“How can we explore the typographic language of an environment, through exploring and highlighting the type that may go unnoticed due to peoples familiarity?”

Project aims & Rationale

Focus

Context

Pilot research

/Navigation links/

Outcomes

Action plan

Bibliography

\Project aims & rationale\

One of the personal aims of this final major project is to help me improve my typography skills, how I handle type etc, but I want to do this in a fun and interesting way. I’m also really interested in environments as often in London, nobody really takes much notice of the little things around them. We are all so busy trying to get to where we are going. The graphic communication purpose and aim of this project is to explore and communicate these environments typographically.

I think the audience for these pieces should be the general public, as they are the ones who pass through these environments, using and interacting with them on a daily basis. Another element of my audience will be future employers who will view my portfolio for work and placement opportunities.

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\Focus\

The focus/ theme of my final major project is going to be exploring environments typographically. Environments is of a personal interest to me. It is also an area I have touched on before in my posters project last year. I explored the theme of posters, looking at the wall textures they are stuck to in environments, then placing posters of these textures back in the environment they came from. I found that this meant people noticed the posters more as you brought elements of the environment and the poster to their attention. This year I want to explore this theme further but this time focusing on the typography in environments, also my typographic skills are something I have been told I need to wok on for my portfolio, so I believe that the final FMP is the place to improve these.

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\Context\

So far I have looked through a few typography books and sites looking for secondary research to contextualise my idea. These are a few of the things I have found:

http://www.jodie-silsby.com/

Jodie Silsby’s “Portsmouth Vernacular” is a map of Portsmouth communicated through the vernacular language in each part of the city.I thought this was relevant to my idea in terms of how she’s communicated the city through typography.

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http://www.typecitycleveland.com/

Type City Cleveland is a class project in 2007 by students at Cleveland Institute of art, who picked a venue in Cleveland and a typeface from Veer. Then used the typeface to create an image of that venue.

I thought this was interesting as they had to obviously pick type that was appropriate for the venue. I also was inspired by how they have used the type to create the image.

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As part of my idea I was wondering if I should just repeat the name of the area i.e Brick lane, in the shape of the lane/ area of it, with the type that can be found there. But this is something I will have to visually test.

The Typographic Experiment: Radical innovation in contemporary type design by Teal Triggs.

Amongst the notes I have taken from this book I found this series by Micheal Worthington called ‘Typographic landscapes”.

I felt that they are really relevant to my project in terms of how to layout type to describe an environment/landscape.

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However a google search, a library catalogue and an Amazon search have given no results for him or this series so I don’t know where to look to get more information on the pieces.

Book Notes: looking for relevance/inspiration.

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I felt that Pablo A Medina’s work will be a good thing to look into as he draws his influence from his cuban culture and reflects it in his work. Something that I’m trying to do with the environment in mine. I think I need to look even closer at the environments I pick, maybe not just their type but the surroundings etc to.

So far from “Playful 2: ephemeral lettering and illustrative fonts” I have just drawn out ideas on techniques/approaches i.e a 44 flavours piece gave me the idea that maybe I could try something typographic over an image of the environment?

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Tom Phillips

I’ve looked at “A Humument” by Tom Phillips before but only in relation to an illustration project.

I feel that looking at it for a typography project brings a whole load of new ideas, as its all about revealing new type within a large amount of type. I think that you could explore a the same idea of revealing type in an environment. Things that not everybody notices. I thought I could maybe do this as a continuation of last years FMP almost like a second series (which first got me interest in exploring environment) But instead of revealing posters , I could reveal the type that people miss.

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http://www.canadianart.ca/online/see-it/2008/11/13/less-is-more/

There’s also an exhibition that featured the pages from “A Humument” and similar work by 23 other artists.

This piece “Friends in Fur and Feathers by Gwynfryn” by Mary Ruefle also got me thinking more about how I can reveal type in an environment.

I thought maybe I could do this physically, by blocking the surrounding area with objects or people. OR maybe I could do it physically onto the photographs I take. By hand or by photoshop.

