Artist Typeface

Module TFD1064.

Design for Communication Design Graphic design group Project – “Artist typeface” Student - Sophie Wright Student number - U1266181 Contact details - 07880351190

Initial research and sample experiments - Karl Benjamin (Artist) Looking at 20th Century artists as a starting point, I have decided to review Karl Benjamin, a founder of the Hard Edge Painting movement of the late 1950’s and 1960’s. His use of vibrant block colour attracted me to his paintings and lead me to create samples of text in his specific style.

Benjamin’s paintings are a homage to Hard Edge painting, a style of art that combines the clear composition of geometric abstraction with the intense color and bold, unitary forms of color field painting.

Below Benjamin’s works are my own typographic samples based upon his use of vivid colour and geometric shapes. I used coloured markers upon cartridge paper to achieve this. On the first sample it is clear I have experimented with cell size within the letters, and fluctuated the amount of colours I add to the body of the text. I have also varied the colour palettes of each letter, exploring specific colour schemes to see which colours complement the other.

I have constructed mostly simple square typefaces here with straight edges and interior lines for the block colour. The more ornate type was constructed based on perspective and 3D orientation. This was difficult to execute, but I believe the design is successful.

As I continue my research into artists, designers and typographers, I will be sure to concentrate on bright and bold works, especially those with use of extensive colour.

Initial research and sample experiments - Chris Piascik (Typographer) I have experimented with Piascik’s style by using Zig markers before splashing with inks. The typographic style used here is simply my handwriting in capitals. I then outlined odd words in fineliner in order to add a touch of quirkiness.

Chris Piascik’s typographic style is loose and quirky. He creates pieces using marker and paper, with which he produces his own hand-drawn fonts. He is known for his use of vivid colour and doodle-esque illustration.

Piascik experiments with a variety of typefaces in his work, ranging through cursive and bold classifications.

Initial research and sample experiments - Giuseppe Salerno (Typographer)

Giuseppe Salerno is a calligrapher who experiments with his own handwriting in order to create new unique fonts. The series of work that I am most interested in of Salerno’s are his ornate explorations of Blackletter typefaces, which he executes using a flat brush on smooth paper.

I imitated his style to the left here, by using a black Zig marker. I have found that the calligraphic typeface is difficult for me to execute, and needs more skill in order to perfect.

Besides this, I like the worn, faded effect that the marker gives. It adds a touch of authenticity to the text, even though I have not used the correct inks.

Initial research and sample experiments - Marian Bantjes (Typographer) Here are my experiementations as influenced by Bantjes’ work. I used sharpie marker and black drawing ink to imitate the condensed font displayed above. I have also explored her work using harmonious colours, the way in which the pink and orange delicately blend to create a sensual approach to the type.

The addition of tendrils on the peaks of the letters aid this, as well as incorporating a sense of weightlessness and airiness, as if the text has been swept by a breeze.

The linear image besides this is a scan of the type before I filled it in with ink. I like the minimal approach that the coloured lines create that make up the type, although this makes the reading not as clear.

It is imperative that within a typeface, ease-to-read and clarity is apparant.

Marian Bantjes’ intricate work is heavily inspired by the Rococo period, a manifestation of grandeur and florid architecture. Bantjes embodies this in her typography, which is typically italic and condensed. She infuses this with the Blackletter form, as the rounded strokes of her letters make her work look somewhat calligraphic. This makes her fonts timeless, as the combination of eras and styles accentuate Bantjes’ originality with her typefaces.

Initial research and sample experiments - Mike Perry (Illustrator) Mike Perry is an artist who combines the twin diciplines of typography and illustration. Perry’s quirky additions to the geometric sans serif typeface are playfully decorative and keep the eye entertained. His method of work being pencil on paper, Perry lets his imagination run wild and creates clusters of intricate visuals; a celebration of hand-drawn type.

Even though I have used the same text in my own interpretation of Perry’s font, I have focused my concentration on the small drawings about the text.

