Studio Brief 2 - Land Travelling Exhibition - Typography Experiments

Using Existing Typography

When researching it was found that the Festival of Britain had Festival Titling commissioned for the festival which aimed to reflect a sense of three dimensionality without the use of a bevel or shadow, instead using shaded areas within the typeface, also simulating bunting .   

Other typefaces that were used included Gill Sans and Egyptian slab serifs. It was encouraged for the designers and architects to create three dimensional applications of the type by using new materials of the time.

Working from the idea of making the typefaces three dimensional, the Festival Titling was experimented with in various ways  through the use of the positive and negative parts of the typeface.

By recreating the letterforms from black and white card this allowed layers to be stacked up creating thicker areas. Layering the white card up, whilst keeping the black as a single thickness aimed to create depth between the coloured cards emphasising the idea that the black card was a shadow to the more three dimensional and object like, white card. This could be further emphasised by increasing the height of the white card to create more of an offset appearance.

The black segments from the original typeface were elevated of the page using card. By using a torch on the letter this created shadows, and at a certain angle would recreate the shapes of the missing half of the letterform.

By adjusting the direction of the light this could dramatically influence the shape of the shadow in this case elongating the letterform so it appears to stand far off the page.

By cutting the letterform up in different ways this allowed for the two colours to become separate from each other in some places and connected in others , therefore retaining the overall form of the letter. By doing this it allowed the different elements to be manipulated so that the letterform could stand up and support its own weight. This made the letter become quite sculptural and tactile, working well as a three dimensional object and as a way of reflecting the art and design theme of the festival.

By creating the whole letterform out of a single piece of card then scoring the lines of division between the two original colours allowed for the paper to be bent in different ways. When folded slightly this created tonal difference in the two halves of the letterform reflecting a sense of three dimensionality as well as creating distinction between the two parts of the type.

Scoring the design inside meant that the letterform became beveled but quite subtle.  

When reversed to create an indented typeface the contrast was much sharper however this may be replicated in the bevel under stronger lighting.

Through the use of coloured card the design was deconstructed into its individual parts. The two halves were then repositioned to create two separate letterforms which overlapped one another. From these three dimensional forms were drawn by reconnecting the corresponding halves of the letters. This replicated a paper like quality within the letterforms, whilst also becoming impossible objects which would not be able to hold themselves in reality.

The exhibition was a travelling exhibition so had to be easily and compactly stored. The bottom right design was exploring the concept of packing the typeface away into the smallest possible space. This however was not very effective as not all the parts would fit together into a structured composition, so were left out, defeating the purpose of the piece.