• OUTDOOR DIRECTIONAL TYPE

Seek and find an example of outdoor directional type.

Del Monte

I was hungry for lunch when I stumbled across this beauty. This typeface is reminiscent of the early gothic fonts created during the 11th-12th Centuries. The e letterform mirrors the typeface the most with it's strong contrast of thin and thick strokes. However, the weight of the stroke of Del Monte is much thicker and bolder overall than the original versions, and is very similar to a typeface called Chaucer designed by William Morris in the early19th Century. His typeface reflects the original gothic typefaces very well, however the descenders are not as exaggerated, and the weight of the strokes are heavier.
Del Monte has adapted the style of Chaucer typeface, however the Del Monte has more weight in the stroke of each letter. Also, the stems are more elongated than the Chaucer typeface, and have an overall rond form to their shape. This increases legibility and adapts the typeface for a more contemporary use of today, while still paying homage to the original gothic typefaces.

.....now time for dinner....

looking at the past

I thought this shows an interesting process of type design. Even though every typeface is unique this example shows how it always derives from one or more old typefaces. In this case, the font was influenced by the old typefaces Charter and Arcadia.

My Savior, The Pita Chips.

hey ya'll,

so, after finding out I was doing the assignment wrong, spending hours flipping through our textbook, I finally became discouraged and looked to my comfort food...pita chips. While angrily munching away, I started reading the back of the bag and noticed that it incorporated several different fonts/styles and sizes. The 'NEW YORK CITY'S' font, found in the middle of the paragraph between 'many of' and 'traditional' caught my eye because of it's unique signature within the leg of the 'R'. The 'R' is identical to the R found in the Century Schoolbook font. After looking at all the letters, I found that almost all the letters matched between the two fonts, except for the letter 'E'. Also, the font on the bag had a heavier stroke weight than Century Schoolbook. I believe that this is where the modifications came in. The font on the bag alters Century Schoolbook through the weight of the strokes and by removing the serif on the middle leg on the letter 'E', and instead leaving only the serifs on the top and bottom of the 'E'. Other than that, I remaining letters in the fonts are almost identical. I thought it was pretty cool how such a simple change could modify a font so much. If you can find a font that better matches this than Century Schoolbook let me know!

BenJAMMIN

I went to walgreens looking for school supplies, but spotted this book on Benjamin Franklin and immediately realized the cover used the font Bodoni. This font which, we've all learned about, was designed in the 18th century and was designed to have a modern look at the time. The designer of this bookcover probably used Bodoni to give it an "antique" look with reference to Benjamin Franklin, and at the same time, give it a contemporary twist.

Hey guys. Well, I took a picture of some dollar bills here. I did some research on the font used all over the bill and it's pretty interesting. The font is not actually issued to the public due to copyright policies, but it is almost identical to Engravers MT, which is an all caps font that originated from copperplate and steelplate presses from the 19th century. It soon became a staple font around the turn of the 20th century, and today it is on our bills. I suppose the bills are printed with this font because it is very elegant and strong but also appears authentic.

this is an old composite i found in the Kappa Sig house from the 1990s. The composites still have the same look to it but with a more decorative typeface. This type found on this composite is obviously influenced by the old english style lettering, much like lindsay's Dallas morning news. the fraternity was founded in the 1800s with an extensive history, and we probably use this type on the composite photos to give it that historical feeling to it.

comin to town!

This jewel poster was designed in the style of the lithograph and letterpress posters of the turn of the century. It feeds off of many graphic elements of the circuses of the time. Specifically, the ornate slab-serif typeface of "JEWEL." The gaudy, aggressive quality was meant to grab the attention of the common man as the circus traveled through american towns. It was also meant to imply the importance of this exciting event (big letters for a big deal). A psychological tool that is equally effective today.

this is a T-shirt i found at the mall. at first i thought it was bush which would have made it even better but i thought it was pretty hillarious anyway. the old english like font is kindof equated with being "gangster" because of the thick strokes and the pointed edges. This is not a ladylike font. I like how this old gothic english font is paralled to this innocent all american 1950's white man.

white van

I bumped into this awesome white van on the creepy streets of Deep Ellum in Dallas this Saturday with Lindsay…after crashing the protest of angry hippies. The van was advertising a vintage clothing store… a sign on wheels if you will. The typeface seems to be a modern version of some old Gothic scripts typical of the 19th century. The term vintage refers to something old and high quality…what better way to illustrate that then with a classic old typeface?

mmm, chips!

Okay, since food labels seem to be the theme this week, I'm gonna keep it going here with Cape Cod Chips. Since their motto starts with "Old-Fashioned..." it seems they want to maintain that idea in their look. The rounded, imperfect edges to the letters are reminiscent of old colonial printing presses. You may also be able to see (though maybe not in this poor-quality photo I took very quickly) - it looks almost as if the "ink" used in the press has spread and caused the letters to overlap.

It seems that food in general - especially brands that have been around for a long time - tends to have more historical-looking fonts on their packages. Maybe it's to project the idea that the company has been around for a long time, and therefore must be good? That's my interpretation at least.

Vino

So I was at Central Market over the weekend to get some fancy food things when I stumbled upon this little typographic gem in the wine and beer section. The piece pays homage to wine and wine-making with a font whose style closely reflects the lettering done by monks of the 14th-15th centuries. The font in the heading reflects this European gothic styling due to the angled serifs along with differing weights of the letter strokes. The contemporary look is attained due to two attirbutes: the contrasting serifs and san-serifs and the varying text point sizes in the relationship between the heading and subheading.

Another thing I noticed was that if you're ever gellin' and zinfandelin', it's a good call to go with goat cheese or a nice hard cheddar.

Hooray Beer!!!

When looking for old style type used in a contemporary manor you need not look any further than your local grocery store. And, if your like me you'll head straight for the nececities. While I was wondering down the beer isle there were several examples to choose from - ie: Bass, Shiner, etc..., but Grolsch epitomized the assignment. Apart from the Old Style Script font, which was commonly used throughout common drugstore items in the early 1900's, the grolsch bottle even uses an old fashioned swing top cap instead of the traditional twist off. I still have yet to try my latest purchase, but I'll let you know how it tastes.

• HISTORICAL INFLUENCE

Seek and find an example of contemporary type usage that is influenced by historical type design.

Wicked

The image on the left is of a book created for fans of the Broadway Wicked, which I found while flipping through the November 2006 design annual of Comm Arts. It is a standard in our society to use over sized decorative text to portray a fairytale of some sort. Looking through typographic history, we can see it originated with illuminated manuscripts like the image on the right from the opening page of the Gospel of Saint Mark. The decorative initial cap started early in history and went from beginning any story to becoming a widely recognized symbol of the fairytale. -Melissa

Historically Speaking...

So Keely and I headed to Dallas today. We probably paid too much for parking. But we witnessed a war protest...these people were so hipped out. It was awesome.

We were walking down the street and I noticed this newpaper stand, in a contemporary setting. The typeface is of gothic influence, dating back to the eleventh and twelth centuries. It's reminiscent of the typefaces used in Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. It works well as a reflection of history; the Dallas Morning News seems to draw authority from the font and credits Gutenberg for the creation that makes the newspaper a lucrative and essential business.

Peace in the Middle East.