Studio Brief 4 - Typography Development

Studio Brief 4 - Reflective Practise - Speaking from experience  

Typography Development 

I wanted to experiment with a range of typefaces to find an appropriate face. The typeface needs to be legible so it can easily be seen in passing and from a distance. At the start of the year we were asked to name our favourite typeface mine was Helvetica however Simon said that hopefully by the end of the year we will have a new one as helvetica was quite common. I wanted to introduce new students to some more typefaces that they may not have yet come into contact with to expand their knowledge of type. I chose to trial Helvetica, Din and Brandon Grotesque as I felt they were all clearly legible yet had their own unique features. 

I chose to trial Helvetica due to its legibility, I have found it looks great when used purely as text on a plain background like in the american apparel campaigns however felt it was too obvious and not experimental enough. 

I then trailed Din which I had only been introduced to this year, I liked the legibility of Din and its structured style which made it easy to read. I have used Din throughout the year and is becoming one of my favourite alternatives to Helvetica. 

Finally I trailed Brandon Grotesque, this the newest typeface of my sample so would give students an introduction to contemporary typefaces. I also chose this face for its legibility, I liked the low x height and geometric structure as it made the block of text aesthetic pleasing. 

I then asked a range of students and lecturers to vote on which typeface they felt worked the best in context. I found there was extremely strong support for DIN as 10 people said this was the most appropriate typeface, only 1 person picked helvetica and nobody picked Brandon Grotesque. This informed my decision to use DIN as my typeface in my final resolution to the brief.