the general lingustic use - into which could

be ranged, ideally in an orderly correspondence,

all uses from ‘to function to functionary’” (Bill, 2010).

There is a clear link here between the Bauhaus and Ulm and what they had set out to achieve within design.

I personally adapt my designs for their purpose and function in the digital age using simple forms that work for digital media and design.

100 / 101

Critical Reflection

Swiss Design

Fig. 8 Swiss Publicité

its functional use. As Niyazi (2018) states: “The Bauhaus had created methodologies for mass production”. It is now being replicated within the Google Material Design systems. “Material is an adaptable system of guidelines, components, and tools that support the best practices of design” (Material Design, s.d.). These both link to my design process as I am using these same principles and systems which can be seen in my design work in Fig. 4. For example, with the growth of the digital age, the different sized screens on which people are viewing need to be considered as part of the design so the logo and typography can work at a smaller scale as well as large.

Google Materials gives recommendations on how to design icons and logos and suggests that logos need to be “simple, bold, ensuring readability and clarity, even at small sizes” (System icons, s.d.).

Fig. 9 Gillette advertisement.

Another style of design which I have found inspiring is the clean, clear look of Swiss Design. Max Bill was associated with this school. Two schools, Zurich School of Arts and Krafts and the Basel School of Design led the international design style known as Swiss Design. Flask states:

“Of the many contributions to develop from

the two schools were the use of, sans-serif ty

pography, grids and asymmetrical layouts.

Also stressed was the combination of

typography and photography as a means of

visual communication. The primary influential

works were developed as posters, which

were seen to be the most effective means of

communication” (Flask, s.d.).

During the 1950s this design movement emerged out of Switzerland and Germany that designers and historians call Swiss Design, and the International Typographic Style.

It is based around clean, clear and simplistic designs that use grid systems. Its objective of ‘clarity’ won converts throughout the world. The Swiss style played a huge part within graphic design during the fifties through to the eighties. It still holds much power today, especially in corporate communications (visualartsdepartment. wordpress.com, 2011). A Swiss article states that:

“The style’s pure legibility enable the designer to achieve a timeless perfection of form. The visual characterizes of this style include a visual unity achieved by asymmetrical organization on a mathematically constructed grid” (visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com, 2011).

Google Material Design

Material Design is a design system and tool for creating layouts using typography and general design. The geometric style of the Bauhaus uses simple forms that have influenced modern day design and this can be seen across major brands such as Google, particularly with Google Materials and their system icons. Google Materials is an interdisciplinary design system which focuses on creating layouts using grid systems for apps, websites, iconography and components (Material Design, s.d.). The Bauhaus had also created a system in which every product that was created had the same aesthetic and concentrated on

Fig. 11 Google Material Design(Phill Barnes) Conclusion Overall, the research I have gathered for this Critical Reflection explains who and what inspires my design process. My process and system have been inspired by the older generation of design principles which were created by the Bauhaus and Ulm. I have a clear design system that I follow and focus on which is creating simplistic designs using clean geometric forms, and grid systems which have a functional use. This is so my work can be flexible and functional within the digital era of design and thus taking advantage of the technologies we use just as the Bauhaus did. This design principle can be seen in today’s modern age of design with major brands such as Google who are replicating this process by using similar systems and tools.

Bibliography.

Research Book FMP Critical Reflection Bibliography 102 / 103

List of Illustrations Fig. 1 Bauhaus Movement Shop (2020) Bauhaus Dessau Building Puzzle [Screenshot] At: https://shop.bauhausmovement.com/bauhaus-dessau-building-puzzle (Accessed 21/04/2020).

Fig. 2 Lewandovski, T. (2011) The Bauhaus at Dessau.

[Photograph] At: https://www.archdaily.com/87728/ ad-classics-dessau-bauhaus-walter-gropius (Accessed 21/04/2020).

Fig. 3 Silverman, B. (2018) Adobe revives fonts from legendary Bauhaus Design Masters [Photograph] At: http://designconf.vma.bz/adobe-revives-fonts-fromlegendary-bauhaus-design-masters-read-more-https-wwwdexigner-com-news-31017/ (Accessed 18/03/2020).

Fig. 4 Barnes, P. (2019) Letterform [Screenshot] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Fig. 5 Barnes, P. (2019) Letterforms from Final Major Project [Screenshot] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Fig. 6 Moriarty, A. (2016) Universal Typeface [Screenshot] At: https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaustypography/joost-schmidt/ (Accessed 21/02/2020).

