Fall 2023
Overview
By only using typography, we were challenged to create a full type figure of a person, bird, fish, or insect. We had to come up with an original phrase between five and seven words that would be repeated throughout our design in varying ways to convey our chosen figure. We had to pay particular attention to figure detail, animal characteristics, textures, and patterns when determining how and where to place our type. We were not able to touch, overlap, or cut off parts of characters, but we could show partial words. Additionally, we were not allowed to stack type, reverse type, or use type that is too small to read at 100%. Throughout our type figure, our phrase had to retain the same typeface, style, and upper or lowercase configuration.
The design procedure began with existing type figure research as well as research into potential descriptive images that could be used. Once we'd settled on two potential subjects and images, we output these images into black and white, remembering that we would have to retain and include a 2 x 2 inch square, circle, diamond, or triangle shape of our original image within our type figure. Pencil outlines of our selected subject followed this step, paying particular attention to individual shapes within our subject. Pulling these shapes apart, like a stencil, would help us in our final composition. Using another piece of tracing paper, we then blocked in our type over our penciled shape outlines without our original image behind it. We created two different versions of the blocked-in type for each of our figures before making a decision on which figure would be our final. Then, it was time to move to the computer.
By scanning our line tracing, we were able to upload the image to Illustrator as a template layer. Thus began the computer output area studies process in which we recreated single portions of our figure multiple times to test typefaces, styles, and layout. Additionally, it was recommended to test our 2 x 2 inch shape in different areas of our figure. After multiple iterations, we settled on our final type choices, layout, and figure and phrase positioning.
Research + Brainstorming
When researching existing type figures, I found that most used distorted type and used color to indicate value and depth, two design aids that we did not have the luxury of using for this project. Even if most of the type figures I found during my research didn't meet our specific project requirements, I still found a lot of inspiration for how I could approach my figure. The figures that appeared more stencil-like and used white space/negative space jumped out at me in particular and weren't as visually overwhelming to view. This immediately made me want to use an insect for my type figure since I thought the segmented shapes of an insect body could work really well as stencil shapes, with each shape leaving some white space between one another to break up the mess of type. In the above illustration of the anglerfish, I really liked how the body and scales were drawn as stencil shapes, and I thought that a base similar to this would translate really nicely for a final type figure. When looking at the type figure example of the ant, I thought that I could do something similar, but leave the legs, antennas, and pincers more separated from the body to create contrast. I knew from the get-go, though, that I wanted to use an animal or insect. After my research, I felt like there were far more fun type opportunities (and evidently more challenges) with an animal body rather than a human body.
Blocked type figure one
With my mind set on insects, I decided on a centipede for my first type figure. This proved to be a foolish decision later on, but at the time I was really excited by how cool all of the little legs and body segments would look when filled with type. Granted, this did look pretty cool, but it was absurdly time-consuming and also posed a challenge with the sheer number of body segments, overlapping body parts, little legs, and the small type size needed for those legs. I was given permission to create the second version of my first type figure with a similar, yet simpler insect instead, which is where the scorpion came in. After the class critique, I realized that the scorpion still had a lot of the same body segment issues, especially with the tiny legs, and wasn't super dynamic.
Blocked Type Figure Two
After all the stress and time put towards my centipede, I wanted to try a totally different animal for my second type figure. Plus, I had forgotten I couldn't use a stock image, so I'm glad this magpie image is public domain. I found a nice image of a magpie and loved the position of its tail feathers, feet, and its open beak. I also thought that this magpie had pretty clearly defined body segments (with no overlapping parts) which would make the outlining process a lot simpler. I had gone through two different outlines after feedback saying that I needed to simplify and increase the white space between body segments. My initial blocked type version was super visually dense with a lot of jumbled characters and words with no clear direction. I tried to fix spacing issues in my second version, which did look better, but after more feedback I realized I still needed to make the stencil shapes further apart. It was also recommended to try a different approach to the belly and leg segments of the body. The tail feathers started coming together more in my second version, and I had a better idea of how to use increasing type size to give shape to certain parts of the feathers.
Computer Output Area Studies
A lot of trial and error happened when taking my figure to the computer, and I realized that my type layout in my hand-drawn blocked type figures was simply just not going to translate well on the computer. I really needed to simplify things far more in order to make this work. I first tried different area studies for the breast of the bird, attempting different script typefaces. Nothing was really working, and it was all either too illegible, jumbled, or both. It wasn't until I tried a bold sans serif typeface instead of a script typeface that the bird started to actually look promising, with the placement of my type actually looking intentional and not random. The wing area studies were definitely hard because the rounded ends just didn't look like wings, but it was difficult to achieve more pointed wing ends. After feedback, it was suggested to use more 'lost and found' type for the wings. I moved on to different studies of the legs. Some versions were too top-heavy, some were too bottom-heavy, and some of the feet and talons weren't curved enough to actually look correct. I ended up finding a sweet spot where the top of the leg used one line of bold type and the bottom half used two lines of smaller-point, lighter serif type. Then, I curved the 'ankle' and talons until they looked like feet.
Black + White Computer Progressions
My first computer output wasn't fully finished when I presented it for critiques, but I already could see a lot of issues, the main one being that my type was too small in certain areas. Additionally, I had the same issues with my type being too jumbled and random-looking in many spots. There was an area on the bird's chest where the feathers were white, and I kept having issues trying to replicate that in my bird. Things were working in the curved shape of the "an echo answers" path in the breast and the thigh/leg portion, although it was suggested to me to try a different method of segmenting the belly and the right leg. After my first computer output, I decided to just abandon the script font altogether and try to find better typeface choices that offered more contrast. Still, this proved to have some issues, particularly in the wing and leg areas. Things didn't seem balanced, although I found that these typefaces did make the body of the bird look better. I still had to fix the beak of my bird, and I received feedback saying that where my 2 x 2-inch image cuts off was a little jarring. After my second output, I tried a new approach to my image. By my third output, things were looking better. I think I owe this to the fact that I started moving away from the original shape of the bird and taking some creative liberties with the shape and placement of the entire bird, the feathers, the wing, and the legs.
Final Type Figure
I'm happy with how my final version turned out, and I think it's so far ahead of my original blocked type figures. This was a challenging and time-consuming project, and I struggled with wrapping my head around the restrictions. Once I stopped overthinking, allowed myself to simplify my shapes, and allowed myself to stray away from the bounds of my original traced lines, the type figure came together far more easily!