Studio Brief 02 - Manifesto

As part of our design process, creating a manifesto would help streamline our ideas and to get us started on certain route.

To help get us into the style of writing a manifesto, each group was supposed to create one for each of Müller-Brockmanns classic typefaces.

What was interesting was how each group wrote their manifesto. Some focused too much on the history of the typeface which limits their ability to sell their typeface to the client. Some were too focused on the characteristics of the typeface which was good but it wouldn't be able to give the client an idea of how the proposed typeface would successfully work on their product. Thus the key to a good manifesto would be to find a balance between historical aspects, characteristics of the typeface and its uses. What also plays an important role is the language used in the manifesto. Words like timeless and classic help sell the typeface. It helps the client imagine the kind of reactions the typeface will have on people when they see it. Even subtly describing Aksidenz as the 'original sans serif' for example works effectively as it subconsciously tells the client that this is the only suitable sans serif and everything else is a copy.
By doing manifesto's I found that it was a good way to research typefaces. It better understand the reasons behind the design decisions based on its historical context which ties in with the characteristics of the typeface and thus leading to its intended use.

Studio Brief 02 - Partial typefaces

I stumbled across the logo for the New York Fashion Week and was interested in its use of partial letter forms.

I thought maybe the disconnecting stems of each letter form could draw intrigue from the reader. This relates to mystery as people are not exposed to partial typefaces on a daily basis. This would break the norm and draw their attention. Thus adding an element of mystery as it makes them question as to why the letter forms are not entirely filled in. The partiality could be a reflection of the subject its placed on.

This logo reminded me of the old Acne Studios logo.

Despite not being any partiality within the logo the very distinct contrast in stem weight make it look as though the letter forms are disjointed from a distance. With this interest in mind I looked into the type foundry that created this typeface.


What I did find was that the typeface is called Eksell Display made by swedish designer Olle Eksell in 1962. Currently the typeface is owned by a typefoundry called Letters From Sweden. They also designed Acne Studio's new logo with a bespoke typeface not available to the public. One of the fonts in the Eksell Display typeface however did have partial characteristics called Eksell Display Stencil.

The disconnection between parts of the letter forms may not be as distinct as the NYFW logo, but should I adopt this idea to represent the theme of mystery I could base my understanding on the structure of this font and adapt it to one of Müller-Brockmanns classic typefaces. I could experiment on how much I can take off from a letter before it becomes uncharacteristic or unrecognisable.

Studio Brief 02 - Ideas for the Interim Crit

My chosen word for this Brief is Mysterious.

The key synonyms that I identified were

• cryptic
• obscure
• secretive
• unknown 

The key antonyms that I identified were 

• apparent 
• clear
• obvious

Based on Müeller-Brockmanns classic typefaces, these are the fonts that I believe have a personality 

• Bodoni - Reflects elegance and sophistication due to its contrasting stem thickness and thin brackets. Commonly used in high fashion brands and editorials.
• Garamond, Times, Caslon, Baskerville - Has connotations of tradition and maturity.
• Aksidenz Berthold, Helvetica - A timeless, bold, contemporary, able to be used on a wide range of corporate and advertising platforms.
• Clarendon - Mixes the old and new with its slab-serif style.   

Typefaces that display negative ambiguity

• Univers - very understated in its design as a sans serif, similar design to Helvetica and Aksidenz and its ability to be used anywhere displays its lack of identity.

On the other hand by following Massimo Vignelli's principles, I can interpret Mysterious as being positively ambiguous therefore creating a typeface that can be seen having multiple meanings.

Typefaces that display positive ambiguity

• Helvetica, Univers - Their versatility means that they don’t have a set personality for them. I did not include Akzidenz because of its bold characteristics. It is not as understated as Helvetica or Univers.

Another way I could interpret Mysterious would be to see it through its synonyms. 
To create a typeface that would display a sense of something at play and a murky atmosphere. Something along the lines of this typeface below 

Typefaces that initially represented this idea were Baskerville and Garamond due to their serif style and almost handwritten visual. The serifs lend themselves to be easily manipulated and being able to create a similar style to the font above. A handwritten style would represent the dark, murky almost witchcraft like motif better than a modern contemporary sans serif.

So right now, I have a few ideas of how I could possibly manipulate  
Müeller-Brockmanns typefaces

• I could alter the basis of Univers or Helvetica and make it as versatile as possible as a typeface to reflect the idea of positive ambiguity
• I could make the typeface exude the synonyms of mystery 

 

Study Task 03 - Drawing the Detectives

The idea for this book design is a combination of the plot line and the meaning behind the title of the book itself.

Taken at the Flood is a reference to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in a speech by Brutus in Act IV: 
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;       
Omitted, all the voyage of their life       
 Is bound in shallows and in miseries.       
On such a full sea are we now afloat,       
And we must take the current when it serves,       
Or lose our ventures.

What this means that there is a power in time that works like the ebb and flow of a tide and one must go with the flow. To take the opportunities when it presents itself otherwise you’ll flow back and be stranded. Thus taken at the flood means taking the opportunity at high tide, referring to taking an opportunity at it highest potential.

