Microsoft 365 Competition Entry

I used the designs I made for my Typeface research and used them to enter an online competition for Microsoft's Office 365 program. The theme is "work from anywhere", so I thought these were fitting. The only thing I'm thinking now is that it could have been nice to do a full scale map of the world rather than just North America and Europe. I like the style I've used in the maps, maybe eventually I'll get round to doing a full map.

GQ Cover Mock-Up

Starting with the original.

In an earlier post I mentioned how the first Typeface I created was more abstract in certain characters than others, in particular the G & Q. Which got me thinking...coincidence? Or fate? Haha, no but really I tried applying the GQ logo with my own Font, then I changed aspects about it. Eventually I started to actually change the Typeface itself, changing the positions of the cross bars and finally cutting sections out to improve legibility. Essentially it is still the same Typeface I started with, it still reflects the key principles I set out with on creating it: Simplicity & Geometry. It's interesting how my final result has something of the original in it, perhaps it's the natural curvature of it.

Personal Branding

I've had a jab a personal branding today, it's turned out alright I guess. But, there's only so much you can do with Photoshop, so I think I'll try and get that stamp laser cut. Then I can do it for real, and I think I could look quite good, for business cards and other promotion material.

The Typefaces I've used are Caviar Dreams for my initials and Futura for the other, I think they work really well together and I'll remember this pairing for future projects.

Finished Map Type Boards

Sorted! This is basically a mock-up for how I expect it will look once printed and mounted, I'll have to get handy with pins and string! I'm really pleased with how this has gone actually, it's been a worth wile effort that I've thoroughly enjoyed working on.

Added Countries

Here's the same as below with added countries and tags, these are all the countries where the Typefaces I'll feature were designed. I think I may keep this blue/white colour scheme throughout.

Football Type Video

I took the design I made earlier with the gradients and applied different colour schemes, the idea is to underline the way we associate certain colours with certain things; like football teams. This was heavily inspired from the previous posts regarding Vasava's custom made Typeface for FC Barcelona.

Adding gradients to Type...

This is a good example of the subtle but effective differences a gradient can make, it just adds an extra level of definition and in these particular pieces, they add a sense of depth too. 

FC Barcelona Typeface

This is the custom made Typeface for FC Barcelona's football shirts, these were photographed at the Nou Camp itself whilst touring the stadium experience. And I was also lucky enough to visit the design studio were this was made, Vasava. I'm thinking of replicating this kind of football Typographic style that is so widely recognised in my own way.

http://www.vasava.es/

What is this sign?

As a designer, you design. That much is clear. But this sign I snapped in Barcelona is so strange. I don't understand what the design is saying. Is it merely informing you that people are probably playing with a ball on a housed road with cars parked there? Icons are globally universal, they rely on pictures to communicate a message rather than Type so that everyone can understand. But I don't. Is it just me?

Gaudi House. Well, actually...just the sign for it...

Yes a couple of us visited the Gaudi houses while we were in Barcelona. Here's the shocking part: I can't fu**ing stand any of it. Pardon my Catalan. I really don't understand his work, particularly those houses. To me it just looks as though he's just thrown pieces of marble and coloured rock at grotesquely shaped curved buildings. Maybe I don't like it because I'm so anally retentive about straight lines and equal borders and angular baselines etc. Anyway, rant aside... I did notice that perhaps the only good thing about it was the sign outside. Whoever was in charge of designing this was clearly well informed about Swiss Graphic Design, there's grid systems in there, nice slick San Serif Type in there, and sharp angled geometry and baselines. It's really great. So all in all, it was worthwhile going.

More Barcelona

Again this photo was taken in Barcelona, and it's the logo of a lovely little sandwich shop we stumbled into. I don't really understand the whole "hand as a fork" thing, but I know it's cool. The Typeface compliments the icon well. Plus the sandwich was excellent!

I was going to post a link of the website for the shop, but unfortunately I can't find it. So you'll have to make do...

More Barcelona

This is a poster I snapped a quick pic of, it got my attention with it's successful use of Typeface pairing. The one below I believe is either Bebas or Bebas Neue (or something similar) and I'm not sure about the one above but they work really well together! I also like the use of the "not quite" 100% opacity.

First of Barcelona informed research photos!

This is a chain of bank that I noticed whilst in Barcelona. The whole professional and corporate feel of it really impressed me; there were a lot of different reasons I noticed it to such detail: The colour scheme; I often feel orange can be a bit of a wild card when it comes to branding, I personally love the colour orange in design work and I think that if done well it can be gorgeous (Penguin, Orange etc.), but if the wrong tone is used it can be hideous. This is perfect. The Typeface; the angled edges really add a certain definition to it, and again it adds to the overall feel of the firm. The mixture of light and regular weighted Typeface, it just works. A nice brand, and certainly more attractive than any banks we have in Britain!

Abstract Typeface Design

So this is the first instalment of my Final Major Project, and the brief I have set myself is basically to design Typefaces. Plain and simple. Although it will be accompanied by extensive research into the field of Typography, for example: Font pairing, what looks good together what doesn't. Kerning, serifs, Type Designers like Adrian Frutiger, Tobias Frere-Jones and Carol Twombly.

So again, this set above is a Typeface I've designed with the intention of emphasising simplicity, geometry and primitives. Now, it's not supposed to be entirely legible, that much is clear (Through experience almost none of my classmates could read or understand the characters G & Q {There's a thought, perhaps I could apply the GQ magazine logo in it to try and give it a new feel}).

Eventually it's my intention to have at least a couple of Typefaces, and I don't expect them to be similar, in fact they're all being made with different intentions so they'll definitely be different.

Here it is, in it's most basic graphic form. 45 degree baseline(s). Primitives. Helvetica Neue Bold.

Object Control!

Here's another I've done. I suppose it's a lot different from the last, what with all the editing, but I've still concentrated on the theme of magic. And there's still more potential. Perhaps a full set would be tasty? We'll see.

Levitation!

Mmm yeah, I can levitate. No, but I can use photoshop to the point where I can distort reality. I really like some of the things you can achieve with a tripod & camera, there is so much potential, and I already have some more ideas for how I can take this type of experimental photography further. It's also really important for me to make sure it's presented in a graphic format, so I've paired it up with what I feel is simple yet effective typography. 

Have a look at this! An info-graphic poster that shows a list of Typefaces, who designed them, and where. Absolutely genius, and beautifully displayed. Kudos to Shelby White!

Some typographic posters I had a bash at yesterday, the quote is by the American writer Brandon Mull. It's a good quote, for me it sums up that edge that is required to compete not just in the Art & Design world, but everywhere. I plan to get them printed each in A3, then have a little affair with a light box to try and reproduce them with a hand drawn finish. We'll see how it goes! 

"Ye canne beat a wee sketch!"

These are just a couple of logos I've done in the past, for personal, college & competition work. I'm keen to display them all in the same format as I think it makes for a nicer portfolio finish.

Here are some film posters I've done for an exhibition at Keswick Film Festival, I wanted to create a continuos theme of simplified imagery, stripping something right down to it's elemental values.

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about, I think once edited properly & paired up with a slick typeface, these images have the potential to be cutting edge Graphic Design.