Studio Brief 02 - Choosing a typeface

 

These scans represent my experimentation with creating a bespoke type after various contextual research. These experiments are meant to evoke a intrigue to the reader and communicate meanings of being dark, mystical and enigmatic. As compared to Studio Brief 01 however, the depth of this experimentation is rather limited. This is because I found difficulty in creating the designs for letter forms that were unique and harmonious. I didn't want my typeface to have similar resemblance to the sources I drew from. 
In a video named Putting Back the Face into Typeface by Erik Spiekermann, he comments on the fact that we see words as a whole rather than the individual letters. This can be supported by the University of Cambridge's findings on how we can still recognise words despite the letters being scrambled. Thus when creating my bespoke typeface not only did I have to consider each individual letter form but the word as a whole. There must be a rhythm within the words in order to have ease of readability. Thus what helped me create the experiments above was identifying a consistency within each one. 

So with the first set of sketches, I simply traced out Caslon's letter forms, removing the connecting stems in attempt to create a partial typeface. The next iteration was experimenting on the idea of straight lines and thin brackets, similar to Bodoni. The next sketch was taking a design cue from the American Horror Story typeface, where it looked menacing because of the way the arms were angled. Thus to incorporate this I made each end pointed to resemble a dagger. The last sketch is a subtle combination between the first and third experiments. Removing one side of the serifs, creating a pointed edge and experimenting with curved stems. With each subsequent experiment as well I wanted to remove as much as I could from each letter form but still maintain that recognisability. 

The second set of sketches is more explicit with how it communicates mystery and draws a heavy influence from Charles Mackintosh's font. With the first sketch I experimented with the idea of seeing double. The idea that the reader won't know what the true letter form is. Hence the repitition of arms. The second sketch is meant to combine partiality within the theme. However this was unsuccessful in reality because of its inconsistency and various letter sizes. 

The reason why the typeface will be developed digitally is due to the platforms it will likely be seen on i.e movie posters, tv shows and book covers. And after much consideration I have chosen to continue with the typeface below. 

This is due to a number of reasons. A partial typeface, as seen within my research, is able to be used on various contexts, from magazines such as Port to the album logo of the 1975. By working successfully in real life, it forms good reason as to why this typeface will work if placed on similar contexts. Another reason why it will work is because of its visual appeal.
Following what Erik Spiekermann said on typefaces, the straight bold lines create a uniform structure within the typeface thus creating a rhythm. This rhythm helps with the readability as it makes the typeface easier to read.
The typeface based on Charles Mackintosh's font however becomes too complicated with every read. The duplication of arm decreases its legibility and does not work as coherently with one another as compared to the partial typeface. It would be more mysterious if only one of the letters within the word had two arms as compared to all of them. The idea of playing on illusions and seeing double was good in theory but did not work successfully in practice. 

My next step after this is to expand on my chosen typeface, developing the whole alphabet and placing it onto context. Analysing whats successful and further editing the letter forms further if needed.