Studio Brief 2 - The Land Travelling Exhibition - Festival Typography

Fat Faces All Around:
Lettering and the Festival Style
Paul Rennie

The buildings featured a range of typefaces which became a distinctive characteristic of the festival. Gill Sans was used everywhere and Johnston was a permanent feature in the London Underground. This may have led to the reactionist use of more stylised typefaces for the Festival of Britain. A sample book was published by the panel which mainly used Egyptian and Roman types. The Egyptian features had exaggerated vertical strokes leading it to being referred to as fat face and being used as a display type. Some type bodies were either blocked or shaded to create a three dimensionality to the type. Egyptians had a larger print surface rather than larger letters which was economic and impactful. These letters also manipulated the space they were set on creating negative space with 'meaning, symbolic form and abstraction at the same time'. Sans serif Gill was was also used but had a uneven form making it imperfect. On the architecture letters were made from new types of materials which had not been seen in this context such as perspex, teak etc. Phillip Boydell created Festival Titling especially for the event . Through the use of shaded type it created a sense of three dimensionality which combined a feeling of cut roman type with sans serif typefaces, whilst also simulating bunting.  Gordon Cullen illustrated the guide to the exhibition and created the route maps which were created using his serial vision technique, which involved creating a series of images of an area along a plain. The Festival typeface was used across a range of printed material and souvenirs and emblem by Abram Games. The festival was seen as the last major collaboration between the arts disciplines.

Festival Typography and Pleasure 

Minimal guidelines given to designers, architects and typographers 
Wanted the festival typography to be distinctive from the sans serif forms used in the 1930s and WWII 
needed to be coherent without being uniform 
There would be a tie instead to the English historical references
18th Century Display types rediscovered - Fat - Slab and wedge serifs
associated with market day and seaside holidays 
Mainly Egyptian and Roman letters with shadows,blocks and outline variants 
Sans Serif Forms only allowed in the eccentric 19th Century Forms 
Nikolaus Pevsner chose Gordon Cullen as head of the Typographic Panel. Both worked together at the Architectural Review where they tried to resolve the problems associated with the functional uniformity of Modernist systems.
Cullen was able to visualise Pevsner's concept for the project through the use of an architectural draftsmanship called 'serial vision'
Cullen described these experiential narratives by reference to the idea of 'townscapes'.
The typography used was particularly suited to the constraints of local printers.
The festival aimed to rekindle the English association with pleasure and entertainment through the use of typography.    

Examples of Festival Typography:

Studio Brief 2 - The Travelling Exhibition - Eye Magazine

Back when the future looked bright

The country was recovering from World War Two so design was valued and used as a way of showing  British society. The country wanted to move forward and have a better future so the Festival of Britain aimed to promote the culture and achievements of Britain, whilst raising morale. Themed zones explored all aspects of British culture. The festival was optimistic for the future with a Modernist outlook that design would benefit society, raising the hopes and spirits of the country. The festival would show how Britain was equipped to get through the austerity created after the war.

Design in the programme and adverts 

The programme features maps that were tiered creating a three dimensionality which was engaging.
Adverts used geometric shapes, overlapping type and simplification of elements to create a modern aesthetic.
Programme was optimistic for the future 

Penguin Book Covers - Refining Layout

Layout

For the final layout the whole grid was moved down so that there was a central horizontal band. This allowed for multiple symbols to be placed on the sleeves creating balance above and below the central ban. The symbols were also reduced in opacity making them much subtler and allowing more of the image to come through, making the images the most dominant element on the sleeves. Using a horizontal line across the black bands better defined this area, emphasising the book information and making it contrast further when compared with the background imagery. Placing the text so that it was directly ontop of the line creates the impression that they have become part of one another.

The back page reflected the front cover imagery creating cohesiveness across the sleeve. Placing the blurb onto a black area also mirrored the use of a black band on the front of the cover.