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http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/sculptur/20sites/index.html

While looking at Tom Phillips’ “A Humument” I found his “20 sites N 20 years” project. Where he has photographed the sites on this map every year.

It got me to thinking about my theme of type and environment, and how the type in an environment can change over time, whether is discolours, gets graffiti on it, gets painted over etc.

And how images of how something changes/decays in an environment would make a really interesting book/animation.

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http://www.sagmeister.com/work/featured#/node/219

Stefan Sagmeister

Thinking about how type can change over time Sagmeisters Lisbon billboard is a good example of how type can decay/fade in an environment due to its material.

Ian Hamilton-Finlay

Ian Hamilton- Finlay’s “Little Sparta” got me thinking about how you can place type in an environment physically.

I was thinking could you put words into that environment to make it better, to make people smile? Something positive in an environment that people think is a dump maybe? I also thought maybe that you could place type into the environment that shows what people thought of it.

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I like this approach to concrete poetry as its tactile, most concrete poetry I’ve seen is the words shape to reflect what they are about, like the type city Cleveland project”

I also found this image of his neon work, which got me thinking of signage in environments,

Sahra Malik + Lawrence Weiner

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Looking at Sahra Malik and Lawrence Wiener’s work has got me thinking about how you can use the environment physically to display type.

Also Sarah Malik’s project made me wonder if for a direction for my project instead of describing an environment through its type (the signage etc) I could describe its physicality typographically.

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Eric Spiekermann: Typomania

I think Eric Spiekermann’s “Typomania” film is really relevant to this project as it discussed how we see type in our everyday lives, in all environments.

But also how type can reflect everything from the heritage of a place, to emotions. I especially thought the point that he makes about there are as many typefaces as there are languages, emotions is relevant. As there are thousands of typefaces yet sometimes we just fail to notice.

“Typography is a tool for doing things with: shaping content, giving language a physical body...Type is with you everywhere you go - the street, the mall, the Web, your apartment.”

I’ve been reading Ellen Lupton’s “Thinking with type..” And I felt this quote (pg 8) really echoed the ideas in typomania and the ideas that are surrounding my project. I’ve also found lots of other useful bits in this book which will add to my thinking about this project.

Type surrounds us everywhere yet we rarely notice it, we are to familiar with it, if all the type was removed from an environment, would people notice? What would replace it? Perhaps this is a possible idea as a route to explore.

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Ellen Lupton

These videos from EF are a really nice way of highlighting how languages are different in different environments by using typography, which I thought was really interesting.

Also how Albin Holmqvist has used his type in the video is different, type isn’t usually something you see used in the environment of video, in the way. Usually all the type in videos are subtitles or images of type.

EF- Live the Language

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Albin Holmqvist

Holmqvist has also done another video using hand rendered type called “Friends: What if”

The way he uses type within the environment of video is really interesting and effect. He really knows how to use it to convey the message of the films. Its not a way or environment that I have seen type used in before. It makes me what to consider video as an avenue to explore in my project.

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Edward Tufte + Albion

These sculptures from Edward Tufte where really interesting, especially the use of the word ‘escape’ in their title. Freeing them form their physical constraints of being ‘flatscape’.

They made me wonder if you could do something similar with type, its been done before. They reminded me of the current Albion advertising for Air New Zealand. Which features typography as physical objects, free from simply being printed onto the poster.

I Amsterdam

The ‘I Amsterdam’ logo, is similar to Tuftes work just typographic rather then abstract. Taking the logo from flat to into 3D.

This is one way to get you type work noticed, to break familiarity. Although maybe after awhile to locals it will come to be a very familiar site, But to the waves of tourists every week it will always be new and noticeable.

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Google Logo

I was looking at the google logo as an example of type that changes over time. But its something that we are all very familiar with, so these changes over periods of time surprise us and make us notice it more.

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Edenspiekermann

http://spiekermann.com/en/

When thinking about how to get type noticed in an environment this typeface from Edenspiekermann is a good example. This work for theatre Stadsschouwburg Utrecht I think makes the viewer take notice of it in a busy environment as it is different and a little bit harder to decipher. So a viewer is more likely to be intrigued.

