Caroline Plenge
GRA2208C Typography
This book is called “The Enchanted World, Wizards and Witches”, by Brendan Lehane and the Editors of Time-Life Books. This is a book I’ve had on my shelf for years but have never read more than a few pages. While I do like the gold lettering, it is a little difficult to read from the left but is easily read from the right. The font is the same, the difference between the reflective gold lettering of “The Enchanted World” and the yellow/tan lettering of “Wizards and Witches” does not sit very well with me. It did not bother me until I noticed the two were different, I wish they had the latter in gold lettering as well, I think it might pull the book cover together more. The arch with the wizard within feels a bit disjointed from the red background and the gold lettering and dragon. The amulet he wears does match the red background, but otherwise the image feels a little disjointed. I think there are several aspects here that would work together if tweaked slightly. For example, if the type was the same golden color, or if the red background was a deep blue or maybe even purple.
To continue with the dog theme this week, this is a carwash just down the road from my Nanny, it caught my sister’s eye and she asked if it said “Jop Doc, Toe Dog, Joe Dog? Oh, Top Dog”. This led to us laughing as we turned around to take a picture to use as a bad example, I doubt that was the intended reaction the artist was looking for. We pulled into the parking lot and I was able to get a picture of the sign as well as to see that the leading between the words “Top” and “Dog” is (probably purposefully) nonexistent. These words are smushed into one another, this is what caused poor legibility from the road. To be fair, the “Express Car Wash” portion is easily seen and it’s only the “Top Dog” portion that is difficult to read from a distance. That being said, this sign is meant to be seen from the road. I like the overall design, but all it needs is a few points of space between the lines to make sure the individual characters are visible. The “TD” within the “O” in “Top” looks like a little dog tag, I love the creativity and wanted to point it out as well, even though this is being used as my bad example.
I went to visit my Nanny, my mom’s mom, May 26th-29th. She lives in Solivita. Within Solivita there are little communities, those that have a “V” are designed just as the “V” in the photo shows (e.g., Terra Vista, Treviso, Alta Vista, etc.). I took this photo rather than one of the monument signs because of the mix of a softer font with a more rigid one. It reflects the stylized “V” nestled between the I’s within the capitalized, loosely tracked “Solivita”. The text is easy to read, and it is memorable. It helps a bit that there is also a Solivita Marketplace just across from the group of communities, the signs all bear the same style and it brings consistency to the whole area. The softer cursive of “Model Park” draws your eye down gently to show the offer of a tour through a model. Just below, in capitalized contrasting dark font, the “55+Resort-Style-Living” politely and firmly tells us this is a retirement community. Lastly, and lightly, the owner’s name. I think this sign is very well put together. It feels clean, it’s easy to read, and there’s a dog to look at. All jokes aside, it feels effortless, and it takes effort to give that kind of air.
This was a record at my Nanny’s (my mom’s mom), and is my example of bad typography this week. Before I go on, I do like the overall design of this piece. My main focus will be on the last of the names written in blue (or teal?), primarily the bottom seven. The color choice doesn’t work, the colors are complimentary, but the contrast is too high and causes issues with readability. If the artist had played with shades and tints within the color scheme, they might have been able to resolve the problem with a very slight adjustment. Otherwise, if the text was not placed in front of the images making up the woman’s hair, I think it might have resolved this. I believe the text was kept in its place to flow and reflect the shape of the text on the left side of the cover and to fill the space, but that’s just my guess. This is definitely a busy piece of art, and while most of it works, the one little issue with the text being hard to read really pulls away from the whole design. I do want to add in that the fun font chosen for “20s solid gold hits” suits the theme of the design very well, the colors go well and the funky shapes and missing counter’s give a unique feel to the words.
My sister gave me this little poster a while ago, I have kept it at my desk since. I love the layered wavy text, it is easy to read and feels like it is coming towards you (the reader, rather), or rather on its way to float past the reader’s right shoulder. I think it’s the blobby, undefined background compared to the bold text that gives this illusion. It is a simple message, but a kind one. The layered text, orange on bottom, then pink, then white on top, works well with the amorphous background. The background reflects the same colors as the layered text but differs in that a few cool tones have been added, I think this brings more contrast and allows a better figure ground relationship. Another thing that I appreciate about this is that the letters are not all wavy in the same way. The three As for example, in the three middle lines, all have the same base shape but have been distorted uniquely, the designer did not just copy and paste but treated each letter as its own form and kept it in relation to the letters next to, but not above or below said letter.
