JUNGLE SANS The complete process and specimen book
JUNGLE SANS a typeface designed by Abigail Garrison for McConkey’s Jungle Shack at Edisto Beach
CONTENTS
PROBLEM AND RESEARCH 4 CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT 10 SOLUTION 18 CREDITS 28
PROBLEM AND RESEARCH
THE PROBLEM
McConkey’s Jungle Shack is a jungle-themed restaurant one block from the shore at Edisto Beach. The restaurant currently does not have a consistent typeface used for their branded materials. They use a variety of typefaces for their logo, menu, and website, so there is not one typeface used to represent their brand. The restaurant was in need of a typeface specifically designed for them to communicate the beachy, jungle theme they use and stand out as being distinctive and having character.
RESEARCH
My research started with looking at other typeface specimens in Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces. A few of the ones I looked at as a reference for creating Jungle Sans were Futura and Kabel. Futura had the geometric quality that seemed appropriate for the beach theme. The distinctive characters in Kabel, especially the C and K, were similar to what I was looking to create. I also looked on Pinterest for images relating to the beach and the jungle to see what styles of typefaces were commonly used in those contexts. I commonly saw the faded-out typeface used frequently on t-shirts and other items that can be purchased in beach stores, and worked to combine this style with the referenced typefaces as a basis for Jungle Sans.
AaBbCcD dEeFfGg HhIiJjKk LlMmNn OoPpQq RrSsTtUu VvWwX xYyZz AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHh IiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQq QqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYy 0123456789.’!?
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
KEY CHARACTERS
The key characters of Jungle Sans are K and S. These are the characters that were designed to be distinctive and define the typeface. They stand out in the name of McConkey’s Jungle Shack, the restaurant that this typeface was designed for. These characters both went through multiple variations before landing on the final versions. The focus was to make these characters stand out while still remaining cohesive as a uniform typeface. The scans from my sketchbook show the progression of these two key characters over time through the process of reworking and refining them. The minuscule k pictured uses the same curve as the x and the majusscule S is based on the shape of the 8. The S was the most difficult of the two as I worked to make the curves smooth and ensure that the shape of the character matched other elements of the typeface.
S
UNIFYING SHAPES
One of the most commonly repeated shapes used to unify the typeface was the minuscule o. It was used in the a, b, c, d, e, g, p, q, and x, and was the basis for the 8 as well. This can be seen more clearly in the full specimen. The majuscule O was the basis for the C, G, and Q, and is demonstrated to the right by the overlap of the O over the other characters that use it. The P was another character with a repeating shape. It was repeated in the B and the R with minor visual adjustments. The repetition of a few select shapes allowed the characters within the typeface to become more unified and cohesive.
OPO OC GO Q PB P R
PROGRESSION
The minuscule a, b, d, p, and q all use the same basic shape that is reflected vertically or horizontally. Initially they were composed of a combination of the minuscule l and o, but they were not connected and were two separate shapes that touched. The width on each character was uneven, as indicated by the pink line. All 3 lines are the same width. These characters were modified so that they still used the minuscule o and l, but were more connected so the two shapes overlapped to form single unified characters. As shown by the pink line, after being updated, they are all now the same width, making the characters more uniform.
adp
SOLUTION
ABCDEFGHI JKLMNOPQR STUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 .’?!&
CREDITS
https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/color-tshirt-mockup_5533384. htm#page=2&query=tshirt+mockup&position=25 https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/paper-bag-mockup-shelf_11679166. htm#page=1&query=paper%20bag%20mockup&position=11 https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/restaurant-menu-concept-mock-up_8359784. htm#page=8&query=restaurant+menu+mockup&position=23 https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/rustic-style-sign-mockup-seafoodrestaurant_3891839.htm#page=1&query=restaurant%20mockup&position=53 https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/500ml-fresh-water-bottle-mockup_11960395. htm https://www.pinterest.com/pin/339810734392674748/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/339810734392674729/ https://unsplash.com/photos/alcyHsT3z1M?utm_source=unsplash&utm_ medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink https://unsplash.com/photos/7i3eQOrr-1Q?utm_source=unsplash&utm_ medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink https://unsplash.com/photos/enK1Q14Dt6s?utm_source=unsplash&utm_ medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink