ADV TYPOGRAPHY - Task 02: Key Artwork & Collateral
15/10/2024 - 24/11/2024 | Week 04 - Week 09
Koh Sher Wei | 0353816
Advanced Typography | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
List of Contents:
These are a few of my initial digitisation work marks, I tried
working with different strokes but kept the form of my chosen
sketch. I attempted to digitise one with a relatively even line
weight but found that it seemed too plain and didn't adhere to my
keywords. Then, another one was of thicker line weight, with thinner
form. However, It seemed to look uneven and the shape was slightly
odd.
This was the original mockup that i found on one of the websites.
After downloading the photoshop file, I went ahead and modified the
colours as well as remove the original artwork.
My idea was to go for a simplistic shirt, as my wordmark already
has an interesting form. Hence, I didn't want to overcomplicate the
shirt which may take away from my brand identity.
I chose this candle as a mockup due to the aesthetical aspects. The
overall look and style of this mockup fit with the idea of my
"Instagram tile" moodboard.
Once I had the final edited version, I imported the photo into
Adobe Illustrator (AI). At first, I tried to add my wordmark to
the photo but I couldn't incorporate it well. So I scraped that
idea, and used my keywords instead. Again, I curved the letters to
follow the form of my portrait.
Web typography: Addresses digitial-specific concerns, like responsive design, font loading and screen legibility.
> Lectures
> Feedback
Lectures :
Week 04 [ Designing Type ]
- Type design carries a social responsibility so one must
continue to improve its legibility.
- Type design is a form of artistic expression.
- Adrian Frutiger, a renowned twentieth century Swiss Graphic
designer, who designed a few typefaces including:
Week 05 [ Designing Type ]
Perception
- The way in which something is regarded, understood or
interpreted.
- In typography, it is the visual navigation and interpretation
of the reader.
- It is done via contrast, form and
organisation of a content.
- Content can be textual, visual, graphical or in
colour,
Contrast
- Contrast can be done in several methods.
- Carl Dair posits 7kinds of contrast:
- size, weight, contrast & form, contrast structure, contrast of texture, contrast of colour, contrast of direction
Contrast / Size
- Provides a point for readers to be drawn to.
- i.e. larger letters draw more attention. ( like making a
title or heading bigger than the body text )
Contrast / Weight
- Describes the prominence of bold type in the midst of lighter
type styles.
- Rules, spot or squares also provide "heavy area" for powerful
point of visual attraction.
Contrast / Form
- Distinction between a capital letter and its lowercase
equivalent or other text styles and variants.
Contrast / Structure
- Different letterforms of different kinds of typefaces.
(monoline sans serif compared to traditional serif or
italic)
Contrast / Texture
- Putting together contrast of size, weight, form and
structure.
- By applying them to a block of text on a page for contrast of
texture.
- Texture refers to the way lines of type look as a whole
up-close / from a distance.
- Partly depends on how the letterforms are and how they're
arranged
Contrast / Direction
- is the opposition between vertical, horizontal and the angles
in between.
- Mixing wide blocks of long lines with tall columns of short
line can also create a constrast.
Contrast / Colour
- It is suggested that a second colour is often less emphatic
in values than black on white.
- It is important to give thought on which elements need to be
emphasized.
- Pay attention to tonal values of the colours that are
used.
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| fig 1.2.1 Different types of Contrast |
Form
- Refers to the overall lock and feel of elements that make up
the typographic composition.
- It plays a role in visual impact and first
impressions.
- Good form tends to be visually intriguing to the
eye.
- Leads the eye from point to point to entertain the mind and
is most often memorable.
- Displaying type as a form provides a sense of unique
characteristics and abstract presentation.
- Brings a balanced harmony in terms of function and
expression.
- When typeface is perceived as a form, it no longer reads as a
letter.
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| fig 1.2.2 Examples of "Form" |
Organisation / Gestalt
- "Gestalt" is a german word: to describe the way things have
been "placed" or "put together".
- Gestalt Psychology: an attempt to understand laws behind the
ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions.
- Emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its
parts.
- In design, the components that make up a design is only as
good as its overall visual form.
Organisation / Gestalt: Perceptual Organisation /
Grouping
1. Law of Similarity
- Gestalt grouping law that similar elements tend to be perceived as a unified group.
- Similar elements include colour, orientation, size or motion.
2. Law of Proximity
- Items that are in close proximity tend to be grouped together, compared to items that are further apart.