I found this bag at CVS in Destin; I chose it for my poor example because of the lack of readability. The bag is a cute concept, the other colors weren’t as bad (you might be able to see that just to the right there is a similar back, it has a tie-dye pattern that is darker and the white font stands out much better), but the white text fades into the pink background, the blue leaves help, but they also add visual clutter. The text “the state of Florida” has no spaces between the words that I can see, and with it being randomly flipped upside down it is difficult to see. “Florida” isn’t as bad, but it’s the only other word on the bag. It is pasted many times, it’s just that the font size is increased. They could have kept the same color concept but just switch things around, if the background were white, the leaves pink, and the text blue, for example. Or if they simply chose a color that has more contrast for the text. The spacing, I don’t really understand. I don’t think it would have taken away from the design to make sure the words had spacing between them, to ensure that the individual words can be seen and understood. This bag just feels so busy, but it also doesn’t have a whole lot going on.
This is another sign, or home decor item, seen in passing in the company of my sister. I believe it says “My kids have paws.” But I initially saw the last word as “pany”, then “nany”. I stared at it for several minutes, wondering why the period was a pawprint, then I noticed the Y is an S! For such a simple sign, the readability is terrible. The font choice is questionable, I think there could have been a bit more contrast and a different font altogether for the second line. The color choice is fine, but the arrangement of text is off center and I am not sure that works for the piece here. I find myself wishing it was centered, there are no ascenders or descenders to clash with one another, so I don’t understand the reasoning for the text to be off centered. I suppose there does not have to be one, but my mind is stuck on that now. I think the black on off white is nice, though I do not like the combination with the color of the frame. At first glance, it looks like any other home décor item, but after a bit of study it becomes apparent that there are a few issues here that were never resolved.
Before I start pointing out what I think are faults, overall, this piece is readable. That being said, it feels crowded to me, and has poor visual hierarchy. There’s a lot going on and while I believe it was done to ensure understanding, it takes away from it more than it clarifies anything. (As a small sidenote, I just noticed the use of closure in the logo next to API). I think the bottommost blue text advertises well the multiple languages inside the instruction booklet, but they also copy the “tests ph., high...” text and pastes it just below, translated to Spanish (I believe). I like the uppermost section of this, the text is eye
catching and easy to read, but below that it starts to feel crowded, and you lose a bit of focus. I think they could have worked a bit more with the shape of the text to provide a smoother transition from one line of text to the next. Also, if the second turquoise line (mesure ph., high...) was removed (as this information is provided within the booklet) the designer could have worked a bit more to have it flow more nicely. I feel that the guide section with regular care/water problem solving is not needed, this page was not visible in the kit it was sold in, so takes up unnecessary space.
I was going on an impromptu road trip with my dad on Tuesday, May 24th, and we stopped by this coffee truck, Rise and Grind Coffee, parked in Eglin Air Force Base. I grabbed a dirty iced chai, and I highly recommend it if you haven’t tried one (chai tea with a shot of espresso). The first thing that caught my attention is that the logo is
easily legible and aesthetically pleasing. The font is simple and pretty, and it is consistent through the logo. The uniformity of the whole name being capitalized also ties the whole logo togeth-
er. The light woodgrain of the truck and of the sign itself create uniformity. The art around the coffee bean in the center of the sign is mirrored and flipped, as far as I can tell with my naked
eye, and this along with the greenery between the truck and the sign bring an organic feel to the aesthetic. The cup sleeve also had the logo printed on it, as well as the business card. The text on them is a bit lighter, I believe to help with legibility. While the business card did lose some detail in the art around the coffee bean, the name is still legible.