Ed Fella

Ed Fella’s work is a really good point of reference for me as he draws the inspiration for his lettering form the environments around him, in particular the signage. Which is where I am also drawing my inspiration from. His work is beautiful and colourful.

I’m going to keep that in mind when doing my final pieces maybe using the colours of the environment for my palette, or opposite colours?

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“They are the original 24/7 communication, interactive in ways that the web can’t even dream of. The characters can be found on any surface, as distractions or directions, decoration or marker.”

Lewis Blackwell on Ed Fella

I have been looking at Lewis Blackwell and Lorraine Wild’s book on Ed Fella “Edward Fella: Letters on America photographs and lettering”. I thought this quote about the signage that Fella uses as inspiration was really interesting as signage is incredibly interactive as it draws the client into the shop so it has to be unique and inviting. Blackwell goes on to talk about the materials used to create these signs which also explains why they can be such a source of inspiration.

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“Every country has its patina of language repeatedly splattered over its landscape...”

Lewis Blackwell on Ed Fella

Another interesting point that Blackwell makes in his essay in the book is that these signs, the “language” of them is unique to what country you are in. This is a concept that I think is really relevant to my work as the pieces I make are obviously going to be based on “London” typography. Whereas they maybe completely different if I collected type from another town or country.

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“And they are everywhere. In this window, at this moment a cacophany of characters put on a non-stop visual entertainment... ”

Lewis Blackwell on Ed Fella

Blackwell also touches in the beginning of his essay on the frequency and quantity of these interesting signs.

This shows why they can be such a source of inspiration as there is such a high frequency of them and they are so varied. Even in London the typography varies from place to place. And yet people just sometimes don’t notice this unique and beautiful type. This is what I want to highlight.

Letman

Letmans lettering work is also relevant for my project in terms of how I can produce my outcome, like Fella his work is beautiful and colourful.

This gives me inspiration to take my project down an illustration route maybe.

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\Pilot research\

This is a pilot documentation of a small area where I’m working at the minute, gathering type examples to play with. They are good enough for the 1st draft and tests, but I need better quality images and more examples for future reference.

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My Initial ideas/directions

This is one of my first visual tests of the idea, just using fine liner pens to re create by hand the type in an area. I think it works but it needs to be neater and larger so that you can really see the mixtures of type in the area. As I said before I think I need to gather a bigger sample of type as well. Some of the more ordinary typefaces may look good printed to, mixed with the hand drawing, this would reflect the area to I feel, that mix of methods.

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\1\

My second test of the idea, mixing pencils and letraset. I think the letraset worked really nicely for the “Sunday up market” sign, but again it needs to be larger. The pencils work really nicely for the italic fonts especially the “Traffic people” sign as you can get the intricate thinner bits. Also the use of colour in with black works nicely, I’d like as a next test to combine some coloured pencil with the black fine liner.

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\2\

I think that another test would be to try and do some of the signage in the more Indian end of brick lane using stitching/fabric as there are a lot of fabric shops but I’m not sure about this idea.

A quick sketch for the Idea of laying the type out in the actual shape of the area. To form streets etc, like in Jodie Silsby’s “Portsmouth Vernacular” I think it will work really nicely with colour, fine liners and maybe letraset. Placing the type to form the streets might also give the pieces a nicer flow.

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\3\

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\4\

The first tests for my idea of revealing type in an environment inspired by Tom Phillips “A Humument” This type is written on the pavement between Brick Lane and Spitalfields.

I’ve “revealed” it using black and white markers, the white one on the right I feel works best as its done on a black and white photo. So you get a nice contrast. However I’d like to try different materials with these, maybe even print the images on different paper too.

Looking at maps on the British library site has made me think I could be quite illustrative with this project.

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\5\

The second tests for revealing type in an environment

I’ve “revealed” it using photoshop techniques the top I’ve made the image black and white and then made the text stand out in colour. The idea works but it doesn’t work well on this text as it wasn’t a colour to start with.

