Final Typeface Designs and Evaluation

Final typeface sketches:

After deciding to definitely choose Baskerville bold for the final typeface, I began to sketch out what I wanted it to look like. I took on board what I initially set out to do in my rationale, which was to remove the counters, keep all the strokes to the same width- this ensures that there is some consistency to the typeface if I want it to be used as a logotype. The sketches of my typeface have been scanned in so I can manipulate them digitally, as my skills within Adobe Illustrator are very limited, I firstly opened them up in Photoshop and used the magic wand tool to fill in each letter with black- however this looked extremely messy and not a typeface that would be used as a logotype by a clothing company. I then took the letters into Illustrator and began to use the pen tool around each individual letter, this meant I could get a more accurate shape and the curves were a lot neater. The rough sketches of the typeface do not look like much, yet now each letter has been drawn around using the pen tool and filled in all black the typeface begins to gain its own personality with the various techniques and characteristics applied to it. When put into context, the typeface should effectively communicate the intentions I set out for it to achieve.

My finalised typeface design has been put into a poster style presentation to show the whole alphabet. When put into a presentation like this, it is easy to identify the characteristics of the typeface and how it has evolved from Baskerville bold. At first I was quite unsure about the typeface and would it be fit for its purpose therefore I was surprised when receiving final group critique feedback to read people associated the typeface with a clothing brand, without knowing what the intention was. The feedback was all positive as people recognised the connection of my adjective with the typeface itself, my main intention for the typeface was to take something so traditional like Baskerville and modernise it in the best way I can. It is evident that by choosing Baskerville bold, I was able to create a contemporary font that embodied the ideas of modern, trendy and immediate, although the typeface does not always appear neat which may cause some people to dislike it, it relates back to my rationale and the idea of challenging Baskerville’s idea of a ‘perfect’ font because ‘Contemporary’ is not completely perfect. It has been recycled into something that would be used today for something that would be appealing to a younger audience- hence why it is appropriate for an independent vintage clothing company due to it’s imperfect nature it would unlikely be used widespread by a lot of companies. Another successful aspect of the font is that it is easily read no matter what size it’s put in, which means it could be used not only for a logo type but also a web font or business card if put into context. The typeface relates well to the rationale as the traditional characteristics of Baskerville have been updated and replaced by ones that allow it to appeal to a contemporary audience, by removing the counters from the letters that have them, it creates something quite different and unusual compared to most of the fonts that are used for clothing companies today. I think colour could be applied to the typeface, however it would depend on the context it was put in, if it were to be used as a logotype I think black would be the safer option but I think also the most successful option due to its immediate nature.