Using a green, blue and purple fineliner, I have been able to fill in the spaces between the letters with intricacy and fine detail.

Looking closely, the viewer will be able to see a story unravel between the bold sans-serif typeface, which oozes with simplicity in comparison.

Initial research and sample experiments - Arjan Benning (Artist) Arjan Benning is my main source of inspiration behind sculptural typography. The way in which he uses pegs to bunch up skin in order to create letter forms has inspired me to use a variety of materials to experiment with sculptural type. Benning’s work is thought provoking, and allows us to look at type in a way we never have before. By creating undistinguishable letter stokes, Benning sets a new bar behind experimental type.

Similarly to Benning, I have have created my own typeface within the sub-genre of sculptural typography. Here I use potato shaped letters and scanned them in.

Even though I didn’t create the font itself, the typeface is a heavy-weight bold sans serif stroke, that is slightly distorted by the frozen state the letters are in. This adds a sense of form to the typeface which exaggerates the sculptural design.

Initial research and sample experiments - Erik Spiekermann (Designer) Erik Spiekermann uses a method described in his video with Gestalten Tv to create new typefaces. He takes a font that is already established and aims to imitate the letter forms a day later. As he repeats this process, a new typeface is born, and incarnates both traditional aspects of the old and the refreshed imagination of the new.

I took this method on board and decided to try it for myself. The results aren’t astounding, as the differences in progression don’t change very much at all. The width and weight seems to grow with each attempt of imitating the previous letterform.

Initial research and sample experiments - Mihail Mahaylov (Designer) Mihail Mahaylov demonstrates an evolution of text by building upon the font Helvetica.

The neo-grotesque sans serif typeface can be easily manipulated to create something new. Mihaylov’s work is conceptual, the transformation of latters conveys the ideologies behind the ever-changing nature of typographic design.

To the right are my interpretations of Mahaylov’s work. I have selected a random word - EMBRYO and applied a ink over the letters in order to block them and transform them into something new. On another variation I did, I used a different colour ink in order to show the original word beneath the manipulations with ink. I then let the ink drip and bleed all over the other letters. I believe that this creates an interesting visual, as the combination of colours contrasts agains the black of the text and ink.

Initial research and sample experiments - Jamie Reid (Artist) Jamie Reid is an artist who incorporates text into his work by using clippings of letters from newspapers or magazines; similar to a ransom note.

This mismatch of characters creates a confused variation of styles and tones, emitting a rebellious outlook to the text.

This style is commonly associated with the Punk movement, a manifestation of revolution, innovation and grittiness.

Below is an assortment of experiments I have conducted by cutting letters out of magazines. I really like this style, as it transforms existing lettering into a whole new typeface with infinite combinations.

The first sample I did by randomly cutting letters out of a magazine. There is a wide variety of typefaces here with an array of sizes, weights, colours, shape and form.

The second sample I created by finding a text in a magazine that could be re-arranged to create a different sentance or phrase. I like the punk aesthetic of the narrow type; enhanced by the bright block background I set it upon.

Reid has also used visuals to enhance his typography, as they reinforce the messages he incorporates through his socio-political anecdotes.

I have noticed that Reid fluctuates the style of his letters often, although they do have similarites, such as printed on the same paper or from the same article. It may be beneficial for me to use letters of the same kind within my samples inspired by Reid.

Transcribe three artists work into typeface - Mike Perry I am fond of Perry’s incorporation of illustration within his type. The clusters of patterns he uses add an innocent intricacy to the letterforms and omit a sense of imagination.

I have experimented using three different coloured fineliners to experiment in the style of Perry.

Perhaps it would have been beneficial to experiment further with materials that may produce and interesting effect when used appropriating Perry’s work. An interesting way would be to draw on the paper with wax and coat with ink. This way, the parts of paper sealed in wax will remain white and the untainted paper will be dyed by the ink.

A combination of harmonious hued drawing inks bleeding into each other would be an interesting modification besides Perry’s work.