The main story is revolved around inheritance issues following the death of a husband that was caused by the blitz. Hence I looked at propaganda posters that were used to inform the public of the dangers of the blitz.

Finally I looked at the bomb design that the Germans were making and based my cover design on that.  
The gradient along the bomb is a reference to the tides that Shakespeare was referring to. At the base of the bomb is at its 'highest tide' and gradually it fades to the lowest at the tail. The colour scheme used within the cover is reference to the commonly used tones in British propaganda posters. Blue, red and white hinting at the colours of the Union Jack.


I chose to use Bebas Neue for the typeface as it is clean and impactful, much like the typefaces used on the propaganda posters that had to convey a persuasive message. 

Colour Relativity

The reason why I chose 732C as my 'least favourite' colour is because I rarely use it in my colour palette and find it hard to compliment with. 7507C could be used in a desert environment within a children's book. 732C represent the rocks, 7507C the sun bleached sand and gravel and 2C being the long cast shadows. Colour Swatch 02 is a reference to Neapolitan Ice Cream. It could be a fun swatch to fill in a candy environment like the cartoon Adventure Time. Finally in Swatch 03, 621C plays the role of being the neutral colour, where 732C and 2C become the stark contrasts. This Swatch can be used in a children's book set in space, where 2C is space, 732C are the asteroids and 621C can be the spaceship.

After doing this task I realised that all colours have a complimentary. It the context of the colour swatch and the varying complimentary tones of the swatch that make it usable.
 

Studio Brief 01, Logotype - Feedback session and Evaluation

Our final crit session was a different format to our interim crit one. Instead of presenting our work, we were simply put to leave our presentations on display while the alternate group went around writing feedback. I found this to be a double edged sword in some ways. By doing our crits this way it alleviates some of the stress of actually presenting our ideas and giving feedback towards our peers verbally, however by not being able to present our ideas, I felt that the other students may not have fully understood my reasons for design processes and final outcomes because my presentations was just images, intended for me to speak on. Thus I need to work on how I will be able to present my ideas visually. Another flaw in my feedback was I didn't provide any paper for people to write feedback on unlike some of the other students. This may have limited the number of feedback I could have received.

Despite the mixed feelings on the feedback session the overall consensus was that the re-branding was a relative success. People preferred the more sophisticated outcome of my American Apparel. It appeared to be more professional and more grown up. Those choices in typefaces did accomplish my aim to get rid of the controversy and sexualised ads associated with the old logo and they saw it in a new perspective. 

However the final resolutions were far from my original ideas. It was only after the interim crit and looking at their competitors that I realised that in order for American Apparel to take themselves seriously, their logotype needs to reflect that. There was no need for the addition of colour and to shorten their name to AA. As Massimo Vignelli's talks about a company's equity, there is no need to radically change a company's already established identity in the market. This was a major influence in one of my final resolutions for this brief, where the revised logotype was just a loosely kerned version of the original logo. But yet it did successfully in creating the sophisticated grown up look I was aiming for. 

Actively getting primary research was invaluable. It was useful to get an opinion from someone who actually works in American Apparel. It gave me a better perspective of how they are viewed as a brand. Furthermore interviewing one of the shop assistants helped me with my idea generation.

I asked openly what people thought of the removal of the space in between American and Apparel.  Some commented that the deletion worked well with the upper and lowercase because they agreed with my reasoning, however there were some that did say that it was harder to read making the name visually 'uncomfortable'. This is where I would have preferred to present my ideas due to the fact I had sound reasons for the deletion of the space. On the other hand however, the general public won't have access to these reasons thus I have to think about the decisions objectively and thus feedback becomes critical for the formations of design decisions.  

Studio Brief 01, Logotype - Final resolutions and Evaluation

After all the considerations and experimentation's, these represent my 5 different ways American Apparel could re-brand themselves. They represent my image of how American Apparel could take themselves seriously, to refresh their brand image and do away with the controversies, and to maintain their unique identity represent by their clothes to the shop's interior design. 
 

Studio Brief 01, Logotype - Less is More

The final variation of the logotype is heavily inspired by Massimo Vignelli's design principles. Especially on the topic of Equity. He comments on the idea that once a company has been in the public domain for so long, it becomes a landmark, an respectable entity and a classic. There are obviously disagreements when discussing these characteristics in the same breath of American Apparel. However if you strip away the controversies and scandals, what you have is a brand that is unique in on itself. Other clothing brands nowadays copy whats trending in the fashion world, however American Apparel stick to its image and its proven to be a success for the most part. Thus it would the company's aim to revitalise the brand in a way that retains its iconic brand identity but to give it new life and to say to its customers that its changed.

Therefore following Vignelli's principles I took the existing logotype and instilled a few light re-touches. 

