Informational Typography

This is another one of those informational typography posters I enjoy oh so much. It is set up in the style of a periodic table of elements from chemistry.  Although this chart is not large enough to hold all of the different font types the world has to offer, it definitely highlights some of the more important ones. Each typeface's box is represented by the font itself, showing some of the individual characteristics of them. 

typographic "flair" that ruins work

Ok, technically, this is not a typo. Practice can be spelled "practise", it is a form of the word in the dictionary... However, I really don't think it has much of a place in this piece. It looks like more of a typo than a typographic statement. I actually like the concept of this piece, but cannot seem to get away from the odd spelling of the word "practise". Overall, my point is that the spelling in a composition is incredibly important. Regardless if it is spelled correctly, it may not be the visually acceptable way to spell it.

Animated Typography

I think this is a great example of animated typography. I had been looking at a few examples of animated type clips, and was sorely disappointed at the lack of coordination in most of them. This one actually reads very well.  It moves fast enough to keep the reader interested and on their toes, without running the words together making it look like one big blur. Plus, if you recognize the dialogue, this is a funny part in a great movie... Snatch!

Who the "Flick" signed off on this!

 

Wow! In all actuality, someone had to sign off on this.  If you haven't caught on yet, this actually says Mega"Flicks", not to be confused with its optical name "MegaFucks". Either way, I would imagine that someone was paid for this horrible blunder of a storefront logo. How many people wander into this store looking for a specific genre of product...? "Do you guys sell blow-up dolls?"

Informational Poster Designs

If you can see this poster well enough, it is awesome! This is a map of typographical history, with many of its creators listed as well.  The piece is also showing where these more popular type-faces originated from around the globe.  I really enjoy informational posters and layouts that are meant to be displayed in a large fashion, like this one. Something like this would look great in a studio environment, spanning the whole of a small wall in a think tank room, just waiting to inspire the next big idea. I would love to take the time and research a certain topic, and be able to display it in an informational and graphically pleasing layout such as this one. One other example of posters like this I have seen, was a giant poster of the Periodic Table of Elements. Each element had its own informational box, placed in the corresponding spot that it would be in a normal periodic chart. The layout also included precisely drawn diagrams of the Earth and the galaxy around us, and how the elements were tied into them. Some more diagrams on the poster included the elemental make-up of some living organisms on Earth, such as humans and trees, along with some more informational bits here and there. Basically is what  I am getting at, is that designs like these, leave you staring at the piece for what seems like forever, and yet, there is still more information to soak in! It leaves you wanting to come back for more. Something you can easily use as inspiration, or information, or both! To me, this is one aspect of good design; a design that can be viewed over and over again and not necessarily get old.

Helvetica???

Helvetica... Why is it so popular? Helvetica is definitely pleasant in many ways. It is very friendly to the reader and a san serif style font, making it more modern-like. It has excellent symmetry throughout its structure; shown for example by the letter "e", being sculpted out of what looks like a perfect circle. The lower-case letters are tall in comparison to the capitals, giving the font style as a whole, a very dominant and visually pronounced look. Simply put, you just cant miss it. Also, I cannot seem to draw my eyes away from the minuscule size tail on the lower-case letter "a". This is just another characteristic of the Helvetica font family that leaves others, including myself, puzzled as to why it just works so well.

I thought this picture showed how much variety was in this font family, and maybe an insight into how useful it can be. After writing the first paragraph of this post, I never realized how much I actually enjoy Helvetica. To be honest, I never really thought about it. I always just thought it was trendy and a font students heard their teachers reference over and over... That just goes to show you how ignorant I was to it, literally, until I came across this image. Now, I cannot just look at it as another regular font used for body copy or headings. Although, it does serve great for those purposes, but so many more as well. I look forward to creatively trying to incorporate it into some of my work throughout the future.

Label Critique

Overall I dig it. I really like the concept, and there is a ton of typography tied into it. The fonts chosen are appropriate, they are modern and clean; neatly kerned. The logo is the initials, and at the same time, is showing the concept of piano and music. Nicely done. However, I would want to see what it looks like with a bit less leading between the logo and the name. Aside from that, the hierarchy is displayed very nicely, and the concept is totally clear. Before you even read the words "Piano Service" you already know that it is about pianos. Putting those actual words there only furthers the understanding to the viewer of the services offered. Without them the logo would still work, but you might wonder if they sell pianos, teach music, deal with more than just pianos, etc... So all in all, leading issue aside, this logo is very effective in communicating hierarchy, significant elements, and overall purpose.