Illustrator Piece Inspired By David Carson

I made this design taking aspects of the three David Carson designs I analysed. I knew that David changed the size and position of letters mid-word and had a random kerned pattern. I decided to do the same, so added different sized spaces between each letter. I also made some letters bold, some regular and some lower case.

I created a background made from text like the design below on the left. This creates a nice effect, as its not quite a solid fill but is still dark and compact enough for white text to stand out on top of it. This is reverse type. From this design I also used the varied kerning pattern for example large spaces between some letters mid-word. I then used some aspects from the middle design below. From this design I used the contrast of text that shares the same baseline against text that floats. I made the word 'David' in line then for 'Carson' I moved the letters around like the letters 'bou' from 'bounce'. I also used the contrast of text colour. The design below has an imaginary vertical line through the letter 'u' where everything to one side is black and everything to the other side is white. I used a horizontal line at the baseline of 'David' where the text changes to black beneath it. From the design below on the right I took the dark grey fill of loops in the type. I added a grey fill the letter 'o'. Also I copied the use of no line spacing so the baseline of text connects with the mean line/ascending height of text on the next line.

This is the same design, but I experimented with colour.

Jonathan Barnbrook Research

Jonathan Barnbrook:

Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966) is a British graphic designer , film maker and typographer. Over the years he has created many typefaces, all of which are shown below.

He designed the cover artwork for David Bowie's 2002 album 'Heathen' where he used his Priori typeface for the first type. He also designed 'The Next Day' and 'Reality', which are also album covers of David Bowie's. 

This album cover features the font Priori. It is a very square based font with mainly straight lines that go only vertically or horizontally. This gives a robotic feel. For this cover he has placed the text upside down and kerned the letters wide apart. This may be so that the text takes up more of the width of the cover without covering any of the face on the picture. I think he has found the right balance for the letter spacing because if the letters were kerned any more it would make it difficult to read, which is a common problem when kerning too much.

 This is another album cover by Barnbrook. It features a serif font that has finishing strokes on the arms, stems, and tails of the characters. This may be to match the image which shows a suit, both suggest formal and sophisticated.  However on the smaller font used for 'DAVID BOWIE' in the top right corner, the letters 'v' and 'o' have less weight and aren't serifed. The letter 'w' then has even less weight and also isn't serifed. I don't know if the letters 'v', 'o' and 'w' symbolise or represent something or maybe the 'w' isn't serifed because it may come across as two v's stuck together.  Another possible reason is so that the hairline of the letter 'A' does not look out of place. The font is all in upper case. I think this is because it means there is no ascending or descending height and they are all level.

David Carson Research

David Carson:
David Carson (born 1954) is an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design and use of experimental typography. He was the art director for the magazine 'Ray Gun', in which he employed much of the typographic and layout style for which he is known.

David often distorts his typography or breaks it up or does something unusual. None of his designs feature plain text, in the same colour and font size in a justified arrangement.

Here the word 'legibility' is broken up with kerning spaces that vary after each letter. The font colour is white on a background of black so it stands out. This is known as reverse type. The background is actually made up of black text in a small font so its quite compact and close to a solid fill. The text is ragged right left but isn't centred. Above and below this is more text in a smaller font. Above is black text and below is white text on a solid black background. Both are separated by a vertical line after every character, including spaces. Above is black lines to break up the white background and below are white lines to break up the black background. This also makes you stutter as you read it and emphasises the message.  