The bottom one is using the blur tool which doesn’t work at all. But it was worth a try.

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\6\

The third tests for revealing type in an environmentI’ve “revealed” it using Photoshop to mock up a overlaid poster/print idea that I used for my FMP last year (left) where I placed a poster of the texture back into the environment it came from. I don’t think the idea works that well in the Photoshop version, but I think it would work physically as a follow on series from last year.

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\7\

Just a quick sketch for the idea of physically placing type in an environment to reflect how people feel about it.

I think its an idea but I would have to be careful as people could get offended, I think it may work better as an idea if I used type that made the area better. That reflected something positive about the area.

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\8\

This is a visual test for the idea of documenting how type changes over time. I photographed the ‘ALO’ scribble a few times of the course of just under two weeks.

Obviously this was just a quick test but I think that this idea would work well over a longer period of time, so that more images can be taken. They would even make a nice animation. I could go over them by hand as they fade in the animation similar to Albin Holmqvist.

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\9\

A test for the idea of ‘revealing’ type in an environment by physically blocking out the surrounding area.

I think this shot works, but the idea may look better not so close up so that the type could pop out more.

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\10\

I did a six thinking men to get ideas going and to broaden my thinking about this project rather then trying to go down one route to quickly. I have tried to think of as many possible questions/routes to think about.

Another I want to add is : “What happens if you remove type from an environment?” As I think this is an interesting idea.

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\11\

After my 6 thinking men I have made a list of all the environments that type can inhabit, so as to think of as many avenues that I can explore with this project.

It could take many forms from digital to physical on walls, to the printed page. But I think I like the idea of exploring the printed page and the physical. However after looking at Albin Holmqvist I’m quite interested in film too.

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This is a quick test for the idea of removing type from an environment to see if people would notice. The image is some signage from Vodaphone London Fashion Weekend Launch.

I think the idea works well but I would like to try some other environments, and the printed page. Similar to what Tom Phillips has done but instead of ‘revealing’ things for people to notice, take things away and then see what they notice.

\12\

Of all the tests that I have done for my ideas for this proposal I’m in agreement that one and two are by far the most visually interesting. I feel that they can be pushed far by further research and exploration of environments over Easter and the beginning of term three. It was useful to do all of the other visual experiments as well, as they helped me to think of other materials and means of creating the outcome. It also stopped me getting to focused to quickly. Overall experimenting visually for the proposal has been more helpful then just brainstorming ideas on paper as it has allowed me to see what will or won’t work, and how I can push things.

\Outcomes\

Technology/materials:

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Creative suite

Letterpress

Screen print

Found objects

Ephemera

Lettering

Letraset

Stamps

3D Materials

Paint/Pens

Craft Materials

Fabric

Possible Outcomes: Posters

Prints

Book

Typeface

Animation

Photographs

Installation

Projections

Zines

Online archive

Flickr community

Online project

PDF

Booklets

Illustrations

\Action plan\

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Research and reading: Easter*

Ongoing

Documenting Environments:

Easter

Week 1 of project (If needed).

Test pieces/prototypes/Development:

Week 2 & 3 of the project.

Tutorials/Gain Feedback: Ongoing

Final Piece development: Week 4 & 5 of the project.

Ideas Generation: Week 1 & 2 of the project.

* Over Easter as research I want to try to book onto one the type tours organised by uktype.com. But they are on Saturdays when I work so I may have to make my own,

Contact Teal Triggs for advice:

Asap

The project is 5 weeks long form the start of term (2nd May) until the hand (6th June) Here is how I plan to break down my project:

\Bibliography\

Books:

Baines, P & Haslam, A (2002) Type and Typography. London: Laurence King publishing.

Blackwell, L et al (2000) Edward Fella: Letters on America photographs and lettering. New York: Princeton Architechtural Press. Simulta-neously: London: Laurence King Publishing.

Bringhurst, R (1992,96,97,99) The elemnts of typographic style. USA/Canada: Hartley and Marks publishing.

