Evaluation

Designing and producing this publication has been the most challenging yet rewarding brief so far in terms of working with type. 

There is a very fine line between what constitutes a typographic composition and what determines a typographic sculpture. What was always considered when designing these sculptures is the relationship between each for of letterform to create the look of sculpture. A lot of the time, the combination of letterforms do not necessarily work together. They really needed to look like 'sculptures' which is a relatively abstract concept considering how broad the examples of what is considered to be sculpture. 

As a result, the typographic sculptures took a considerable amount of time and effort to determine the right look for each one. Not only do the sculptures have to look good on their own but they needed to compliment Noguchi's sculptures, as the publication is a celebratory piece of Noguchi's legacy. 

The letterforms used in the sculptures remained relatively unchanged from their design as the investigation into the relationship is about the form of the letterform and not about forcing typography to look like sculpture. 

What also needs to be mentioned is that these type sculptures were designed from a designers point of view and not from a sculptor. Therefore these typographic sculptures may or may not be interpreted as 'sculpture' by sculptors. The limitation of this publication is that it has been designed and conceived through a graphic designers point of view. What should have been taken into account is a sculptors opinion. This could have been realised through contacting the Fine Art department in uni for example for their perspective. This may have resulted in typographic sculptures that align themselves better to traditional definitions of sculpture. 

Nevertheless, the type sculptures featured in the publication do recreate sculptural forms as they have been specifically chosen to work alongside Noguchi's. The lack of linguistic is highly integral to the effectiveness of the type sculptures in showcasing their form. 

Because the brief was designed over a long period of time, there have been changes to its original aim. Initially, this was aimed to be a live ISTD brief, however because of missing the registration deadline due to personal errors, it has given more time for the brief and publication to fully develop. The typographic sculptures would not have been as effective if it was worked towards the ISTD deadline. Between that and the finally producing there has been further primary and secondary research into the understanding of what make sculpture. 

What would have taken this brief to its furthest potential is to have produced an unmistakably real world publication that would look as if it would be sold in tandem with Noguchi's 30th anniversary. This would have meant proposing the book to the actual Noguchi Museum in New York, gallerists and art book publishers such as Phaidon. 

All in all the end publication is the most substantial and culmination of my design learning throughout the course.