The essay, summarised, discusses the opinions of Beatrice Warde regarding the processes of print and typography. Using a detailed analogy of wine vessels, Warde clarifies between the two areas by bringing to light her perspectives on what makes good typography and on the elements of the printed word.

Looking more into the essay, Warde brought up some interesting points on her view on good typography; in the beginning she stated that “there are a thousand mannerisms in typography that are as impudent and arbitrary as putting port in tumblers of red or green glass”. Returning to the analogy of wine vessels, she uses the idea of the base of a goblet where, if it looks “too small for security”, “it does not matter how cleverly it is weighted; you feel nervous lest it should tip over” – to a certain extent, I agree with what she is trying to imply. Readability in typography, in my opinion, is the number one thing we should consider in creating typographical artworks. Not only do we need to be wary of conveying the right information, but the ways in which the reader perceives it, or in Warde’s words, “ways of setting lines of type which may work well enough… reading three words as one, and so forth”.

Towards the end of the essay, Warde also talks about legibility and layout; she quotes, “if the reader had not been practically forced to read – if he had not seen those words suddenly imbued with glamour and significance – then the layout would have been a failure”, but at the same time, she feels that the “mental eye focuses through type and not upon it”, where the “arbitrary warping of design or excess of ‘colour'” can “get in the way of the mental picture to be conveyed”, making it a “bad type”. Again, to a certain extent, I do agree with the points she is trying to make, that if the artwork ends up looking too fanciful or gaudy, with too many designs and colours, readers would just ultimately miss the main point of the artwork (i.e. to convey information through text). However, I feel like this may not be the case in some scenarios; going back to the group presentations on typefaces, I remember the group presenting on Comic Sans brought up an interesting fact about the font, that it is so unstructured and difficult to read that it is more effective in retaining information (so it is more commonly found in children’s textbooks and worksheets). Therefore, I do agree that jarring kinds of visuals can interfere with conveying information to the reader, affecting its readability, but maybe it can help it making that piece of artwork memorable?

In conclusion, the essay helped me in understanding the little nuances that distinguishes between good and bad typography, as well as the factors to consider when reviewing a piece of typographical artwork. On a side note, I thought the analogy of comparing wine vessels to typography was quite interesting as well, and helps in illustrating her points better.

About the Typographer

Hailed as one of the most prominent key figures in the design industry, Paula Scher is known for her versatility in creating polished logos and “loudly expressive” posters. This “all-embracing sensibility” of Scher has made her a “reigning titan in a heavily male-dominated industry”. She has had a hand in identity and branding systems, promotional materials, environmental graphics, packaging and publication designs, receiving hundreds of industry honours and awards.

Scher is also referred to as the “master conjurer of the instantly familiar”, “[straddling] the line between pop culture and fine art in her work”.

Her Works

I. Branding and identity systems

Mentioned previously, Paula Scher was notable for her contributions to some of the world’s most recognisable brands and organisations. One of which would be her works for CBS Records, where the records she designed were associated with four Grammy nominations. She is also credited with reviving historical typefaces and design styles.

Image of CitiBank logoScher was also known for designing the CitiBank logo.

She was also known for her works for The Public Theatre in 1994. Tasked with the challenge of raising public awareness and attendance, along with trying to appeal to a more diverse crowd, Scher managed to create a programme that was said to have become the “turning point of identity in designs that influence much of the graphic design created for theatrical promotion and for cultural institutions in general”. She did so by creating a graphic language that “reflected street typography” and “graffiti-like juxtaposition”.

Learning Points

• A takeaway I got from briefly looking at Paula Scher’s works was her use of contrast. I found the idea of how she took aesthetics commonly associated with the subject and completely going the opposite direction with the final product especially bold and interesting (especially what she did with her collateral for The Public Theatre). What resulted was something that was considered both groundbreaking and a reincarnation of old design principles.
• I also found her use of bold colours and unconventional layout of text very eye-catching and intriguing (especially in her works for Atlantic Records). The placement of the text helps create movement, and just adds an overall energetic and vibrant feel to the artwork.
• I think Paula Scher’s versatility as a designer is also very inspiring; it’s interesting to see how she’s able to cater to a vast range of different clients from prim and proper big names to more underground and “street” brands – she is able to create slick and clean-cut designs, as well as grungy and energetic-looking typeface layouts.

