Project Three, Part Two: Type & Hierarchy
Helvetica
Digital Illustration and Print
10–4–16
Overview:
Students were each assigned a typeface to research. Students were then asked to create a poster highlighting the important aspects and information about that typeface. Each poster had to involve at least three levels of hierarchy. Concepts such as scale, color, tone, value, texture, position, weight, linespacing, and indentation were used to create these levels. Actual drawings and the use of shapes to convey emotion or meaning were discouraged, so that the focus of the project would be the type itself.
Process:
Beginning:
The project began with sketches to explore ideas. A few common themes emerged in mine. I really liked the idea of emphasizing the capital “A” and lowercase “a” of Helvetica, so several sketches used those characters in various ways. A few sketches used diagonal lines, an element I felt well complemented the straight, flat nature of Helvetica. Finally, references to transportation or directions appeared in a handful of sketches as a shoutout to one of Helvetica’s many uses. In the end, I stuck with the ideas of emphasizing the “Aa” while also incorporating diagonal elements.
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Early Digital Iteration:
My first digital iteration involved highlighting the typeface name at the top of the poster, while using half of the “A” and half of the “a” on each side of the poster. While these elements stayed fairly consistent throughout my process, changes were made to each. For example, color was applied, the title was eventually slanted, and the large letters were moved slightly to make more room.
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Color, Slants, and Text:
My next big changes involed adding color to the elements, making the “Aa” white on a dark background, and adding some actual body text to work with. An angle of 19.5 degrees was used for all elements to align the slant of the poster with the side of the capital “A” on the side. The “A” itself was moved to the right so that viewers could see the counter and identify the letter.
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Showing Features:
I was disappointed that my previous iteration did not showcase any features of Helvetica. To remedy this, I added the word “Reabability” to the poster, and moved other elements so that it would fit. The idea here was to show off the tall x-height and flat terminals of Helvetica and highlight the strange, curved ending the of capital “R” while using a word that describes the nature of the typeface.
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More Words & More Features:
During crits, my peers mentioned that the word “Readability” felt awkward and strange when left alone in the center of the poster. As such, two more descriptive words were added. However, I was unsure as to the best way to highlight their features. The lowercase “a” on the side of the page was moved downwards to make room.
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The Swiss Invasion:
After searching for inspiration on http://www.swissted.com, a more vibrant color scheme was added to the poster. Also, the important words in the body text were changed from red to bold, so that the emphasis would not be too distracting.
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The Final Poster:
The number of “features” highlighted on the three words was reduced to make the poster less cluttered and the “a” and “1957” were changed so that their color would make them stand out. After aligning all the elements properly, the poster was finally finalized.
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Colors?:
Four or five other color schemes were tested. However, none seemed to “pop” in the same way as the first, so I ended up sticking with the original design.
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Oops!
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Some previous iterations
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Conclusion:
I was very happy with my final product. The poster showcased the features of Helvetica as a typeface while utilizing several levels of hierarchy. Use of color, scale, position, whitespace, weight, indentation and linespacing ensure the viewer is directed through the poster and is able to digest the information it presents.