3. Law of Closure
- Refers to mind's tendency to see complete figures or forms even when incomplete or partially hidden.
4. Law of (Good) Continuation
- Humans tend to perceive each of two or more objects as different, singular and uninterrupted object even when they intersect.
- Alignment plays a major role.
5. Law of Symmetry
6. Law of Praganz
MIB (Instructions) :
Task 02 (A) : Key Artwork
In task 02, we are expected to come up with an idea for our
personal wordmark. The wordmark should be of our name or our
preferred pseudonym.
Mind mapping
Before we start drafting a wordmark, we need to know what we're
aiming to communicate through this key artwork. Hence, we were
told to draw out a mindmap about ourselves.
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Moodboard
In addition, we had to gather some inspiration that represents
the desired style we are going for.
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Sketches
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fig 3.1 Initial sketches [W5_22/10/24] |
The left side are my original sketches, i tried going for
different styles to show different keywords. After
receiving feedback, i modified my sketches to the ones on
the right side and paired them with different
keywords.
After some consideration and further feedback, my chosen
sketch is the one on the bottom right corner
(5).
Chosen keywords:
- Adaptable, Passionate, reliable
Digitisation
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The last two were of the same style, just with the exception of
some connecting strokes. So for these two sketches, I focused more
on structuring the line weight in a way that seems natural and not
too intentional. I also rounded the letters "S" and "W" so that they
look visually more in tune with the letter "E".
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fig 3.3 Final digitisation [W6_29/10/24] |
This is my final digitised wordmark, after some
readjustments.
I was told that my wordmark was not very legible, so I had
to figure out a way to reconstruct the form to look more
legible. I had to resize the "W" to sit on the same cap
height as the rest of the letters. The readability of the
"W" was mostly the issue as it curved oddly and looked like
a "U" instead. Which made me add a line in the middle, up
stroke of the letter, and evened out the spacing between the
letter.
Colour Application
We were told to look up some colour palettes on
Color Hunt,
with a few things to note.
- Our colour palette should have an evident contrast between the
lightest and darkest shades.
- There must also be a variety of neutral, strong, dark and
middle tones.
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The first palette I chose was more on the bold and pop style. I
liked the palette on itself, but once I applied it to my wordmark,
I felt that it doesn't fit my personality. I was also not set on
the red and pink as it would have been hard to play around
with.
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fig 4.2 Second colour palette choice [W6_29/10/24] |
The second palette I chose was more of a muted tone in shades
of green. It fit the criteria we were given, and I also quite
prefer this over the previous palette in terms of personal
aesthetics.
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fig 4.3 Final colour palette [W6_29/10/24] |
Lastly, Mr.Vinod told me that I should add an additional colour
to the palette that is brighter and brings a popping contrast to
my muted palette. It may or may not be used but I should still
have it as a choice of colour. Hence, I added a shade of teal
that matches the lighter tones.
Animation
| fig 5.1 Final wordmark animation [W8_11/11/24] |
Task 2A Final Outcome
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fig 6.1 Black wordmark on white background
[W6_29/10/24] |
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| fig 6.2 white wordmark on black background [W6_29/10/24] |
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| fig 6.3 Colour Palette [W6_29/10/24] |
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| fig 6.4 Wordmark in darkest shade on lightest shade background [W7_05/11/24] |
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| fig 6.6 Wordmark animation [W8_11/11/24] |
Task 02 (B) : Collateral
After finalising our key artwork, we need to expand our
brand by adding our wordmark onto different products. Once
we have our mockups, we should also design some expansions
to complete a 3x3 Instagram layout.
Collateral
These are the websites I used to look for free mockups:
Collateral #1 (T-shirt Print)
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fig 7.2 Mockup in Photoshop [W7_05/11/24] |
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fig 7.3 Final collateral #1 [W7_05/11/24] |
Collateral #2 (Candle)
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fig 8.1 Final collateral #2 [W7_05/11/24] |
The same process on photoshop was repeated to make this
collateral.
Collateral #3 (Travel Pouch)
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fig 9,1 Collateral #3 in photoshop [W7_05/11/24] |
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fig 9.2 Design artwork for collateral [W7_05/11/24] |
Again, I carried out the same steps to modify the mockup on
photoshop. However for this one, I created a separate artwork to
fit the travel pouch. This is because I think the flat surface for
travel pouches allow for more artwork expansion, without making
the collateral look overcrowded.