This is a sign a few minutes away from UWF. I’ve noticed it a few times passing on the way to school, and stopped on my most recent drive home to finally take a picture. I think it’s one of those things that didn’t bother me initially, but I wonder why the angle of the baseline between the letters “CY”, “PRE”, and “SS” is so harsh. I believe the designer was working with limited space and wanted to be sure the text was large enough to read from the road. But why couldn’t they choose a larger sign to work with in the first place? The fact that the topmost word is the only one on an arch also bothers me. Also, the fact that rather than working with a smooth line, it feels like an abrupt change. This isn’t a terrible use of typography, it is still readable, but it doesn’t stand out. Not included in this picture, but right next to this sign, is the green street sign showing the name of the small neighborhood. It just exacerbates these issues when placed right next to this sign. I think this could have been easily mended by better repetition of theme, whether that be straight or arched baselines, even if each descending line had less of an arch, or some other method. I feel it would have been easier on the eyes.
Along one of my usual commutes, I’ve noticed this sign a few times now. It bothers me that the bottom line of text is a noticeably smaller font size than the rest of the words. It calls attention to it, but not in a good way. It looks almost unfinished, like a rough draft. Overall, it’s not terrible. It has good readability and if they use “BIA” as an acronym it would help people understand quickly what it stands for. The heavy letters suggest professionalism. The colors, black on white, are high in contrast and help the characters stand out. That being said, while I see what was done right, the size of the font of the bottom word, “Association” is glaring me in the face. I can think of a few ways to resolve this, by changing the shape of the sign or the alignment of the letters for example,
but it leaves me wondering if the designer was short on time or resources. I also wonder a little bit about the font choice (though I might just be looking for more issues now that I’ve noticed one). While it, again, isn’t terrible, it doesn’t scream professional at me. It certainly isn’t an unprofessional font, it just feels a little too relaxed, but maybe the designer was aiming for a laid-back presence.
This was a landscaping truck I saw in passing a short while back, it stood out to me as clean. The dark blue text is gentler than black text, and the rounded letters are friendly. The sign itself is easy to read, and it doesn’t feel cluttered at all. There is visual hierarchy to lead the reader’s eye through the piece, and the color choices (white, green, and blue) are cohesive and calm. I think the further into this course I progress, the more I realize that a simple design oftentimes will catch your eye more easily than a cluttered one. In this week’s examples, my good one is very minimal and calm and my bad one is cluttered and hard to read in places because of a wide range of colors. It’s not that busy can’t work, it’s that without a focal point you can’t be sure of the order or importance of the message. While both examples have visual hierarchy, the good example is so much easier to read because it looks so clean. Also, I knew color was important, and I figured contrast was good to grab attention, but there is such a thing as too much visual noise.
I was wondering around Destin Commons Thursday (06/08) morning, I was in the area for a vet appointment, and noticed they’ve added ideas on the walls for children’s activities for vacationing families. They call them little adventures. The announcements were clean and cute. I love this idea, they used a lowercase i within the title, “LiTTLE ADVENTURES” to include kids, the little ones if you will. It’s so wholesome. The rest of the characters are capitalized but the whole title is bold and sans-serif. It’s direct without feeling loud. It is easy to read, and the dark blue font against the light blue background feels gentle. I think the color was chosen for that reason as well as to reflect the water-based activities they offer. Upon further research, you scan a QR code on the sign (or look them up online) and sign up for the activities on your phone. I think the simplicity of this idea really shines through, once you start bringing multiple fonts and colors and text sizes into play, there can be so much visual clutter to process before you actually get the message. It feels like a breath of fresh air to see a simple idea work so well.
This is a military housing development being built close to where I live in Fort Walton Beach. I’ve passed by it many times, and it catches my eye more often than not. It is a very tall, prominent sign. I added two pictures here, the first is a detail shot of the top of the sign containing the QR code and name of the community. I chose this for my good typography choice this week because of how clear the type is here. I love the white text on dark blue background. The second image is of the full sign, which I chose to add because I feel it was a strong choice to use a complex sign shape with simple, readable type. I think the vertical text is used in a way that works here. I know vertical text is an iffy choice that, if executed poorly, would only take away from the design here. That being said I think there is enough space between each word, and the A as a triangle helps separate that spot a bit more. something I also notice is the E in negative space, on the widest portion where the blue and white of the sign meet. Maybe it is a play on the two Es in the title? I wonder.
