Brief:
Working individually and as part of a team, using only typography and design principles, reflect the meaning of a quote, in a poster.
Quote:
You can do a good ad without good
typography, but you can’t do a great ad
without good typography.Herb Lubalin
Version:
3 typefaces, unlimited point size, 1 colour
Digital Mockups
I continued to create a series of digital mockups for the poster. This time I purchased a subscription with the Monotype Library so that I was able to have access to the typefaces created by Herb Lubalin, particularly Ronda and Avant Garde. I drew a lot of inspiration from designs that Lubalin had created himself, and noticed the importance of smaller margins, leading and connection of the letters to each other. The various mockups are using different effects, and there was a gradual process or evolution within the mockups, where I arrived at a place where I wanted to use two columns, and then a contrast between the black and white.
After sharing a few designs on the blackboard discussion board, I received feedback from my eLa, that the two column design had good potential. It was suggested that I utilise each size to represent bad and good typography practices. In some of the examples, I haven’t been faithful completely, and had to stop myself from continuing to use uppercase…
After receiving more feedback from my group and the discussion board, I went with using ITC Avant Garde Gothic W1G, and used the typeface Extra Light version for the top ‘bad’ half, Medium for the majority of the second half with Bold on the word great. For the authors name, I used medium and bold. For the right side of the poster that is closed in colour, I went for very tight leading, compressed tracking and tightening of kerning between letters (especially the two o’s in good). I used the computer generated All Small Caps, because this is the ‘bad’ way to do it, and titled the word typography, so that it was just ever so slightly out of alignment with the other text. I thought that this created a very subtle but obvious discussion between the lower half that is a lot more legible in lower case and with greater leading.
In the final, I decided to use a colour that was used in other group member posters, or similar. I tried a few different shades, but found that the darker was more appropriate, so that the text could be read clearly. It’s important to note that many of my group members used elements of line, and this has been included in mine as well through the triangle, but most clearly in the authors name, so that there is a consistent element (as well as colour).
