Project #3 — Type and Hierarchy
About this Project
As it states in the title, this assignment was our introduction to the basic use of typeogrpahy. To select our typeface, we each drew a paper with the name of a classic typeface on it. It was then our challenge to compose a layout that best represented our typeface whether that meant focusing on certain characters, the history behind the designer, the use of the typeface in other ways, and so on. Using our learnings on hierachy and restrictions of one spot color, we had to strategize our placement and highlighting of certain elements. This project is different than the previous in that last time we had to create meaning from a simple black square to supporting meaning using text and hierarchy.
Project Process
With my assigned typeface, Didot, I began researching the history of this typeface. What I discovered became key points of information that would be used in my layouts. I collected information about the designer, the style and purpose of this typeface, and adjectives frequently used to describe it. As I began my sketching process, I used a combination of those elements to inform how I wanted to present and stylize the poster.
From the beginning, I was interested in the fact that Didot is the popular typeface for lifestyle and fashion magazines. This strongly informed my first sketch which was meant to suggest the idea of a fashion magazine. I chose the character 5 because it had a flourish that other characters did not have and I saw that to be more fitting of a magazine cover. In the digital iteration, I struggled to find the most effective way to use the negative space around the 5. I also began to feel like this layout was less about the font and was too concentrated on creating something else.
For this second sketch, I wanted a more simplistic layout that was modern and sleek. I wanted to bring attention to the number characters again because they had the most unique strokes. Once again I ran into the issue of finding the correct way to fill the negative space, specifically below the designer’s name. I wanted something of meaning that was not too overwhelming. I tried a character set but it looked more crowded than expected. In the end I think this layout was not as modern as I thought it was as it seemed like something that has been done before and therefore overplayed.
My initial sketch really informed my third and final iteration. The focus on the exclamation and question marks really highlighted the distinguishing features of Didot which is its thin and thick stroke variations. I was also able to bring attention to the thin serifs in the words in a more prominent way than in the previous sketches. Few iterations followed this design and they were not as successful as this one because this layout was more interesting with its bold dots, reoriented characters, and focus on something that was not the typeface name or designers. With other iterations, I struggled with the usage of white space but in this layout, there was never an overwhelming amount of awkward or misused negative space. I decided to move forward with this layout and move onto color.
I created many variations in hopes to find the right color and placement that would not only strenghten the hierarchy but that could emotionally match the feelings I felt applied to Didot. I was most inclined to apply the color to either “Thick and Thin” or the two dots in the center. With those two options, I was hoping to capture the viewer’s initial attention and provide a flow that would carry their attention around the page. The change in color of the two dots was a very heavy addition that made an already central and bold image even more bold. Even thought I liked how the colors looked as dot, I chose another route.
I ultimately chose this layout with this color and color placement because it had the strongest hierarchy that contained all of the relevant information. This color placement was chosen because it did a better job of carrying the eye from the first glance at the dots around the diamond formation. It allowed the viewer to either begin by going up and down, side to side, or in an X shape. In hindsight the color was not the best choice out of my options but there was an appeal to this hue of orange. When printed the smallest type was already difficult to read due to the typeface and the light orange did not help its visability.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe this was an effective introduction to typeface and hierarchy. Researching one typeface and using that information to build an informative and aesthetic poster was useful in focusing our learnings into a product. Although I learned about many other typefaces, I wish I got to create another poster for a different typeface just to test my abilities in making something different but that will have to be something I do on my own time.