I have a lot of appreciation for the simplicity and directness of this sign. I’ve seen it more times than I can count, and I do remember liking the glasses as the g within Eyeglass World when I first saw it, before learning more about typography. Now that I know a bit more about typography, I have more respect for this sign. The blue capital letters are heavy and clear, and the lower-case red g catches your eye and shows a little bit of creativity within the confines of a single character. It is also a bit thinner than the rest of the characters making up the sign, but this does not detract from the sign at all. It has been raised slightly to maintain the shape of the words. The g representing eyeglasses within the word eyeglass is so simple, yet such a good idea. The colors are primary, red and blue, and are a nice shade that go well with the canopy below the sign, above the entrance of the shop. The simplicity lends to the directness of the sign, not only do you have a little pair of glasses on the sign, you have the word eyeglass. It says, and shows, what is inside the shop. It is cohesive, memorable, easily readable, and direct.
I think this is a solid design, and it is well executed.
This is a sign I saw on the way home, from Destin to Fort Walton Beach. I apologize for the fuzzy image. The first thing I noticed was that the designer chose a lowercase t and i in “executive”, the only conclusion I’ve come to when I ponder why is that the ascender and the tittle (the dot over the i) balance out the water droplet. It’s besides the point but I don’t feel that a single water droplet is a good image for a carwash (especially an executive express one). After taking a fresh look, I wonder if there might be more lower-case letters in the word “executive” then I initially saw, but I’m not certain. The word “express” is capitalized, and there is an elongated stroke between the E and S that I think they could have worked with. Either that or adjust the letterspacing so the reader’s eye isn’t drawn to it. When it comes to “carwash” my only complaint is that I think a smaller font would look nicer. The three words could have tapered down nicely with just a slight adjustment. I do like the gradient in the word “executive”. It might be the quality of the photo, but the blend is not smooth between the light gray/blue and dark blue. That being said, these colors work well to give an official or executive feel.
This was a shop I passed by in Tallahassee several weeks ago, the same week as our first entry. How time flies. It caught my attention because of the sign, I thought it was a very nice execution of a creative plan. “Full Press” is a desaturated yellow that calls (but doesn’t scream) for atten-tion. The letters are cursive, and there’s an arch to the shape of the top of the characters (the bottom remains flat). The word underneath, “apparel” is white on the sign (to contrast with the dark gray background) and on the building it is not white but the same shade of gray as the shirt sign. It is consistent without being exact. This does not have to do with typography, but I didn’t realize until after looking back at the picture that the chain holding the sign/shirt up continues as what looks to be a chain necklace over the shirt sign. Overall, this is a simple design. But as I’ve said before (and I’m sure I’ll say again in the relative future), simple is oftentimes best. There must be a spark to catch your attention, but too much can turn someone away just as too little can.
I met my cousin a week ago at Grand Boulevard to take some engagement photos for her, and caught this sign. It’s a nice area and I didn’t see any bad examples of typography, but this is the only thing that really jumped out at me. Altar’d State is a women’s clothing store. It doesn’t give much away from the title, other that it’s putting a modern twist on an otherwise plain sign. I initially thought it was “altered state”, as in alter-to change (a building) or tailor (clothing), but it is spelled “altar” as in a table or flat-topped block (religious, ritual sacrifices or offerings). After a little searching, they are a Christian organization: “Our mission is to serve as an inspiration, empower others and give more than we receive. We do this by lifting those who need a helping hand, volunteering our time to enrich lives, and extending the power of prayer.” (Quote found directly on their website, https:// www.altardstate.com/stand-out-for-good/).
The thing that caught my attention, as I’m sure it did yours, is the backwards D. I really didn’t like it at first, it sat with me a moment, and then I loved it. it doesn’t affect the readability, for myself at least. The words still look clean and professional. The text being sans serif, and the twist of the D being backwards lends a modern feel as well. The only other letter that really catches my eye is the R, it has a little movement in its leg. I think the curve there lends to the negative space between the R, the apostrophe, and the backwards D. Though it doesn’t lend to the characters, I wanted to comment that I like the arches in front of the bricks, I think this helps transition from the dark storefront to the light brick wall.