The back of the sleeve was created to become a collectable poster using the imagery from the book sleeve. The timeline was placed above and below the image and was designed to fold backwards and out of sight when the poster was in use. The fold lines for the timeline correspond with the fold lines of the section of the book sleeve that would wrap inside the first book page.

However when printed it was found that the text for both the blurb and timeline were hard to read and looked broken when white on black. Because of this for the final designs the spine, front band, blurb box and timeline bands were all change to white with black text ontop. This allowed for clarity at smaller text sizes whilst still contrasting against the background imagery. 

Studio Brief 2 - The Land Travelling Exhibition - Initial Research

General Research

The festival aimed to highlight British design and art
Marked the Centenary of the Great Exhibition in 1851
Newly elected Labor government encouraged the idea and suggested it would be ' a tonic to the nation'
The emblem for the festival was 'Britannia' by Abram Gaines
The typeface called 'Festival' by Phillip Boydell was commissioned for the event
The exhibition would include the whole country by having a Land and Sea travelling exhibition which would visit various cities across the country, with the main event in London
King George VI opened the event in a speech outside St Pauls cathedral naming it as 'a visible sign of national achievement and confidence'
The Royal Festival Hall was built especially for the exhibition and is the only structure to survive.

Leeds Exhibition

Roundhay Park and Temple Newsham were considered as sites but Woodhouse Moor was chosen
It was opened by The Princess Royal on the 23rd June 1951
It included a funfair, exhibitions and army demonstrations
Roundhay Park had a firework display and parachute jumping from a balloon
Kirkstall Abbey had outdoor plays and a ballet
British Music was played at the town hall
The shops had a competition where 766 prizes were to be won
It was not designed to be a replica of the London Exhibition instead there was an emphasis on Industry and Production and the skill of the country
It covered an area of 35000 square feet and was the largest transportable exhibition ever built with 5000 exhibits
Searchlights were directed upwards to create a red glow visible for miles

Parts of the Exhibition

- Invention, Discovery and Design - which highlighted how science and industrial design go together in order to create everyday objects
- People at Home - aimed to show how furnishings could enrich people lives
- People at Play - this included sports, toys,hobbies and leisure and fashion wear
- People at Work - designed to highlight the importance of industry and technology
- People Travel - Explored air,rail,road and sea travel

Studio Brief 2 - The Land Travelling Exhibition - Newspaper Headlines

Press Coverage

Headlines (in Bold)

Shining Red Roof in Leeds Festival 

- structure made from welded steel

- 35,000 square feet

- 120 ft high towered entrance

- shining roof of red plastic sheeting with red, white and blue spotlights

10 Lorries will make 100 journeys with the Festival exhibition for Leeds

- 60 foot long 'Queen Mary' truck

Princess Royal praises and criticises during Festival Tour

- suggested the toy exhibits were moving too fast for the cuddly toys to the be taken in 

- she thought the top bunks were too high in the nursery exhibits

- praised much of the exhibition and asked lots of questions

Leeds Graduate solves a festival hitch

- the exhibition needed someone who could demonstrate knots, ties and splices at the Sea travel section

- they found it hard to find a suitable person with the knowledge

Scoutmaster is exhibition knot tier

- he was the only applicant to the Yorkshire Post advert in which a 'demonstration knotter' was needed

How Leeds Festival looks now

Exhibition in Leeds opens today

Festival Flower garden may stay

- an acre of wasteland was converted into a flower garden and was planned to remain after the festival

Leeds Festival radio link with Italy and Sweden

- Leeds ameteur radio station received 20 postcards since the beginning of the show from other stations across the country and world

Glimpses of the big Leeds Exhibition

5000 'Wonders' on Woodhouse Moor

Travelling exhibition has a more homely appeal

- suggests that it was more attractive to the everyday person in comparison to the main event in London

- London was very futuristic and modern whereas Leeds was understandable to the people

- However the Leeds Exhibition was cramped with the amount of people visiting and how long they took to look at things , when compared with London

- advises to see both exhibitions - people who see only the London exhibition 'may regard the Festival of Britain Exhibition as too much of a scientist’s domain, and excessively expressive of modern art.' However people who miss the London Exhibition will not see the Dome of Discovery