I am fond of Perry’s incorporation of illustration within his type. The clusters of patterns he uses add an innocent intricacy to the letterforms and omit a sense of imagination.

I have experimented using three different coloured fineliners to experiment in the style of Perry.

Transcribe three artists work into typeface - Mike Perry (Thumbnails) Here are my thumbnails regarding my ideas to design a type face based on Mike Perry’s style.

The first set of letters is based on Times New Roman and is littered with elliptical patterns inspired by Indian henna designs. I also experimented here with different styles of font, those which I plucked from my mind rather than my own take on existing fonts, before applying the pattern in the thumbnail.

I then delved into ideas concerning using a spirograph to create elliptical patterns. I also thought about using the patterns as a block background and having the letters shown as transparent through through the intricacies of the linear lines the patterns create.

Besides this, I began to experiment with placing the patterns within the strokes of the text. This adds a sense of simplicity to the type in comparison to the other versions I created.

Transcribe three artists work into typeface - Chris Piascik Here are three experientations I created influenced by Piascik. The first one I did using an assortment of coloured fineliners in many different fonts, sizes and weights. Each typeface in this piece varys significantly from the next, as I have taken care to make this composition of hand-drawn fonts as visually exciting as possible. The second piece I created took considerably more time, and is much more accurate and tidy, as I experimented with existing fonts and drawing inks. The fonts I explored here are Times New Roman, Action Jackson and Scriptina, although I added my own personal flair to the re-creation of each font. The larger piece to the right is a black and white experimentation executed using a black ballpoint pen.

Transcribe three artists work into typeface - Jamie Reid (Thumbnails)

There are many ways in which I could experiment with the ransom note style. At first I had the idea to cut the letters randomly as I did with my first experimentation earlier in the project shown here:

My way of mixing this up started out with alternating letter styles. I had the idea of starting with a traditional calligraphic typeface and alternating with a more pixellated futuristic font, such as Small Fonts. The reasoning behind this stems from the combination of era’s within typography and juxtaposing the two very different styles of text and everything they represent. I then began to consider alternate ways of cutting the letter from the source. I came up with the idea of using a hole puncher to cut out the letters and placing them next to eachother as a display as fragmented letters. I believe that this is an innovative way to create a ransom typeface, as typical ransom notes are created using square shaped clippings. Another idea I had was tearing out the larger letters from headings in newspapers and magazines.

This method would enable many other printed formats, such as small text and fragments of images to be included in the typeface, which may be either very visually stimulating or distracting. The tears in the paper would also be a part of the typeface, which pays homage to the punk ideologies behind the ransom note style.

Transcribe three artists work into typeface - Jamie Reid

I like the concept of found lettering. The destruction and reconstruction of text is an innovative way to create a new typeface. I also favour the sense of rebelliousness here, stealing bits and pieces from other works to come together as a new, original piece. Below I have cut letters out of magazines in order to achieve that disconbobulation of lettering similar to Jamie Reid’s work.

Similar to an idea conveyed in my thumbnail sketches, I decided to use another method of cutting letters from an existing article; using a hole puncher. Even though this was difficult to execute, I am pleased with the results. The mismatched aesthetic is still apparant as the random composition of letters conveys that much sought after sense of rebelliousness and strewn together form of type. This can be compared to the ideologies within the Punk Art movement in the 1980’s.

In order to develop this idea, I took a scan of the holepunched letters onto Illustrator, and began to trace over the letters using the pen tool, in order to create a clear black line as the boundaries of my typeface.

Select most appropriate artist & create font

After a while of tracing over the holepunched letters on Illustrator, I was finally finished and created this set of letters. I have decided to call it ‘Hole’ due to the nature it was cut from the foreign article.

I am pleased with the typeface I have produced, as to me, it appears to be very original in the way the boundaries of the letters are confined to a circle. The mixed array of weights, sizes and styles of the font adds to the ransom aesthetic that I was striving for throughout the project and oozes the state of rebelliousness and embracement of what is typically considered ‘ugly art’ that the Punk Art movement embodies.

