A3: Type Specimen Poster

This project centered around designing a 10x16in poster which represented a typeface and included: typeface name, designer, year of creation, description, character set, and quote (optional). Only those textual elements using the typeface in question was allowed, along with a background color.

Didot was developed by Firmin Didot in Paris in 1783 and has been said to be inspired by the Age of Enlightenment. The typeface Didot has been classified as neoclassical, and is known for defining the characteristics of the modern type style. High contrast between stroke weight, straight serifs without any bracketing, and teardrop terminals on capital letters define this typeface. As a header, Didot excels in lending an elegant and sophisticated feel. Didot typefaces are a major part of most fashion brands, including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and Louis Vuitton.

Final

My typeface was Didot. I decided to use black and pink to lend an air of sophistication and class, reminding viewers of Didot’s heavy contribution to fashion brands.

Process

Sketches

I utilized sketching early in my process to get ideas onto paper. However, for this project, I primarily used InDesign to iterate through different concepts.

InDesign Iterations: Breadth

My breadth of exploration may not seem far-reaching as my hierarchy during my process work was fairly consistent.

InDesign Iterations: Depth

My depth of exploration focused on bringing more interesting compositional elements into my final design. I wanted to include elements which would intrigue viewers from 50 feet away (Didot title), 5 feet away (character set, quote, brand names), and 5 inches away (body text).

Reflection

I think my greatest accomplishments in this project were my use of spot color and the range of contrast in between the design elements.

I think my greatest areas of growth for this project were my breadth of exploration and my adherence to the project rubric. In learning about Didot’s history and seeing Didot’s range of fonts, my early iterations turned out too “safe” in my opinion. I think this did end up limiting the potential of my final concept, although I am happy with my result. My later iterations omitted the explicit use of “Firmin Didot” as a separate design element as I felt that it would be redundant. However, this was a mistake, and I should’ve rechecked the project rubric before my final submission.