 

This design features centred text that is ragged right left. The actual typeface is very slim and quite tall. This is contradicted by the enclosed loops found on the letters 'b' and 'a' that are filled in. The fill colour is a dark grey whereas the text is in fact black. Therefore I don't think this is part of the typeface but just added on top. Also the vertex's and apex's on the letters 'w' and 'n' are thicker, which stands out clearly amongst the thin strokes on all the other letters. Another thing I noticed is there is no line spacing, for example the word 'black' sits on top of 'swan' and actually makes contact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a double page spread from a magazine. The text bleeds from the left page to the right. The text on the left page is white so it stands out against the dark photo in the background (this is known s reverse type). However the background does not continue onto the right page with the text. The background on the right page is white meaning the text wont be seen on it. Therefore the text on the right page is black. This change doesn't happen conveniently between words in a sentence, like 'American Airlines',

 

it happens halfway through the letter 'u' in the word 'bounce' which some may find makes the word difficult to read. Here David changes the font size of each word and in some cases each letter. Also the letters don't share a base line, some words are vertical, some are horizontal, and in the word 'bounce' the first three letters start at a different height almost as if they're actually bouncing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Gill Research

Eric Gill:
Eric Gill (1882-1940) was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and print maker who was associated with the arts and craft movement. In 1925 he designed the 'Perpetua' typeface with the uppercase based upon monumental Roman inscriptions. He then designed Gill Sans in 1927-1930 based on the sans serif lettering originally designed for the London Underground. He collaborated with Edward Johnston in the early design of the Underground typeface but dropped out before it was completed. In 1930-31 he designed the typeface Joanna. Below are these typefaces.

Here is the old London Underground design that Eric contributed to and inspired his Gill Sans font. The first and last letters are a larger font size then a border is added above and below the smaller middle letters so that the whole strip is the same height and nothing is ascending or descending out of this area. The two borders could represent rail tracks as they are parallel. The font used for 'London' and 'Transport' seems to have less weight, probably because it is a smaller font size and so is clearer like this. All the text is in upper case. This also increases readability. This logo has since been changed, this could suggest Eric Gills design was not successful. However it may have just been changed to stay relevant and modern.

"An in-situ example of Gill's design and personal cutting of his Perpetua typeface can be found in the nave of Poling church in West Sussex, on a wall plaque commemorating the life of Sir Harry Johnston."

Here is Eric Gills Perpetua typeface. It is a serifed font. Here the letters are kerned quite close together throughout but the spacing between the words vary on each line. For example the first line reads' In Memory Of'. The spaces in between these words is noticeably bigger than the spacing between 'Author And Painter' five lines down. This is because the first line has less characters on and so takes up less of the width of the plaque. To make it take up more room without increasing the font size it has to be kerned between words . The text here is centred, ragged right left and all in uppercase. This makes it symmetrical and professional.

80's Day Write Up

To embrace the 1980's theme we had an 80's dress up day. This meant we wore 80's outfits/ accessories as research rather than sitting at a computer all day. We got into groups based on what time during the 80's we were dressed up as. Then we had to design 5 boards in the style of the groups fashion era. These would be used in a presentation with relevant 80's music. One group represented woman empowerment and wore neon coloured leg warmers and hair bands. Their boards were decorated in this fun, lively vibrant style. They then performed a dance showing the boards to 80's music. Another group represented the club rave scene so designed their boards with words like 'rave' and smiley faces symbolising drugs. They performed a dance to 80's music. My group represented the early-mid eighties as I was wearing a Katherine Hammnet style t-shirt. We painted 'PEACE, 'SAVE THE FUTURE', EDUCATION NOT MISSILES', 'USE A CONDOM' and 'CHOOSE LIFE' across our boards. These were all slogans Katherine Hammnet used on her t-shirts. For our presentation we walked robotically to 80's music showing out protest boards then screamed out each message before praying at the end. This was to symbolise that we were praying for these changes and the less loud and lively approach was to keep the emphasis on the protest messages.

1980's MAGAZINE DESIGN - V&A Visit

Our brief is based around a 1980’s theme. For primary research we visited the ‘Club To Catwalk’ exhibition at the V&A museum in London. This showed all the fashion styles that were popular in the 80’s. A lot of the fashion was inspired by the club scene at the time and the vibrant city nightlife. This is why it’s named ‘club to catwalk’ because the innovative outfits that people wore to the nightclubs became fashionable and advertised on catwalks. 