Buchanan- Smith, P & Nadel, D (2002) Ganzfeld. 2, Look no further. New York: Kaput Press.

Cole Phillips, J & Lupton, E (2008) Graphic design the new basics. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Hellige, H & Klanten, R eds (2008) Playful type: Ephemeral lettering and illustrative type. Berlin : Gestalten.

Hellige, H, Klanten, R. & Middendorp, J eds (2010) Playful type 2: Ephemral lettering and illustrative fonts. Berlin: Gestalten.

Lupton, E (2004) Thinking with type: A critical guide for designers, writers, editors and students. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Jury, D (2006) What is typography? Essential design handbooks. Switzerland: Mies.

Muller-Brockman, J (1981, 96) Grid systems in graphic design: A visua communication manual for graphic designers, typographers and three dimensional designers. Sulgen: Heer Duck AG.

Triggs, T (2003) The typographic experiment: Radical innovation in contemporary type design. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.

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Time:

http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/sculptur/20sites/index.htmlhttp://www.sagmeister.com/work/featured#/node/219http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2004/01/remembering_sig.html

Printed Works:

http://www.humument.com/http://www.canadianart.ca/online/see-it/2008/11/13/less-is-more/

Sculptural/3d works:

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0002Oohttp://www.cityofsound.com/blog/typography/http://www.ianhamiltonfinlay.com/ian_hamilton_finlay.htmlhttp://www.albionlondon.com/work/air-new-zealand-forget-everything-you-know-about-flying/

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/interactive/2010/10/air_nz_airline_food.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2010/air-new-zealand-forget-everything-you-know-about-flying/&usg=__iDhgi372cImp0gZIny0_vOoQ_3s=&h=1096&w=2192&sz=1182&hl=en&start=8&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=SmRzaFpjTvMsnM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnew%2Bzealand%2Bairline%2Bprint%2Bads%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=8y1kTc-xOMn1sgaJ77i5CA

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://photos.igougo.com/images/p213817-Amsterdam-I_am-sterdam.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-p213817-I_amsterdam.html&usg=__ZIA3s2u3JmmghSuqzlO_33aaS-A=&h=356&w=474&sz=25&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ivNy1ih7LM39kM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=162&ei=Z_5mTZvPLMmbhQer_9y1DQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3DI%2Bamsterdam%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1238%26bih%3D664%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=643&oei=Z_5mTZvPLMmbhQer_9y1DQ&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=2&ty=26http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/amsterdam-partners/about-us/who-we-are

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Installation:

http://www.net-arte.com/macd2007/author.asp?ID_Cont=71http://dailyserving.com/2007/03/ian-hamilton-finlay/ http://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/lawrence-weiner/ttp://www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/LawrenceWeiner

Digital:

http://www.maedastudio.com/1997/cal1/index.php?category=all&next=exists&prev=exists&this=orbit_calendar

Film:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663228/typography-captures-the-essence-of-four-great-cities-videohttp://www.albinholmqvist.com/http://www.typeculture.com/academic_resource/movies/

Environment:

http://www.typecitycleveland.com/ http://www.typedimage.com/landscapes.html http://www.jodie-silsby.com/ http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/3743/works-by-jodie-silsby.htmlhttp://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/africa/africa/acmaps/large15772.htmlhttp://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/maps/althorp/large14263.html http://www.uktype.com/index.php?london-east-1http://www.uktype.com/index.php?london-west

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Installation:

http://www.net-arte.com/macd2007/author.asp?ID_Cont=71http://dailyserving.com/2007/03/ian-hamilton-finlay/http://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/lawrence-weiner/http://www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/LawrenceWeiner

Typeface:

http://spiekermann.com/en/

Lettering:

http://www.edfella.com/ http://www.letman.com/#GIJS_FRIELING http://www.bigactive.com/illustration/letman/general-portfolio

Other/resources:

http://www.typophile.com/ http://www.thegridsystem.org/ http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/ http://www.as8.it/edu/typography.htmlhttp://www.typographichub.org/http://www.stbride.org/library