Studio Brief 2 - Typeface part 3 (studio activity and first crit)

In the studio we did a collaborative activity. 

The first step was to respond to our own adjectives. In 2 minutes we drew pictures we associated with our words, and also synonyms of the adjective.

In the next step we transformed these into pictograms, using a 3x3 grid and horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines only.

Then, by passing our sheets of paper along to the left, we would respond to another 

classmates adjective again in the form of pictograms, but using a 5x5 grid this time.

Finally, by passing our sheets along again, we responded to yet another adjective but in this case, we sketched our interpretations of the adjective into a letter 'A'. This is my sheet with other's ideas of my adjective 'grand.'

This activity was really helpful, as well as allowing me to provide ideas for my classmates, and think outside the box in terms of my own project, my own sheet of paper accumulated lots of various ideas for my adjective. It was useful and informative to see others take on my adjective and their own interpretations of the word 'grand'. I feel I can carry some of these ideas over into my own developmental work on my typeface.

initial sketches responding to the activity

Rationale 1: To accompany my chosen adjective; 'grand', I have chosen the typeface Times New Roman. The traditional and formal feel of the letterforms accompanies the regal and classic connotations of 'grand' well. By manipulating the typeface, I feel I will be able to accentuate these characteristics to create letterforms to successfully portray my adjective.

Rationale 2: To accompany my chosen adjective, 'grand', I have chosen the typeface Helvetica as a neutral starting point. The contrast of a modern sans serif typeface with a word that has older style connotations will be an interesting juxtaposition to develop a typeface from.

CRIT FEEDBACK

- I prefer the idea of changing Helvetica as it will be a more challenging idea. maybe experiment with different types of serifs.
- I like bracketed serifs as the arches add something extra and look more grand
- elongate letterforms (tall = grand)

- Both options are strong, times would be the obvious choice and would work well if you made the weight bold and extended the cap height.
- Helvetica would be more of a challenge but as you say it would produce an interesting juxtaposition to work with. I would be tempted to try adding serifs to the typeface.
- grand: regal, superior, hierarchy, tradition, staircase, castle, established
- the capital A on times new roman is really interesting

- if something is grand you're more likely to remember it. it makes a statement of being bold.
- helvetica is more of a challenge and goes against its heritage meaning/origins, but maybe a word like 'grand' needs to be modernised
- grand is a bold word and is a strong adjective, however why not put it all in lowercase to again juxtapose the meaning

- think tall and bold, increase the height and width of the ascenders and descenders. 
- grand could also be associated with elegance and hierarch. times new roman works well in this sense. perhaps try to make it more curvy and experiment with size of strokes.
- if you use helvetica - (more striking/bold rather than elegant) uppercase, thick strokes, maybe smaller and more squat?