Exhibition Linguist

- Mr Daniel Reardon a head attendant at the Leeds Festival could speak eight languages - was a prisoner of war and then worked for a travel company 

Well Behaved children 

- 23000 children from across Yorkshire visited the exhibition

Household Troops win a victory at Leeds 

- their site next to the fairground is moved closer to the main marquee allowing them to be seen more and increasing inquiries from possible recruits

Festival show moves on

- one minute past 11 on the Saturday the show started being dismantled

- 20 men began the 7000 man hour day and night job of dismantling the show to be sent to Birmingham

- final attendance figures - 144,844 which beat Manchester at 135,736

Flowers, dinner for 100.000th Festival visitor in Leeds

- prearranged plan for the 100.000 person who visits

- be given a bouquet of flowers worth over £3, entrance free with an guided tour by an exhibition official

- behind the scenes at the model theatre and see the festival mannequins

- allowed to send and receive messages at the exhibition radio station, taken by taxi to the city to have a restaurant meal then taken home by taxi

- Presented a souvenir catalogue signed by the Director General of the Festival of Britain

100,000th visitor to Leeds festival

- Mrs E.M. Reeves (66 years old) was told by her doctor to go to the exhibition

- lived only 500  yards from where the exhibition was taking place

Festival site 'not to be wasted'

- tarmac created for the marquee to be built on would be used by the Corporation Parks committee after the event

- could be used as tennis courts

'Get a souvenir for 2051 to show what 1951 was like" - Princess Royal launches festival in Leeds

-The Lord Mayor, introducing the Princess Royal, said the scientific side of our life, of which the Exhibition showed examples, had been achieved by two great wars, from which, in spite of their destructiveness we had learned a great deal for the good of mankind in the future.

-the Lord Mayor, “but it does show an enormous advance during the 100 years since the Exhibition of 1851, and I think we can be justly proud of the achievements that have been made.”

she said, “that if you buy a well-chosen souvenir and keep it safely, it will give your descendants of he year 2051 a chance to see what our workmanship and ideas were like in 1951.

Princess Royal opens Festival in Leeds : 'A Magnificent gesture'

- thousands of people lined the streets five or six deep to see the Princess Royal arrive 

- “This nation-wide event must be seen as a magnificent gesture of fortitude and determination by a people who had put pessimism aside, a people aware of their tremendous past and secure in the knowledge that the dark moments in their history had often been noble ones, and that trials and tribulations, war, poverty, devastation, are powerless to destroy the living spirit of a great nation.” she said.

“Like the air you breathe, the Festival spirit is all around you, and you yourself are part of it,”

"When half the world is forced to live behind a curtain of secrecy, Britain is opening her doors wide to visitors from abroad"

Traffic Jam blocked the view

- Visitors were prevented from seeing the Princess Royal and opening ceremony because of a huge traffic jam 

Nearly 19000 visit Leeds exhibition - Manchester Festival figures beaten 

Spotters seek 766 prizes in Leeds shops 
- all of the 30000 handbooks had a number on the back-cover, if this number matched to an article in one of the 170 participating shop windows the person would win a prize

Big festival programme for Leeds
- there were military displays at the exhibition 
- at Roundhay Park there was athletics,University Rag procreation,parachute jumping,flat and cycle racing, fireworks displays and music.

Y.S.O Festival of British Music 
- The Festival of British Music  by The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra took place at the town hall

'Tom Jones' at Temple Newsam 
- open air festival production which featured the British Legion players and Hunslet Choral and Operatic Societies

DR ME workshop - Creating a GIF from Collages

Collage GIF Workshop 

The aim of the workshop was to create a GIF with ten frames within it which would be played on a loop. In pairs we were given a word from which to base our frames on, these could form a moving image or be separate collages representing the word. Imagery was collected from 

Initial ideas for the word Tea
- To create a teapot out of increasing imagery that would pour out distinctly British things 
- Reflect the tea making process by putting different elements in to brew
- Reflect the tea which goes into a teabag
- Create a plate of dinner with knife and fork which would be slowly eaten throughout the frames 

We decided to go with the teabag idea because of its simplicity which would be best represented in ten frames. The process of creating tea would be shown through the degeneration of  'plants'. Initially we were going to just form a tea bag shape out of the imagery. However to recreate the translucent bag of a teabag I suggested using tracing paper. We were going to place a teabag shape out of tracing paper over the cut up pieces however making a 'teabag' was much more effective.