Fig. 7 Bild, U (s.d.) Herbert Bayer [Screenshot] At: https://www.bloomsburydesignlibrary.com/ person?docid=iid-bdl-1222 (Accessed 21/02/2020).

Fig. 8 Publicité et arts graphiques / advertising and graphic art (2009) Gillette advertisement [Screenshot] At: https://www.flickr.com/photos/insect54/3530261199/in/ photostream/ (Accessed 14/04/2020).

Fig. 9 Fig. 8 Publicité et arts graphiques / advertising and graphic art (2009) Swiss Publicité [Screenshot] At: https://www.flickr.com/photos/insect54/3530261199/in/ photostream/ (Accessed 14/04/2020).

Fig. 10 Barnes, P. (2019) Contents page for Final Major Project [Screenshot] In possession of the author: Farnham UCA Fig. 11 Google Material Design (2019) Making More with Material - Library - Google Design [Screenshot] At: https://design.google/library/making-more-with-material/ (Accessed 21/04/2020). (Accessed 18/04/2020).

List of sources Adobe Create (2018) Creative Voices ‘Hidden Treasures: Reconstructing Lost Bauhaus Typefaces’ At: https://vimeo. com/276095832 (Accessed 21/02/2020).

Adobe Hidden Treasures of Creativity (2018) ‘Bauhaus Dessau’ At: https://adobehiddentreasures.com/ (Accessed 09/03/2020).

Ambrose, G. and Harris, P. (2008) Grids. Lausanne: AVA Academia.

Andra, L. (s.d.) ‘Graphic Design: The Bauhaus Style In 2019’ : Pixlr Blog. At: https://blog.pixlr.com/graphic-design-the-bauhaus-style-in-2019/ (Accessed 03/03/2020).

Astbury, J. (2018) ‘Herbert Bayer: designer of the Bauhaus’ universal typography’. In: Dezeen. At: https:// www.dezeen.com/2018/11/06/herbert-bayer-bauhaus-100-typography-universal-typeface-font/ (Accessed 21/02/2020).

Bauhaus-Archiv Museum für Gestaltung (s.d.) After 1933.

At: https://www.bauhaus.de/en/das_bauhaus/81_ nach_1933/ (Accessed 09/03/2020).

Bayer, H. (s.d.) Herbert Bayer At: https://www.bauhaus100.com/the-bauhaus/people/masters-and-teachers/ herbert-bayer/ (Accessed 25/03/2020).

Bellethana (2011) Form follows function: Bauhaus At: http ://archiwrite.blogspot.com/2011/01/form-follow-function-bauhaus.html (Accessed 09/03/2020).

Bill, M. (2010) Form, Function, Beauty = Gestalt. London: AA Publications.

Bill, M. (2011) Max Bill: Five Decades. London: Annely Juda Fine Art. Brandikaran Creatives (2018) Adobe Revives Unfinished Fonts From German Design School Shut Down in 1930s At: https://brandikaran.com/free-design-classes-2/ (Accessed 11/02/2020).

Ewen, J. (2019) ‘App Design vs Functionality - Which Is More Important’ - App UX and UI. At: https://www. tamoco.com/blog/blog-app-design-app-functionality-ux-ui/ (Accessed 09/04/2020).

Flask, D. (s.d.) Swiss Design : Design Is History. At: http://www.designishistory.com/home/swiss/ (Accessed 11/02/2020).

Heathcote, E. (2019) ‘Max Bill — the cult figure who shaped 20th-century design and architecture’ In: Financial Times 07/06/2019 At: https://www.ft.com/content/ e233ecd2-85d7-11e9-97ea-05ac2431f453 (Accessed 10/03/2020).

Lindinger, H. (1991) Ulm Design: the Morality of Objects.

Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Material Design (s.d.) Design guidance and code At: https://material.io/ (Accessed 14/04/2020).

Mertins, D. (s.d.) ‘What did Mies van der Rohe mean by less is more?’ Architecture: Agenda. At: https://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/architecture/articles/2014/april/02/ what-did-mies-van-der-rohe-mean-by-less-is-more/ (Accessed 25/03/2020).

Moriarty, A. (2016) The Modern Letter - The Best of the Bauhaus Typography At: https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-typography/ (Accessed 17/02/2020).

