In the interview by eye magazine, Joseph Müller-Brockmann discusses his life's work and design practices. I picked out a key idea that is relevant to my development of an ambiguous typeface.
As a young designer today, Müller-Brockmann would have chosen Akzidenz Grotesk, Garamond, Bodoni, Calson and Baskerville to work with. He analyses Akzidenz Grotesk as being more expressive than its successors Helvetica and Univers. Stating the subtle variation in the tail end of the 'e' is at a diagonal compared to the straight edge of Helvetica and Univers.
I can take this analysis of Akzidenz into my typeface design. Experimenting with subtle variations of the key design cues that make that particular typeface recognisable. For example the right angled stem of Helvetica's capital G.
In an article by ilovetypography.com titled "A Film Turn Toward the Objective: Josef Müller Brockmann 1948-1981", Brockmann shares his opinion that the less elaborate the letterform, the more capacity for function; and that new typography should be represented with a sans-serif typeface. Therefore by having more functionality through less elaboration, it agrees with Vignelli's thoughts on how ambiguity can mean a plurality of meanings.
From these two points of view, I can infer that in order to convey mystery through ambiguity, doing less is more by simply altering the details within the letterforms. I should aim to maintain the typeface's timelessness in order to achieve a plurality of meanings.
Both articles also shed light onto Brockmann's use of grids in layout design.
"He states that a grid is an organisational system that enables you to achieve an orderly result at a minimum cost". "Objective-rational design means legible design, objective information that is communicated with superlatives or emotional subjectivity." Therefore a grid forms the basis of any graphic design and helps to convey the message efficiently and legibly.
This ties in with my brief development because of the context of which the typeface is being used on. A mysterious typeface is used to represent the title of a movie, book or tv show of said genre. Its use is more suitable for display type rather than body copy. This is because body copy reveals information to you, which isn't what being mysterious is, while a display type can be as a vague as possible. However being vague through the title name, not the typeface design. Therefore the choice of making a display type can work for both my iterations of mysterious. It is the level of how obvious mystery can be conveyed through the typeface that will differ.
By understanding Brockmann's grid system it will be beneficial in my developmental stage of the brief. Through this understanding, I can produce more effective designs that will better communicate mystery towards the reader both in the typeface and cover designs.
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