Layouts for design requirements - Shape To the left, I have experimented with the shape of my new typeface by firstly creating a preliminary version on photoshop. By doing this, I am able to see which type of fonts look good and what position suit them most.

Below I have created versions of the typeface I created previously by tracing over the holepunches on Illustrator in a stamp style. I did this by filling the outside area and the letters in black before inverting it. I like this version alot better than the original, as the stamp effect is more minimal.

Layouts for design requirements - Size 24 px 36 px 48 px 60 px 72 px 90 px

Here I have experimented with the size of my type. I have fluctuated the sizes as displayed, where there is a bigger and smaller version. The smaller sample will be the size used in my final design.

24 px 36 px 48 px 60 px 72 px 90 px

Layouts for design requirements - Weight Here are some variations concerning the weight of the text.

1 px

2 px

3 px

4 px

Layouts for design requirements - Colour I have experimented here with the colour of my text, testing variants of colour and how they may appear when coloured using an editing program. Below I worked on colouring only the letters themselves, and used a rainbow of colours in order to show how each colour would work on a letter. I subdued the hues on other variants of this colour style (as the original is rather vivid) and also display a greyscale version of the text. To the right are eight other variants, those which explore colouring of the circle that encaptures the letter.

Again I have rearranged the colours in order to predict how a colour would look on a certain letter, as well as toning down the inital hue, in order to gain a calmer, less striking perspective on the design.

Below that I have experimented with the ‘stamp’ style I explored with my font, which I created by colouring the line the same colour as the inner or outer shape. I favour this style out of all, as it is easier on the eyes.

Layouts for design requirements - Colour

Here I have explored the ways in which the letters look when colour is applied individually. This idea is in sync with the nature of which the letters are parted with the original article I got them from. I coloured a selection of letters in my first set of variations before re-evaluation the selected letters and colouring them in hues of blue and green. Above I chose to colour the circles rather than the letters, and applied this to a series of letters in the sample. Again I chose a set of different letters to block in colour before changing the hue a few times.

To the left is my original trace of the holepunched letters in linear form. I have featured a colour variation of that in order to visualise all renditions of colour I possibly could before choosing the final typeface.

Here is my final typeface. I have chosen to go with the version I created in which the letter is blocked in as opposed to the circle or the linear version of type.

I like the simplicity of the font and how it appeals to the ransom note style of creating interesting typographic fonts. I have also featured below a sample of colours, in order to show how the typeface looks when displayed in each.

The pixel size of the specimen to the right is 90px.

Finished solutions

Here is my final design for the Font Bureau specimen book cover, along with four ideas I conjured on Photoshop. After researching existing books that the Font Bureau has published, I have decided to stick to the house style of red, black and white and incorporated the font I have created into the design. The reason that my chosen design stands out from the other variations I did is the simplicity, as I found that the others are too busy and confuse the eye. I have also featured the Font Bureau logo and chose the font Mesquite Std for the title and Snell Roundhand for the subtext, as they are stylishly ornate and compliment each other.

Finished solutions Here are my ideas for the advert made to promote Font Bureau and the new typeface. I have used the same simple colour scheme as the book cover and website designs in order to gain a sense of consistency throughout the project.

These designs are very simple, as I really want to draw focus on the actual text and form of the typeface. I have also included the Font Bureau logo in the designs, as it is imperative to include this.

Above is my chosen design. I really prefer the white background as opposed to burgundy, as well as the composition in contrast to my other designs.

Finished solutions

Here are my website designs acoording to the original Font Bureau rules. I have used white as the base colour in order to make the site clear and easy to navigate.

All the text and body of the site I constucted in black, a stark contrast to the white as a bold, crisp finish.

I also added touches of red to add a dynamic to the designs. Overall I think my designs look professional and legible enough to be apart of Font Bureau, inc.

My prefered design being on the left I like because of the innovative design. I incorporated the logo of Font Bureau in with the body of the text as well as using an experimentive font.

Finished solutions