About the Typographer

Neville Brody is an English graphic designer, typographer, and art director. He is most recognised for his rejection for commercialisation in his graphic styles, with his unique designs becoming the ‘much-imitated models for magazines, advertising and consumer-oriented graphics of the eighties’, as well as his highly innovative ideas on incorporating and combining typefaces into design.

Often referred to as a ‘star typographer’, Brody has designed a number of very well-known typefaces.

His Works

In addition to being an alumnus of the London College of Printing and Hornsey College of Art, Brody is most known for his work on The Face magazine, Arena magazine, and designing record covers for artists such as Cabaret Voltaire and Depeche Mode. His ‘pioneering spirit in the area of typography’ can be seen in FUSE, and starting studios such as The Studio and Research Studios.

Record Covers & Magazines

Brody’s more prominent works include his contributions to the British music scene, and his experimentations with a new visual language in magazines, comprising mainly of a mixture of visual and architectural elements. This has led him to firmly establish his reputation as one of the world’s leading graphic designers.

Typefaces

Brody was one of the founding members of FontShop, designing a number of typefaces for them. He was also responsible for instigating the FUSE project (an influential fusion between magazine, and graphics and typeface design), and the founder of the FontFont typeface library.

He has also designed a range of his own typefaces, the most recognisable being the Blur font.

Learning Points

After researching more into Neville Brody’s works, I was inspired by the amount of contributions he gave to the graphic design field, as well as his “pioneering spirit” in changing how popular culture was perceived in the 80s.

• The use of more decorative title fonts for the magazine covers was able to capture the energy of the magazine but at the same time, was not too jarring or gawdy.
• The combination of typefaces and simple geometric shapes was interesting and added a layer of depth to a photograph.
• Drawing inspiration from the punk scene was noticeable in some of his works; it created an interesting approach in forming portraits.
• His ability to create typefaces that were simple but at the same time, possessed features that made them distinguishable and less boring.

References

http://jonnymg.blogspot.com/2013/03/neville-brody.html

https://www.fontshop.com/designers/neville-brody

http://www.historygraphicdesign.com/the-age-of-information/postmodern-design/531-neville-brody

https://inkbotdesign.com/neville-brody/

Type Speaks provides an in-depth look into the process of making type. ‘It follows the entire process of type making from original design… to pattern making, punch cutting, matrix making, and the use of the Benton engraving machine’.

After watching and learning more about the very, very painstaking process of letterpress, especially in the amount of meticulousness and effort that goes into making every single block, making sure the structure of each alphabet is as accurate as possible, I have a newfound appreciation for the craft. It was eye-opening and inspiring to see the elaborate process of printing publications in the past, and the passion practitioners had for it. On the other hand, I am really glad to be born into the age of computers where forming and printing are much less painstaking – I honestly don’t think I have the patience for the amount of intricate detail that goes into crafting each letter by hand.

In a nutshell, I appreciate the letterpress process and the amount of effort and passion that goes into keeping the craft alive, but I think sticking to the method of digitally-altering alphabets is the way to go (at least for me)!

Jan Tschichold

Image of Jan Tschichold

About The Artist

Jan Tschihold is a highly-influential typographer, playing an important role in the development of graphic design in the 20th century; he was most known for ‘strongly advocating the beauty of sans serif fonts’, cleaning and organising design ahead of its time by ‘developing and promoting principles of typographic modernism’, and designing Penguin books, turning them into ‘something special’.

Works

I. Sabon

Inspired by Jakob Sabon’s and Conrad Berner’s Garamond, Tschichold created Sabon, a variation of the aforementioned Garamond typeface.

Designed to be used in available printing techniques of that time, Sabon was a result of Tschichold’s efforts of taking Garamond and standardising its construction by removing historic typefaces anomalies, making it more ‘economical’ and ‘narrower’.  As a result, Sabon eventually became one of the ‘handsomest contemporary interpretations’ of Garamond.