Motley, P. (s.d.) sd typographic_design.pdf At: https:// facstaff.elon.edu/pmotley/220/typographic_design.pdf Moulton, S. (s.d.) ‘The Bauhaus Movement in Graphic Design: Impact & Application’ Study.com At: https://study. com/academy/lesson/the-bauhaus-movement-in-graphic-design-impact-application.html (Accessed 28/02/2020).

Material Design (s.d.) System icons At: https://material. io/design/iconography/system-icons.html (Accessed 13/12/2019).

Nauman, R. A. (2004) On the Wings of Modernism: The United States Air Force Academy. (s.l.): University of Illinois Press.

Niyazi, J. (2018) Bauhaus 93: A type family with strong influence from Architecture. At: https://blog.prototypr. io/bauhaus-93-a-type-family-with-strong-influence-from-architecture-37c97d6e2adf (Accessed 09/03/2020).

Ryan, V. (2010) The Bauhaus (Germany) 1919-1930s. At: http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/bauhaus1. html (Accessed 09/03/2020).

Tate (s.d.) Art Term - Modernism. At: https://www. tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism (Accessed 30/03/2020).

Visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com (2011) ‘Swiss’ At: https://visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com/swiss/ (Accessed 09/04/2020). et/ (Accessed 13/02/2020).

Very Nice Industries (2013) Ed Benguiat. At: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=coZnAdoV82M (Accessed 17/02/2020).

What is Typography? – Graphic Design Degree Hub (s.d.) At: https://www.graphicdesigndegreehub.com/faq/ what-is-typography/ (Accessed 04/02/2020).

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Evaluation.

Research Book FMP Evaluation 104 / 105

During my time studying, I have learned many different things from each project. This enabled me to gather what I have learned and apply it to my final major project. At the start of this project, I was able to establish what I needed to research by creating a plan after choosing the area of study which was designing a typeface. The plan acted as a guide, it guided me through the history of type design right through to understanding how to design a fully functional typeface. I also reached out to a few practitioners to gather advice before I started the practical side of the project. I met with Paul McNeil and discussed how I should approach the start of creating my typeface. We spoke about the software I will be using which was Fontself as this is a great software for beginners. We also discussed how I need to identify the classification of the typeface and where it will be seen out in the world.

Another discussion I had was with Erik Spiekerman a well known German type designer. His advice was to measure, compare typefaces, and read as many books as I can. These were all things I used to build my typeface. Measuring and comparing typefaces helped with the overall balance and proportion of my letterforms. Also, reading books gave me a more in-depth knowledge of how each letter is made.

During the development and process of my building my typeface, I had put together some blank calendars from February to May. This was a chance for me to create to-do lists and small deadlines so that I can keep track of where I am at during the project. This also gave me the chance to keep track of how many hours I had put into this project. I worked between 4 and 6 hours each day four days a week which worked out to around 320 hours.

I was in regular contact with Tom and Paul McNeil during the process and development of building my typeface. I was tagging them in different concepts via invision to gather feedback to help with the development. This was a great way for me to make decisions and also take on there advice and ideas which were also implemented into the typeface build. This project had a lot of decision making and many variations to make sure I was creating a consistent typeface. I feel my attention to detail has improved immensely by training the eye to pick up on small details. This was to make sure everything was built correctly and that the typographic illusions were correct for a consistent weight throughout my typeface. This process involved a lot of printing concepts and identifying the issues within the typeface so that it could be corrected or improved.

I feel I had a smooth run throughout this project because I had planned everything and was very organised. As mentioned at the beginning of the evaluation I had learned a lot from the previous projects and knew what was expected. A few things I found myself doing during the build of the typeface which Paul McNeil said to be careful of, was

focusing too much on the details. I feel I ended up going down this hole and it may have stopped me from creating more of the typeface. Maybe if I didn’t do this I could have created numerals. I also had moments where I did get slightly stressed because of certain letterforms being difficult such as the ’s’.

But this is expected as it is my first time making a sophisticated typeface following the anatomy of type using, x-heights, cap heights, ascenders, descenders, and typographic illusions.

There are still things I need to learn such as creating numerals and other punctuation. This will be a slow process and development but I feel I do have the skills to start creating more and building as a type designer. One other thing I learned was to step away and leave things for a day or two.

I sometimes find myself rushing in other projects but I have learned to slow down and step away from it and this helped develop this typeface to how it is.

Satanica Type Sample

Image 55, Satanica Type Sample (2020)