The overall GIF reflects the process of tea creation from plant to brew in a simple slightly abstract way which is effective.

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Final Crit Feedback

Crit Feedback 

It was said that the use of the typography from the film was a good link. 

Using a bolder text for 'To Kill' it was said creates a strong impact and reflects the sense of oppression well. However it was also suggested that using only one typeface for the title, would be enough to show the contrast between Harper Lee and the title and illustrate the point of her becoming reclusive. 

It was suggested that the design possibly was too much like a horror / thriller book because of its darkness. It was also said that because black is the most dominant colour the design could be misinterpretation that the black community in the book are the most dominant community, which is incorrect.

The circles within the design were also seen to also represent an eye like the reader is given an insight into the lives of the characters and society at the time , which was an interesting interpretation.

The black circle in the background it was said is not very visible. Harper Lee could be moved up so its not so far away from the title. The white circle it was suggested could encroach more onto the back cover and interact with the text e.g. wrap the text around the shape. The quote could possible be too large.

Overall feedback suggests that the design is effective in portraying the idea aswell as being strong in its simplicity. 

Possibly it was said that Harper Lee could go above the title so there was a pattern in type thickness.

Things to Do :
- Redo the black circle perhaps so its more grey like the one that represents Atticus , which would stand out more on the black.
- Readjust the typography on the spine so its more evenly spread 
- The white circle should wrap around onto the backcover more and possibly the text could follow the shape of this. 
- Reduce the size of the quote on the back cover.
- Take into consideration where the design will be cropped down and how this may influence the design

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Rationale

Rationale for Final Design 

The book design is based around the themes of oppression and protection which were defined as key themes within the story. The oppression of the black community by the white is shown through the use of differing sized circles, with the white being larger. Atticus’s protection of Tom is visualised through the integration of the grey circle within the white, reflecting how Atticus took much of the pressure from the rest of the community. Taking reference from the films opening sequence, Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk was used to create a feeling of dominance over the rest of the title. From research it was found that Harper Lee identified with Scout and was a tomboy herself, however became reclusive after the publication of her book. To reflect this the authors name uses Franklin Gothic Book, a sans serif typeface which is strong in structure to reflect her boisterous nature, but thinner and less dominant than the other typeface used. 

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Refinement

Creating the whole book cover

From the crit it was said that the typography looked unbalanced, so within the grid the title was all aligned to the right with the authors name also aligning in the same way creating a greater sense of structure. The back cover uses same typefaces as the front to create consistency. Using Berthold Akzidenz - Grotesk for the quote highlights this the most. This is important because it defines the key metaphor within the story. Franklin Gothic Book, it was found in research, can be used at different point sizes because of its spacing making it the best out of the three typefaces chosen initially to be used for the blurb. 

The circular design has been rotated so that the 'A' logo can be seen, because it was previously black on a black background. This has also allowed the title on the spine to contrast the authors name because the two parts are on different elements meaning they needed to be the opposite colours to stand out. Aligning the barcode with the rest of the text on the back cover creates a better form. The top of the quote also aligns with the second part of the title on the front cover creating consistency. Moving Harper Lee to beneath the title makes the typography look less erratic and instead follows the same alignment as the title. Alignment to the left also makes the typography easier to look at as this is how we read words naturally.