So, I used my three keywords "Passionate", "Adaptable", and
"Reliable". All in capital letters, in the "Bernard MT
Condensed" font. All of which are in different colours to give
more aesthetic variety.
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fig 9.3 Final collateral #3 [W7_05/11/24] |
This is my final travel pouch collateral.
Expansions
After completing the three collaterals, we had to design some
expansions to fill up our Instagram layout.
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fig 10.1 First artwork expansion [W7_05/11/24] |
My first artwork expansion is simple. Mr.Vinod gave me some
ideas and direction on creating an expansion with my keywords.
Again, I used the "Bernard MT Condensed" font, and wrote
"adaptable" in lowercase letters sandwiching an uppercase
version. I also made the word form curly to replicate my
wordmark.
As for my colour choice, I used a neutral to lighter shade of
green, as it is the best shade that contrasts with the rest of my
colour palette. With that background, I was able to showcase the
colours of my palette in every line of the keyword.
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| fig 10.2 Second artwork expansion [W7_05/11/24] |
For my second artwork expansion, I took the idea of using three
of my keywords in the travel pouch collateral. However, I changed
up the colours and arranged them in a sort of grid
form.
Portrait Expansion
We were told to include a portrait photo in our Instagram
layout.
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This is my original portrait photo, that was taken in front
of a white background.
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I imported it into photoshop and adjusted the brightness level,
exposure level, as well as the curve graph. My aim was to edit
my photo into a more muted tone so that it fits with my overall
personal identity.
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Then, I added a gradient from two of the green shades in my
colour palette.
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Instagram tiles
After finalising my collaterals and expansions, I started
arranging my Instagram layout.
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fig 12.2 Instagram page layout [W7_05/11/24] |
Task 2B Final Outcome
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Feedback:
Week 04
General Feedback:
- For task 2, wordmark must be legible
Week 05
General Feedback:
- Your wordmark should solicit the industry you are
aiming for.
- Not too many keywords and should be straightforward.
- Crystalise and focus on the direction you want.
Specific Feedback:
- What does your logo represent?
- How will you convey this expression?
- The sketches are unique but doesn't show any solid
articulation.
- The second idea (passionate and adaptable) is
doable.
- Explore different styles via stroke thickness
(digitise).
- Make letter "S" match with other letters in
height.
Week 06
General Feedback:
- Colour chosen has to have neutral, strong, dark and
middle tones.
- There must be contrast between primary and
background colours.
Specific Feedback:
- The legitibility of the keywork is
objective.
- Smoothen the edges.
- Standardise the points of the typeface.
Week 07
General Feedback:
- Brand expansion should not be
overcomplicated.
- Choose interesting ways to display your
Instagram layout
Specific Feedback:
- An expansion artwork doesn't have to be a
logo, can be made out of keywords.
Reflection:
Experiences
Part 01 of this task was honestly pretty fun. I've always
enjoyed coming up with sketch designs of my name.
As for part 02, I was quite frustrated as it seemed like
most of our ideas were "in the wrong direction". It was
difficult to know what was asked of us and hard to expand our
brand identity, when there was no proper instruction on how to
create a collateral. It was also a relatively tight schedule to
get both parts done within 2 weeks, due to a compilation of
assignments with other modules.
Observations
This task allowed us to observe the work of other students, who
all have different and unique styles. I think it definitely
gives insight on the variety of ideas that can be produced from
every individual designer.
Findings
Firstly, the overall idea of this task made me realise that
brand identity is very important in selling your designs.
Certainly, mockups are also something that should be thought
about and included in order to present our identity in actual
items. This task essentially tied everything down to general
aesthetic and brand identity.
Further Reading:
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| fig 14 "Thinking with Type" book by Ellen Lupton |
Web typography: Addresses digitial-specific concerns, like responsive design, font loading and screen legibility.
Variable fonts: Explores the flexibility of variable
fonts, which allow designers to adjust weight, width and other
properties dynamically.
Accessibility: Highlights the importance of designing for
readability across devices and for audiences with visual
impairments.
Expressive Typography: Discusses how type choice, size and
placement can enhance the message and tone of the content.
Typographic Composition: Examines composition techniques
to create dynamic, engaging layouts that go beyond basic
legibility.
Real-World Design Challenges: Includes exercises to apply
typographic principles in projects such as posters, websites and
books.
Critical Thinking in Design: Encourages designers to make
intentional, thoughtful choices with typography, balancing function
with creative expression.
