Typography (Post#1)

For this year's ISTD competition project, I have decided to do the Mutton Quad brief. In the brief it says:"We want you to create a concept for the branding of a typographically themed restaurant, hence the title Mutton Quad. This should be a thorough appraisal of the possibilities of not only the visual identity but how the typographic theme could permeate all aspects of the place."

I'm actually not that confident with typography so as a starting point, I've looked through examples on how people have expressed their ideas/messages through type.

  

   

During research I've learned that Typography is not just strictly about conveying informations but emotions as well. In order to do this, typographers/designers treat typography as image. They pay attention to each of the characters' shape, size, colour, style, position and direction to effectively communicate the message.

The logo of the Gordon Ramsay's TV programme is a great example of good typography. It doesn't only reflect the nature of the programme but the personality of the head chef as well. Gordon Ramsay is known as someone who is hot-tempered, someone who shouts, screams and swears a lot, so the person who designed the logo has decided to use colour that compliments Ramsay's personality. The "f" here has got double meanings: one is for "food" and the other one for the swear word. It is clearly emphasised by having it in larger type and different colour. The character has also been altered so that it would be shaped like a knife (which associates with food).

Other typographers also communicate their idea, by creating an image out of type. The image of Barack Obama below was made out of 20,000 words . Each word varies in colour and size to creatively form the typographical portrait of the US president. Thinking about my theme, with this approach, I could have a plate of food, with chips and pease that's made up of all typographic characters/sentences, or a chef's face that's made up of food menu that he's popular for.

It add supports to the idea and deliver the message more effectively 

Expressing the nature of object through type has also been one of the effective ways in delivering idea. Here, I like the way that Galaxy chocolate company chosen Cuisine type for its logo. It goes well with chocolate and reminds us of the smoothness and gooeyness of the object.

Things can also be expressed with the way that typography has been treated. One example is the one below.

The typography in this poster is very dynamic

as its aim is to represent a dangerous road.

So I guess, what I'm basically doing here is to play with type. Typography is just shape that I can play with in same way as image. There is no specific style that I need to follow. It is just about the way I interpret the graphic element.