The imagery for this design follows along the same idea of protection as the previous designs however Tom is positioned within Atticus. This however creates too much of a contrast and makes Toms circle stand out far more. The title typeface uses only Berthold Akzidenz - Grotesk in reference to the film which is centralised with the authors name aligned to its right to create a strong frame between the two elements. Trebuchet MS was changed at the bottom of the back cover to Franklin Gothic because Trebuchet MS was not used anywhere else on the cover. This means that the typography has been reduced to only two typefaces. The white circle is central to the spine meaning more of the circle is on the back cover creating a sense it is creeping up or imposing on the black. This has meant that the typography needed to be wrapped around the shape in order to fit it in.

Making 'To Kill' in the tile larger than 'a Mockingbird' creates a dominance over 'a Mockingbird' and emphasises 'To Kill' suggesting the danger.

Enlarging 'To Kill' and reducing its opacity creates a sense of threat to 'A Mockingbird' whilst also suggesting the threat is lurking in the shadows, much like the lynchmob in the story.

Final Design for Crit 

The recommendation at the the bottom of the back cover has been set in italics to create distinction between it and the blurb which are in the same typeface. 'To Kill' uses Berthold Akzidenz -  Grotesk in reference to the film which dominates the typeface below (Franklin Gothic Book) creating a sense of oppression. Harper Lee is set in Franklin Gothic Book to reflect Lee's association with Scout and her boisterous nature, but its thin form also implies her reclusivity, making the type look more withdrawn.    

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - This Brutal House

Peter Chadwick of Popular Studio

This Brutal House is a website dedicated to Brutalism and aims to use the architectural style as inspiration for other formats of design. Chadwick has taken Brutalist architecture and re appropriated it in other forms to make it more functional and appealing, creating a new perspective on the style which many see as ugly and dated. Chadwicks documentation of the style aims to create inspiration for a range of creatives. Through recording the architectural style he aims to preserve it.

His poster series based around Thamesmead uses original recordings and press coverage about Thamesmead from the 1960s and 1970s. Using these quotes gives an insight into public opinion about the style which were negative. When comparing these quotes with Chadwicks work, which refines elements to shapes and textures in a minimalist way, a juxtaposition of the style is created showing Brutalism in a new way. 

Orange is used across a range of the posters in reference to the film a Clockwork Orange which was filmed there. The use of orange creates a strong contrast between the monochromatic photographs and graphics.

Other areas around London, which were once rundown have been redone, whereas Thamesmead has been left to disrepair and decay.  The use of textural 'swatches' on his poster series highlights the gritty feel to the architecture but contrasts this with flat colour to create striking designs. Depth is created in the work through the use of layering photographic elements with transparent colours over the top. The use of large typographic elements and symbols combined with imagery of the buildings creates a sense of scale, making them look like huge structures themselves.

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Rolf Willimann

The Unprepared Society 1968 designed by Rolf Williams

The book is written by  psychologist who suggests that the world will be unable to cope with changing society and that the education system needs reform to produce leaders for the future.

The positioning of the circles means that one is cropped which creates a sense of instability and evokes a sense of imbalance in the image even though the elements are physically the same size. The use of a gradient creates a faded effect making the shape change from something that is solid to something less certain.

The use of two colours within the title helps to create a hierarchy of information and breaks the two parts of the title up into two.

Placing the image on a white background creates the greatest contrast.

Colouring both the title and authors name in black creates a sense of importance, however the longer title on the right creates a sense of imbalance horizontally.

Things to take forward:

- Aesthetically the grainy texture of the design

- Using the same typeface in different colours to create importance within the title

- Filling the cover with the image at approximately a ratio of 1: 2 to allow maximum space for the image

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Interim Crit

Crit Feedback

It was said that both the photographic and the photocopied designs were effective, however there was more interest in the photocopied work. It was suggested that the typography could be arranged differently on the cover as it looked a little unbalanced. It was said that the design should wrap around onto the back cover to continue elements across the double spread making it consistent. Playing with balance, symmetry and a lack of it in the design, it was suggested,  would be a good way of  working out the layout of the elements. 

