Week Three: Typography

Below I have looked at some existing posters that have used typography effectively. This process allowed me to draw some inspiration from them, as I am not sure as to how I will display my text on my poster. 

Notes: The typography used in these two examples shows the type creating the object that it is expressing, where from far away it looks like an object, its not until you are close that you realise it is words, it is at this point that the viewer is intrigued to make out what it says. This is an effective way of incorporating subject matter and type, where the subject matter almost plays a secondary role in this, where normally its the other way around.

Notes: The typography used in this poster can be seen as a use of subversion, where the 'a' has had additional parts added to it to make it look like a teapot, which relates it to the subject matter and content of the poster. This is effective in making the text least boring and static, instead it gives movement and visual interest to it.

Notes: The typography used in this poster is very rhythmic, where it shows movement in link with the subject matter, looking as though it is rippling in the water. This type is effective as it gives emphasis/reference to the subject matter, making it seem strategised rather than just plonked on the page. 

Notes: This typography is placed to look at though it is part of the shadow, where through this, we can say that it is secondary information to the subject matter, which in this case is the iceblock. From this, we look at the iceblock first, and then we read the writing. The perspective and angle add further interest to this too, where the type is angles downward on a angle like a shadow. 

Notes: These two posters create their typography out of the subject matter, where nutella have made it look as though they have spread on the words with nutella, and the other poster had stuck on tape. These are effective ways in using the text as the subject matter, making the typography much more than just words, but rather makes it the subject matter itself. Its through type like this that you can get away with having it larger than the subject matter or even as the complete subject of the poster. I could look into using this type of type in my poster, using tea stain as the letters or something like that.  

Notes: Here is another example of subversion, where the artist has placed a picture in the position and shape of where the letter would normally form, to create more drama and make the viewer look twice to make it out. This is an effective way of showing a metaphor or just getting the viewer to look beyond the letter and rather what the artist is trying to convey by putting this letter and this image together.  Effective use of 'read between the lines' sort of thing, where again the type becomes the focal point of the poster. 

                                                 

Notes:  The use of typography in this poster again becomes the shape of its subject, but also relies on the fact that we can figure out the letters easily enough for them to be half chopped off. This can be seen as effectively utilising the fact that the viewer can easily distinguish the letters of the alphabet, so if you were to chop half of the letter off for the sake of interesting design, it would not hinder the way the word is read. Sometimes we forget that humans have this ability to recognise things that have been altered, so this poster is an effective example of adapting letters/words to create more interest to them without making them too unreadable. 

Notes: This poster is a good example of mixing it up with type, where we normally are inclined to read right to left, we would expect the type to be on the right side of the cup and be aligned left. However this designer has done it the opposite way, as if to say expect the unexpected. This makes the viewer question the choices much more as look for reasons why they have gone against the norm. It could also just be so that the viewer reads the text first before they see the subject matter. Because from first glance, when you read 'I will drink you under the table' automatically you think of alcohol, so it becomes more humorous when you then see the cup of tea.

Notes: This image shows how once again typography can be incorporated into the subject matter, where instead of placing boring univers text next to the cup, the designer has instead placed it within the foam of the coffee, which is much more visually interesting. 

From here I then looked at one of the idioms I used in my chosen poster concept 'not our cup of tea' where I looked at the exact meaning around it and how it could be said and presented in various ways. 

Not one's cup of tea

1. Not one's choice or preference. (Used to describe an activity you do not enjoy. Can sound somewhat affected.

2. If something is not your cup of tea, you don't like it very much.

In order to change the context, but keep the same idea I have looked at other ways to say the idiom too.

-This is our cup of tea

-Your cup of tea

-My cup of tea

-You're like the regretted sip of milk, that went sour weeks ago

Furthermore, I have researched types of Fonts, where I looked  into what effect they have, what they represent to see what ones would be suitable for my poster design. 

First off is Serif vs Sans Serif 

Where the choice between the two could easily go both ways for the concept that I am conveying because serif conveys quite a British, european, traditional look and the sans-serif conveys a modern take, which can represent a change, new. So in some respect they both work, so it will come down to what is most aesthetically pleasing I believe. 

It may be a matter of what weight I choose to communicate the 'voice' or emotion in my poster.

Below are the groups of fonts that are basic and clear to read, best for a persuasive poster where I want to have the message clearly read, rather than going for a distractive decorative font:

Geometric Sans-Serifs are those faces that are based on strict geometric forms. The individual letter forms of a Geometric Sans often have strokes that are all the same width and frequently evidence a kind of “less is more” minimalism in their design.

Examples of Geometric/Realist/Grotesk Sans: Helvetica, Univers, Futura, Avant Garde, Akzidenz Grotesk, Franklin Gothic, Gotham.

These are Sans faces that are derived from handwriting — as clean and modern as some of them may look, they still retain something inescapably human at their root. Humanist Sans manage to have it both ways: modern yet human, clear yet empathetic.

Examples of Humanist Sans: Gill Sans, Frutiger, Myriad, Optima, Verdana.

Also referred to as ‘Venetian’, these are our oldest typefaces, the result of centuries of incremental development of our calligraphic forms. Old Style faces at their best are classic, traditional and readable.

Examples of Old Style: Jenson, Bembo, Palatino, and — especially — Garamond.

An outgrowth of Enlightenment thinking, Transitional (mid 18th Century) and Modern (late 18th century, not to be confused with mid 20th century modernism) typefaces emerged as type designers experimented with making their letterforms more geometric, sharp and virtuosic than the unassuming faces of the Old Style period. In carving Modernist punches, type designers indulged in a kind of virtuosic demonstration of contrasting thick and thin strokes. At their best, transitional and modern faces seem strong, stylish, dynamic. 

Examples of transitional typefaces: Times New Roman, Baskerville.

Examples of Modern serifs: Bodoni, Didot.

lab Serifs are an outlier in the sense that they convey very specific — and yet often quite contradictory — associations: sometimes the thinker, sometimes the tough guy; sometimes the bully, sometimes the nerd; sometimes the urban sophisticate, sometimes the cowboy. Slab Serifs are hard to generalize about as a group, but their distinctive blocky serifs function something like a pair of horn-rimmed glasses: they add a distinctive wrinkle to anything, but can easily become overly conspicuous in the wrong surroundings. They can convey a sense of authority, in the case of heavy versions like Rockwell, but they can also be quite friendly, as in the recent favourite Archer. 

Examples of Slab Serifs: Clarendon, Rockwell, Courier, Lubalin Graph, Archer.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/what-font-should-i-use-five-principles-for-choosing-and-using-typefaces/

I also played around with my own typographic concepts:

From theses concepts that I liked, I then moved into Adobe Illustrator to see if I could create a font that would portray the look of tea.