Throughout the decade numerous styles became popular.  The reason so many new styles were created and became popular was due to the clubs. Everyone that went to nightclubs wanted the best outfit that was one of a kind. People would make a new outfit each time they went to a club. Some clubs even didn’t let people in unless their outfit was original. This meant that new styles were created often and fashion phases didn’t last that long.

It is said that the risk takers behind these styles remain some of the most influential figures in fashion today. Some famous designers include Vivienne Westwood. She brought Punk/Goth fashion to mainstream. This style included mainly black clothing or dark clothing. Black leather was a big feature along with Dr. Martens boots and studded accessories. This was hugely influenced by/associated with rock music as this was the style of clothing they would wear. She also brought Glam Fetish and Bondage fashion to the mainstream by selling this style in her shop ‘SEX’.

She also designed Blitz Denim clothing for brands such as Levi Strauss along with John Galliano, another famous designer. These involved custom denim jackets with random shapes bleached and materials added.

Another famous designer was Katherine Hammnet who became famous for her oversized t-shirts with political messages on in large text. This shows that there were other influences other than music. Some of the messages included ‘58% Don’t Want Pershing’, ‘Thatcher Out’ and ‘Save The Future’.

Other subcultures include the popularity of knitwear and use of new fabrics such as stretchable material that creates a hugging fit.

Also there was Hard Times which involved ripped t-shirts and leather jackets which represented masculinity and being tough.

  

Another style was New Romantic which was influenced by punk where males would wear loads of eye liner, frilly shirts and clothing that would normally be aimed at the opposite sex. The reason this style was so popular may have been due to the recent discovery of AIDS and the fact that homosexual relationships were becoming more in the open than in previous decades. This suggests that this style was an opportunity for gay men in particular to express themselves more freely.

Overall it seems that the more eccentric your fashion style idea was the more popular it became. The main place to show off unique outfits was in clubs, which meant music was a big influence.

Overall Evaluation

The head of the Refectory required a complete rebrand of the Refectory area. To achieve this I had to design the following:

• a logo
• strap-line
• signs that show opening and closing times
• a welcome sign
• a wall illustration
• signage (for example Salad Bar)

The designs had to be colourful, quirky and in line with the student audience. The client said that she liked the branding of places like Costa Coffee and similar establishments.

I feel I have met all the client requirements and made successful designs that will rebrand the Refectory's current corporate identity.

For example I have made designs that are closely linked and share the same theme. This includes using the same font and same colours on all the designs. Also my final pieces are specifically designed so that they can be painted on the walls. This means making them and maintaining them will be low cost. This meets the restriction they had which was a low budget. Another restriction they had was that certain areas had to be kept free of signage/advertising such as the large windows. I also met this restriction by designing my pieces for specific areas that we had permission to use.

Throughout my designs you will notice I took a simplistic approach. After researching existing logos and menus I decided this style was most effective as designs where there is too much happening can look messy and unprofessional. This simple approach also helps the designs look sophisticated which is the ambience given off by places like Costa and Starbucks and is therefore successful. This is also the route students felt the rebrand should take as the refectory's current vibe is that its not age appropriate.

Final Designs - Presentation

All the final designs feature the same light shade of green. This is because it compliments the dark red walls of the Refectory and symbolises fresh, healthy food. The CMYK code is:

C:55  

M:0    

Y:100

K:0   

This is the Welcome sign presentation slide. Since the last development I did I have changed the number '2' to the word 'to' as it is much more formal and looks more professional. I like the fact that the words 'Welcome to' stand out from the logo as they are in a heavier font, in capitals, and outlined in green with a white fill, rather than just block filled in green.

Additional Information:

The font used for the words 'welcome to' is September Heavy. The font used for the words 'eight' and 'three' is September Medium'. The font used for the word 'till' is September Medium Italic.