II. Page Canons

Tschichold also developed a system of page harmony that is still relevant today. Establishing the 2:3 ratio rule, where he expresses that ‘the key to this positioning of the type area is the division into nine pans of both the width and height of the page’.

This ratio can be applied to a variety of layouts including magazine spreads, annual reports, and illustrated title pages.

Learning Points & opinions

As I’m not very well-versed in Typography, it often slips my mind that fonts are typically products of designers’ painstaking efforts, rather than something easily generated by computers. Therefore, after reading more about Jan Tschichold, I was quite blown away by his works and the influences he created in the design world that still hold up till this day.

Some of my learning points include:

• The Sabon font and how it came to be
• Technical formulae in creating visually-pleasing page layouts
• A brief insight into the development of graphic design in the 20th century, especially its more important milestones (i.e. the development of typographic modernism)

When familiarising with his works, I was quite intrigued by the structure of the Sabon typeface. In addition to it being regarded as one of the more ‘beautiful’ and ‘handsome’ variations of the Garamond font, I feel that, with its clean structure with serif strokes shows a blend of vintage and modern, making it versatile in many areas of design (but maybe towards a more high-end brand), and timeless. The page canons, on the other hand, are an interesting insight into page layout; I never knew that the placement of text and images required math and ratios. The ratios seem to be very ahead of their time and although they seem rather rigid at first, they are versatile in their ability to be applied to a variety of layouts including magazine spreads and reports, even to this day.

In conclusion, it’s really inspiring to learn more about how prominent figures, like Jan Tschichold, continue to influence graphic design by establishing principles and elements that hold a highly-regarded position after many, many decades!

Type in the Wild

A place I recently visited for the first time was the container park at Punggol, near the Punggol Waterway Park. It is a small area with brightly-coloured shipping container-like shops that house a variety of dining and bar options. Since it just rained, the weather was windy and cool so I didn’t mind having my lunch at 5pm.

Type At Big Fish Small Fish

One of the eateries that caught my eye was Big Fish Small Fish, mainly because of its bright blue and yellow colour scheme, but also their use of many different fonts. As it seemed like a trendy restaurant catered to a younger demographic (since they primarily sell fried food items), it made sense to use bright colours and blends of fanciful and handwritten-like fonts.

Examples of type can be found throughout the establishment – on menus, promotional posters, signboards, wrappers, and labels. Interestingly, every other piece of collateral had different combinations of typefaces.

Each packaging item has a different typeface, and they vary quite a bit – the name of the place is displayed using serif fonts (slab serif) while slogans are typically italicised or cursive. The placement of the words also varies with each packaging – the most notable being the placemats, where the two typefaces are centralised and accompanied by illustrations, compared to the holder, where the typeface encompasses most of the surface space.

Positive

• The use of slab serif fonts is eye-catching and seems to suit the trendy and hip atmosphere of the place. It also seems more youthful and light-hearted, which suits their target demographic.
• The use of cursive fonts adds an overall casual and laid-back feel to the slogan and seems appropriate for what the slogan is saying.

Negative 

• The use of different typefaces all at once is a little jarring, especially when coupled with a bright colour scheme.

Similar to the food packaging, the eatery’s signboards and posters also use combinations of different typefaces. Instead of decorative slogans, the content displayed here is informative and more extensive – for this, sans serif fonts were primarily used (accompanied by cursive title fonts and one or two lines of serif fonts). Additionally, the sans serif fonts still hold hints of humanist structures.

Positive

• The use of sans serif fonts is suitable for menus as it allows for easy readability, as well as being visually appealing, especially in its case where blocks of information have to be conveyed to viewers.
• The use of cursive fonts as titles accompanied with sans serif fonts is eye-catching and at the same time, not too gaudy.

Negative

• The extensive use of a narrow, handwritten font (as labels for different fishes in the Today’s Catch poster) is not very visually appealing. It seems to work better for short sentences as opposed to labels in a smaller space.

References

What to Eat at the Punggol Container Eateries

Big Fish Small Fish Review: Fish And Chips With A Variety Of Sauces At $6.90 Nett At Punggol