12 / 11 / 15
'VAST' Manifesto: An openly versatile sans serif typeface, available hollowed for use in Headings but also filled to highlight versatility of context and media. Influenced by the form of Baskerville, inspired by boundless space, letterforms have a greater width and more contrasted brushstrokes thus enhancing negative space created inside and around the typeface. The filled design provides usage as a legible body text characterised by the squared-off joints and rounded counters which make the type so consistent to read.
Final Crit / Evaluation:
Through my evaluation I wanted to improve the focus of my final crit session and get the
feedback more specific by asking more direct questions. I am going to discuss the responses I received from my 5 main questions and also give an overview...
Firstly, I wanted to find out if and where people could invision my typeface being present and what kind of products/media it would be situated on. I received such a variation of products it is clear to me that I have achieved my aim of ensuring versatility of the typeface in that sense, so I am pleased! People suggested it could be present on various magazines and editorials but someone even specified it to a high end fashion magazine like Vogue for example. Film posters were a popular suggestion as well, even relating the style to one of Wes Anderson and then other indie films in general; so I am glad I am appealing to this kind of market but also am being considered professional enough to be featured on it! From my presentation of the specimen and being situated on images of ‘vast, open spaces’ people wanted to see the type present on holiday ads, packaging and branding and then linked to a 1920s Art Deco style, I agree with this analogy and think it would fit nicely due to the contrasting brushstrokes and hollowness.
Next, I was interested to see if people were attracted to particular letterforms and whether it was for good or bad reasons! The flow of the curve in relation to the brushstrokes on the C & G were complimented and said to be very visually appealing. People were fond on the slim nature of the S & R and suggest it is a simple but decorative style. The consistency and balance in the brushstrokes on the N & M were also a popular feature. However as pre-expected alot of the more negative focus was on the Q, and this is a letter that I toyed with alot and just never felt happy with. People felt it was inconsistent to the rest of the typeface as it contained to much negative space and stuck out like a sore thumb. The size of it made it appear out of place and people preferred my original experiments with the tail rather than the design I settled on. I struggled with my decisions for this letter as a long decorative tail was more preferred by the audience however I felt like this would have too strong conations with a serif styled typeface rather than sans. Another point I received was on the decision to make the J a descender. They felt as it hung down it did appear inconsistent so both of these letters would require re-addressing if I was to revisit the project.
The third question directly asked for what my course-mates personal developments of my project would be. The majority of people were very positive saying they wouldn’t actually change the type design but they would like to see more experiments with the kerning, by making it more wide spread to better communicate my adjective 'vast’. Someone raised the worry that at different scales the detail in my type (especially on the hollow variation) would be lost. Therefore they suggested the use of slightly thicker brushstrokes on the thin lines & how it could be a good move to make. But I would argue that the hollow version is stated to be more of a display text design to be viewed as a heading at a larger scale, and the filled variation would be the response to this worry. Experimentation with the type as a serif typeface was an interesting suggestion, they justified the idea by using the serifs on the end of the letters to increase the width even further. This is something I could’ve looked into further however as justified in my work, I chose not to, but it could be something to I looked into if I was to revisit the project.
My fourth question asked for peoples opinions on whether upon initial viewings of the typeface does it satisfy my adjective 'VAST’. Everyone agreed justifying it down to the clean lines and wide spacing, and people even wanted further kerning experimentations. The negative space was picked up on without prompting and people were very positive about the presentation of my specimen and how the type sits on reflective imagery. But it was clear that the hollowed version was the more direct response, and the filled version simply acted as an extra feature to satisfy versatility.
I then asked if after reading the Manifesto, was it more clear and were the justifications of characteristics adequate. People made it clear how the design decisions had been very confidently justified through the typographical characteristics and how it could easily fit into industry in various ways. Overall, I am very pleased with how this project turned out but there will always be elements that I want to revisit and re-try!
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