Project 3

Type & Hierarchy

Intro

For Project 3, our task was to create a type specimen poster and incorporate variables we experimented with in the previous exercises. I had been looking forward to this project from the very beginning and was excited regardless of the font I was given. Luckily, I was assigned Helvetica, which happens to have a huge presence in my everyday life.

History

Helvetica was developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with input from Eduard Hoffman. It can be classified as “neo-grotesque” or realist design, as it influenced by the famous 19th-century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. While it wasn’t created for a specific purpose, it followed the resurgence of interest in turn-of-the-century “grotesque” sans-serifs among European graphic designers. In the 1950s and 60s, it became a hallmark of the International Typographic Style that emerged from the work of Swiss designers. Since then, it has become very popular for commercial wordmarks and even used widely in the U.S. government. For example, our current federal income tax forms are written in Helvetica. Most notably, it was the default font for iOS applications until 2015. Compared to other fonts, it has a tall x-height, making it easier to read with distance. However, it also has tight spacing between letters or “narrow apertures” limit on-screen legibility.

Sketches

My initial ideas incorporated the Swiss Alps, taking advantage of the “HELL” sound in Helvetica, the “+” on the Swiss flag, the designer’s initials, and a representation of Microsoft Word, as Helvetica was once the default font on Apple computers.

Digital renditions

From my initial sketches, I found the Swiss Alps, Microsoft word, and HELLvetica theme to be most promising. I wasn’t happy with how the HELLvetica digital renditions came out, so I decided to pivot and play with the NYC subway theme after realizing Helvetica is used. Ultimately I was happiest with the Swiss Alps and NYC theme, so I experimented with those most.

Final composition

When deciding between the Swiss Alps and NYC themes, I came to the conclusion that the historical aspect of the Swiss Alps theme made more sense for my final composition. Between the two remaining compositions, I felt that the second was more entertaining/unique and served as a better representation of the typeface. Before the interim crit, I decided to play around with the year to make it more central in the poster. After receiving suggestions during interim, I fixed the placement of the man, changed the relative sizing of the Helvetica letters, and made the bottom text boxes smaller to avoid taking away attention from the rest of the poster.