This is the logo presentation slide. It shows the logo with and without the strapline, in colour and in black and white. This shows that the logo can work in black and white on letterheads for example, as well as in colour. Although the design is very simple, I think this is what makes it successful. Also I used a maximum of three colours (green black and white) inspired by my research as it is effective and a nice balance, as more can often look messy or not look harmonious.

Additional Information:

The font used for the words 'eight' and 'three' is September Medium'. The font used for the words 'till' and 'breakfast brunch lunch' is September Medium Italic.

This is the reception advertisement presentation slide. I am happy with the outcome as the times stand out and are easy to read which wouldn't be the case if they were in the September font and in green. Also the arrows are helpful because they point you in the direction of the refectory which will benefit visitors. The timings are important on this design because if they weren't there, visitors may not realise 'eight till three' is a canteen. This is because without the strapline there is no suggestion of food. Finally I like the fact that the arrows stand out from the logo as they are outlined in green with a white fill, rather than just block filled green.

Additional Information:

The font used for the words 'eight' and 'three' is September Medium'. The font used for the word 'till' is September Medium Italic. The font used for the timings is Helvetica.

This is the signage presentation slide. I am happy with the outcome as the heavy font in capitals makes it easy to read, even from a distance. I think these will really benefit people that don't use the canteen often of have never been at all because it informs you what and where things can be bought. Also the symbol '&' on the drinks & snacks sign is just outlined in green with a white fill. This breaks the long sign up.

Additional Information:

The font used is September Heavy.

This is the wall illustration presentation slide. I am happy with this design as it will break up the large red wall. Also the fact that it is the steam section from the logo makes it relevant. I think I found a good balance between too many steamy pictures and not enough and the fact that one is larger in the centre and outlined in green, prevents it from being boring and repetitive.

Additional Information:

This design is to feature one big steam picture in a green outline in the centre, then as many smaller block filled steamy pictures needed to fill the space.

This is the open sign presentation slide. I'm glad I chose to use the logo as the information on this sign as I think its quirky and effective. Also, incorporating the logo on different things (like Starbucks and Costa do on their cups, mugs napkins etc.) makes the logo more recognisable. The fact that the knife and fork are traced from the ones that are used in the refectory makes it more relevant and personal as well. Once again I like the fact that the word 'open' stands out from the logo as it is in a heavier font, in capitals, and outlined in green with a white fill, rather than just block filled green.

Additional Information:

The font used for the word 'open' is September Heavy. The font used for the words 'eight' and 'three' is September Medium'. The font used for the word 'till' is September Medium Italic.

Please note this background has been kept white. The logo and additional pieces are designed so that they can be placed upon any surface within the refectory. The signage can be printed onto clear vinyl for glass or see-through surfaces. The green colour scheme is designed as such to compliment the existing colour scheme in the refectory.

Wall Illustration Development

Here are my wall illustration designs. Three include the steam from the logo and one includes the cutlery from the refectory which I found more suitable to a younger target audience. All designs would be in white on top of the already red walls. I chose the third design as it breaks up the red wall more effectively and looks funkier.  

Here is my illustration that I chose in colour. After doing this I decided that it doesn't come across as the steam from my logo easily.

Signage Development

Here are my sign designs. I have designed signs for the pillars that advertise each section of the refectory. I experimented with placement, fonts, and capital letters. I chose to use the second 'Salad bar' design for all my final signs as I felt it was easiest to read.

Here are the designs in colour. I think the  Heavy font is effective as it means they will stand out and can be seen from further away.

Open/Close Sign Development

Here are my open sign designs. I chose to use the last design as I thought it would be quirky to use the logo as the opening time.

Here is the same design in colour. I think it looks good but will look better when done on Illustrator as the knife and fork will look more professional and neat. Once again I used the first word in just a green outline and so it stands out from the logo. This sign uses September Heavy for the word 'open' and it is in capitals.