Raf Rennie was an designer that was talked about and it was suggested that maybe the typography could be altered or parts could be erased in a similar way to his work.

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Photography

Marble Photography

During the opening sequence of the film, marbles were used which for me mimicked the characters of Atticus and Tom. Tom could be represented by the black marble and Atticus being white but supportive of the black community so had black lines across the white marble. Based on this imagery the idea was carried further through using similar marbles to represent these characters with  plain white marble to represent the white community.

The marbles used were black, white and coloured striped which when photographed in black and white looked white with a stripe. The series of photographs played with the concept of Atticus and Tom being surrounded by the white community evoking a sense of oppression and minority. 

Initially the marbles were structured into formations with white marbles surrounding the black marble however these looked too staged. Using a white background for the images kept the images clean and also emphasised the tones of all the marbles.

Taking the pictures at a slight angle meant there was not as much reflection in the marbles and it also created a sense of depth in the images, like a crowd pushing towards the black and striped marbles.  This angle also meant that white space could be left free for the typography that would be used on the book cover.

The second batch of photographs focused on the concept of using singular marbles to represent the different types of characters / people within the book. Using just a black and white marble would comment on the two sides of the racial intolerance. A black , white and white striped marble makes reference to Tom, Atticus and the white community. Splitting the marbles into two pairs of white marbles and a black marble and white striped marble reflects the two sides in the courtroom. With Tom and Atticus on one side and Mayella and Bob Ewell on the other side. The reflection on the glass top that the marbles were on, created quite an interesting effect, which simulated more marbles than their actually were.

Most effective images

Compositionally these are the strongest images and allow enough space to place the typography on the front cover.

Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Initial Ideas for Crit

5 Book Covers

This typographic design arranges the title into four levels which allows the 'I' in 'Bird' and 'Kill' to form the lines on a gun sight with the 'O' being the thing that the 'gun' is aiming at. The letter 'O' is coloured black to represent Tom who is seen as the Mockingbird within the book and who at the end of the story is shot dead. Using grey as the background colour is supposed to mimic that of the Mockingbirds feather colours.

In this design the image the marbles represent different characters within the book, with Tom represented as the black marble, Atticus the black and white striped marble who stands up for Tom and the white marbles reflect the rest of the white community. The concept of oppression is shown within the design by the way the white marbles outnumber the Tom and Atticus. This is also shown by the way the marbles are enclosing around Tom and Atticus. By making 'Kill' italics in the title this creates a harsher feel to the word and emphasises the action within the title. Harper Lee identified with Scout who was quite a tomboy, however despite being quite boisterous Lee became reclusive after the publication of her book. To reflect this idea the use of a Sans Serif typeface, which has a strong form , is used to imply her boyish nature, however the thinness of the typeface is less dominant than the other typography.   

This design plays with the concept of oppression with Atticus and Tom being surrounded. The composition is balanced to reflect how in theory the justice system is supposed to be however it is clear it is not, this is shown by the use of more elements in one half of the cover than the other. The typography is inspired from the opening sequence of the film. Using  a black background allows all the elements to stand out well despite the a photocopy being black. 

This cover explores the concepts of oppression and protection with the white community being much larger than Tom. Atticus is place within the white circle to show how he takes most of the pressure from the white community in order to protect Tom. By placing the circles close together this creates the feeling that Atticus is only just managing to keep them at bay. The typography again takes inspiration from the film, however when placing it within the grid without it overlapping the imagery, 'Mockingbird' needed to be broken down. By making the title larger than Harper Lee this creates a sense of dominance within the typography reflecting Harper Lees quite personality.

This cover focuses on the relationship between Tom and Atticus. By placing the marbles side by side in this way it signifies how Atticus sees Tom as his equal despite what the rest of the community think. It is also represents the positioning of the characters within the courtroom scene within the film. By using a macro photograph and placing the imagery at the bottom of the cover this has created a larger proportion of white space which implies the disparity between the communities. Centralising the typography creates balance between the two marbles creating a flow between three points (the two marbles and typography) which draws your eye around the cover.