Initially I thought to do a lot more than was what required for the end product. The choice to make it all capitals was to make the brand more imposing onto the customer. To grab the customers attention in the high street. But the tight kerning still gave the image that the brand was within itself and not open to change. Not open to getting rid of it tarnished image. In my mind a re-brand was a complete re-design of the existing logo. But actually most companies tweak and re-touch their logos to suit the current climate. Take for example Starbucks with the complete elimination of a typeface for their famous mermaid symbol and PayPal which flattened their logo design and adjusted the typeface. Thus the last and most successful iteration of the experiments was just a simple tweak on the tracking and kerning. What ended up was a lighter, fresher looking American Apparel that had open connotations and a slightly more grown up look. 

Studio Brief 01, Logotype - Sans Serif Sophistication

Another way I could re-brand American Apparel is by adding sophistication and refinement like the serif variations through sans serif typefaces.

So within this selection of brands, what helps define them as sophisticated fashion labels are the narrow body width, tall x-height and all capital letter forms. Reigning Champ is the exception as a slab serif, however it still comes across as a modern brand due to its consistent stroke width that is characteristic of sans serif typefaces.

Slab Serifs

Sans Serifs

So above are some of the selected typefaces that could be used for the re-brand. For the slab serifs, I chose typefaces that had relatively thick serifs whilst I was looking for typefaces which had tall x-heights and narrow body widths for sans serifs. But after some consideration I realised that the slab serifs come across as the "old west". This does not appear in the "Reigning Champ" logo but because American Apparel has America in it, there are faint connotations of the "old west" that are unwanted. Despite the claim, I will still experiment with the typeface to see its effect.

What I noticed about these brands was the large white spaces in between the letter forms. Thus I experimented with that to see its effects on contextual references. 

Bebas

Bebas

GT Pressura

GT Pressura

Rockwell

The implications of the slab serifs do come across as the "old west" in my opinion. The thick serifs imply that American Apparel sell stereotypical country wear. So I decided to end the experimentation of the slab serifs here and to continue with the more contemporary looking sans serifs. The effects of the large kerning distinguishes the individual letter forms better and increases its legibility. It also gives the connotations of the brand being more upmarket and grown up because of the typefaces formal appearances. Thus I chose to narrow down the typeface choices to Bebas and GT Pressura.

Bebas

GT Pressura

Bebas

GT Pressura

  

Bebas

GT Pressura

Whilst experimenting with both typefaces I noticed an legibility issue with scaling down the  information text. The words became too compact and lost its ability to be easily read. Thus to tackle this issue, I simply increased the tracking and changed the fonts to a "book" type. The contrasting weights meant that the text did not merge visually with the logotype and stood out on its own.

Despite Bebas's success in conveying the image of sophistication, I felt that one its limitations was its lack of lower case letters. I think that the information presented in all capitals can be monotonous to read, especially on their website. 

The two typefaces reflect the two ways American Apparel could re-direct themselves. Bebas represents the formal, more adult route while GT Pressura has those while still retaining American Apparels in-formalities through the lower case font.

Studio Brief 01, Logotype - Sans Serif Re-brand

These are the shortlisted typefaces that take influences from the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. I was looking for typefaces that had thick rounded strokes similar to the posters and logo designs, and GT Walsheim and Futura fit those specifications. The first two typefaces are GT Walsheim and the last three are Futura.

With Futura, the high x-height makes the typeface look taller and thinner than I would like. It does not give the same robust aesthetic that GT Walsheim delivers. Furthermore the low cross bar on the capital A on GT Walsheim almost acts as an underline, thus giving the typeface an image of stability and reliability that even though Futura does too give, GT Walsheim's small design cues execute it better. The tail on Futura's lower case e's don't fully curve around unlike GT Walsheim, breaking up the overall round characteristics. To reference the issues discussed in the film Helvetica, the lower case e is supported by the negative space around it rather than it supporting itself like GT Walsheim's lower case e. There is a balance between its stroke and negative space thus supporting itself. The final criticism is of Futura's capital A. The apex is sharp and not flat like in GT Walshiem's letter form.  The capital A in American Apparel are an identifier in the company's name, and I want it to be unique enough for the customer to recognise it through that A. Thus the uniquely low cross bar and flat apex acts as those identifiers compared to Futura's typical letterform. 

With all these criticisms said however, I should still experiment these two typefaces on various context to see if either works more successfully than the other.

GT Walsheim

Futura

The reason why I chose to experiment only with the two differentiating strokes for Futura is because GT Walsheim and Futura have similar silhouettes, thus I chose the to fonts that were most far from each other in order to get a contrasting view.

GT Walsheim

Futura

GT Walsheim

Futura

GT Walsheim

Futura

So similarly to the Serif typeface experimentation, I applied the two typefaces to various contextual references. What is interesting is that the contrasting weights of American and Apparel on Futura do work well on the store front and website. The contrast breaks the monotony and captures the attention better. However it fails to be executed appropriately on their shopping bags. The type face comes across as messy as the forward slash goes below the base line, breaking up the clean lines. The amount of bold font on the bag also over shadows the thin stroked 'American', thus the contrasting appeal doesn't shine through. 

Thus GT Walsheim will be the sans-serif re-brand variation for American Apparel. It works across the range of American Apparel products, visually distinctive, has a unique A which acts as an identifier and makes references to the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics which is the inspiration for American Apparel's clothing aesthetic.