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What The Font


Project Brief

This project will intoduce us to the fundamentals of typography. The art and technique of working with type has come to mean, layout of typeset and accompanying graphic matter for reproduction. We will encounter different approaches to researching and making work with type. Using physical areas around you as primary research and studying the type in order to create your own.

Deliverables: 

- Glyphs - A1 black and white poster of type specimen. 
- Graphic Glossary - Publication with your own cover design.
- Photographs of type in the environment. 
Type Archives - The Wolpe Exhibition
The Wolpe Exhibition celebrates and showcases the work of a designer who works outstandingly with type, Berthold Wolpe. Aside from his amazing body of work, the highlight of the exhibition is the unique typefaces he created in the 1930's which faded from view until now. The collection of his typefaces have now been remastered by Toshi Omagari of The Monotype Studio which revives the lost typefaces of Wolpe.







 The Five Typefaces remastered by Toshi Omagari 
Pegasus
Tempest
Sachsenwald
Fanfare
Albertus Nova

Further images from The Wolpe Exhibition

I love the way the size of type can be used here to create a visually pleasing effect. However the top left poster 'Venice' is the most interesting to me because the poster as a whole shows the manipulation of type. The design of the waves used to create the text and an ongoing pattern almost as if it's used creating a paint brush, specific strokes and the waves really does make it interesting to view.

This was one of the most important artwork to me for this project as it shows the raw form of type simply created using pencils and guidelines. It's a perfect example of how type is treated by a designer before it's digitally designed or an advanced form. Especially as this is the sketches for the process of a new font which is what I've been tasked to do also.

The process of type continues from initial using pencils and guidelines to now using ink and here's the ink drawing for Pegasus which just highlights how type becomes more powerful with the addition of the ink and also defines the font into something that can really be useable now.
Example of Albertus being used by the City of London. This is more of the final stage of modern type which has now become a digital form and then used commercially like it is here.
More examples on the manipulation of type combined with simple imagery. I especially like the cover for The Great Escape as the imagery and type is simple yet so powerful and effective. The text and imagery of the barbed wire compliment each other perfectly along with the simple colours of white, grey and black to really emphasise the title.
Looking at this inspires me for the final task which is creating a type specimen poster and this is a beautiful combination of Albertus and Pegasus, created by designer Alan Kitching as an homage to Wolpe.


The final work of Berthold Wolpe, which was a Birthday card for Dr Hermann Zapf.

 Finding Type
For this task, I had to go on a type expedition mainly around the Peckham area, exploring the different range of unique typography in the area and then documenting those types in order to use for primary research and essentially understand type better. However, the type found cannot be from packages and items etc, it has to be some form of signage and a range of different styles.

Zuki's - Type that is somewhat confusing yet unique
Rat Records - Type that has an exaggerated descender
Animated type and an electrical sign
Type that has been manipulated for the viewer to see in a specific position
Type carved out of wood
Cafe Toscana - Handwritten type

Glyphs - Creating my own Type 

After researching and documenting the different typeforms around the Peckham area and gaining inspiration from the Wolpe Exhibition, now I must choose one of the image I took and somewhat remaster or complete the type and create a new font and glyph based on the type in the image.

The image and type example I used is this hand written type for Cafe Toscana, the reason for this is because of the type primarily being handwritten which already makes it unique and different to any other type that would've been done digitally etc. Furthermore I do like the brush stroke effect it gives which makes it look stylish in a way. Moreover, each letter is somewhat different in characteristics which gives me more freedom to experiment with when I attempt to create glyphs based on these.

Here's the sketches I've done based on the Cafe Toscana type, creating a full alphabet and glyphs in order to create a new font. Also shaded in black to continue the process of type.

 
Type sketches now converted into digital form using Adobe Illustrator

Type now filled in black to show how it would be used as an actual font
Cleaner version of the Toscana font


Variations of Glyphs
 




Type Specimen
The final task required a poster type specimen design of the font I created to showcase and highlight how the type could be used for commercial use.



Examples of type specimens for popular fonts.
 


Design of my Type Specimen





















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