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Niall Hargrave

OUGD203

27TH Character

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The 27th Character. Until relatively recently the English language was considered to have 27 characters in its alphabet, with the ampersand right after z. The recitation of the alphabet would end in: “X, Y, Z and per se and.” This is where the name ampersand came from, gradually being slurred together.

The ampersand can be traced back to the 1st century A.D. The Latin word et was used, meaning and. The letters E and T occasionally were written together to form a ligature, originally written as two distinct letters but over time the ‘e’ and ‘t’ were combined. The E and T are still visible in certain typefaces today.

Due to its nature now and how it is used it has turned into a character that allows for such freedom within type design. And often can say an awful lot about a typeface as it is one of the only characters to have so much freedom.

My concept is to successfully promote and inform those about the ampersand, and how the ampersand is the lost character. Due to its beauty and engaging range of styles within type design, I am producing a range of t-shirts to be sold online which is then sent to the customer including a booklet and poster informing those of the ampersand.

The t-shirts will be distributed in sets over four 3 month periods. With four seperate t-shirt ranges, every three months one t-shirt from each range will be availble to purchase online, creating the t-shirts to be limited edition and collectible.

CONCEPT

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Niall Hargrave

OUGD203

27TH Character

RANGE 1.-THE 27TH

RANGE 2.-XYZ&

RANGE 3.-FAMILIES

RANGE 4.-THE AGES

THE RANGES

The four ranges all sticking to the common theme of celebrating the ampersand. Focussing on different aspects of the character, looking at the branding of the company, as well as seeing the character in the alphabet, or how it used to be, XYZ&. Another range is seeeing the ampersand through different families in different font styles. Finally, the fourth range is looking at the ampersand through the ages.

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Niall Hargrave

OUGD203

27TH Character

PRODUCTS

CONTACTSPURCHASE

HOME

THE WEBSITE

The website I have created in order to distribute my products. The t-shirts can be viewed here, showig all the different ranges, as well as explaining what the website is and the concept of the project.

The website has been designed following much of the same aspects of other design solutions, as it is trying to communicate the same brief.

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Niall Hargrave

OUGD203

27TH Character

PACKAGED

The 27th Character packaging. The t-shirt and booklet have both been included in this one purchased off of the website. The packaging itself is a paper card folderin order to give an essence of the lost character ebing filed away, when here it is brought back. The whole object would be packaged in a standard delivery parcel and once opened find this packaging, branded by the company.

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Niall Hargrave

OUGD203

27TH Character

THE PRINTED TEE

The screen printed product itself, one of the first t-shirts to be sold from one of the four ranges. The t-shirt is branded on the back with the 27th Character logo. Black on white, it is kept stright to the point and universal

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Niall Hargrave

OUGD203

27TH Character

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The printed booklet which comes free with the t-shirt, to help with the celebration and promotion of the brand and the 27th Character, the ampersand. The booklet explains the history of the ampersand, how it was once considered the 27th Character as well as the development of the character through different time periods in type history.

A pullout poster has also been designed, which becomes apparent only when looking through the booklet. Shows the beauty and range of the ampersand as well as branded by the 27th Character.