Type With Interesting Color Treatment

This is an image from a T-shirt sold at Sgt. Grit, a Marine Corps specialty shop.  The image is a tribute to fallen Marines and the United States Marine Memorial.  Visitors to the memorial can trace the names of fallen Marines on the walls with a pencil. 

The text treatment of the "U.S.M.C." is interesting because there is no actual color or pattern--the text is mimicking the tracing of the engraved wall.  (Or it may be a genuine wall tracing applied to the design)  This choice to use the text this way is significant because it enforces the remembrance aspect and the experience of visiting the memorial.  It is not flashy or embellished, but it draws your attention to the main focus of the design in a way that is completely relevant to the memorial.  It's powerful.

Logo-Typography

I admit it. I'm a regular at Dunkin' Donuts. And I love their updated marketing look.  I went on their website to find an image of a shirt they sell because it's a good example of distressed typography, but couldn't find a clear image.  Instead of moving on, I was sidetracked and ended up on their parent company site.  And there I found a really cool logotype.

Some points about this:

• Notice the  "U".  It's lowered, giving the "dunking" appearance.  And it's brown, which reminds me of a doughnut. Dunking doughnut.  I'm assuming that was the design intention, and I find it simply brilliant. 
• The logo colors tie right into what made Dunkin Donuts famous. Coffee and doughnuts.  Great idea. 
• The lowered "U" draws the eye to the "eatdrinkthink" portion, but not too much.  You still noticed the main part first. 

Overall, I think this logo works perfectly for the parent company and what their industry is. I think whoever had been designing the logos for this company is doing a great job.  It's creative, but not complicated. 

Asian Typography

I came across this example of Asian Typography in a book called, "Typography for the People - Hand Painted Signs From Around the World". Written by Daniel Bellon and Klaus Bellon, it includes this image of a menu sign in Hong Kong. 

I found this interesting because the overall feel of the Asian character form is maintained although these are English words.

The dish titles are written in an way that resembles Asian calligraphy.  Each letter shows unique qualities - varying stroke widths, slants, spacing and size.  Although the English words are nowhere near as perfect as the symbols at the top of the menu, it seems the artist took care to match the style as much as possible. Considering that red paint on a white surface doesn't leave much room for error, the artist did well. The only gripe I have is the worn out appearance of the sign.  I think it's time for a new one.

Historical Typography

While looking up information on the Maryland Renaissance Festival that is held annually in Maryland, it struck me to explore their website for an example of historical typography.  Why?  Not only because the event itself is based on a historical time period, but they have many vendors and exhibits based on the culture from the renaissance. And that includes printmaking. 

I could have taken the easy route and used their logo for an example of historical typography, but I wanted something more genuine.  I found just that.  

If you visit the Festival this year and go along the Queens Path, you'll find Artisans of all kinds, including "Allen Ye Printmaker".  Allen Bjorkman is a the owner of Fenix Art Studio in Oswego, NY.  It appears that he is a regular exhibitor at the Festival and one of his specialties are reproductions of Renaissance prints. 

Here is a print of what is called a "Hornbook".  The description from Bjorkman's website is as follows: 

 

England, 16th Century. Consisting of a single printed page overlaid with thin transparent horn and mounted on wood, the Elizabethan Hornbook was a child’s first primer. It taught the alphabet and elements of syllabication; it also included the Lord’s Prayer. Discipline was severe in Elizabethan schools, and the school day was unmercifully long, running from six or seven in the morning until five or six in the afternoon, six days per week. Limited edition screen print (400) from a hand-cut stencil. © 1984 by Allen Bjorkman     I've always liked the Old English style typography.  The uppercase letters are intricate and fancy, and the rest of the characters each have their unique aspects.  For example, the serifs are often angled, but some letters feature decorative serifs, such as the lowercase "s".  The combination of sharp angles and delicate rounded touches make this type seem very complicated.  I can only imagine how long it would take someone to hand write a document in this style.

Childlike Typography

In the previous post, I shared how DuClaw Brewing Company is one of my favorite places for food, drinks and graphic design genius.  And now, I must sing their praises once again.

Their kids menu is an engaging and very child friendly example of design.  I was impressed by their use of a chalk mimicking font.  This type of font can be easily overused in design (not that a kid would care), but not in this case.  Combined with the food graphics and a clear, easy to read item description, this typography adds a nice touch.

The chalky font is called, "Eraser Dust", and can be downloaded free from several sites. Click here to download it from dafont.com.

This is yet another font going into my mental notebook for future projects.

Historical Typography Reused in a Contemporary Design

DuClaw Brewing Company is one of my favorite places to eat and drink.  And every time I visit, there's a new beer or a new coaster that has graphic design genius written all over it. The designs are screaming for someone to take a closer look--they're really eye catching. And of course I do. 

One thing I've always noticed is that whoever designs the promotional materials has a great eye for fonts.  The fonts always seem to match the theme, and when multiple fonts are used, they complement each other. 

Here is a screen snippet of their menu, which can also be found as a PDF on their website. 

Notice the words, "THE SWEET".  I categorize it as a historical font because  the first thing that comes to mind are signs from the wild west--say, a saloon or something.  The distressed, weathered appearance adds to the old wild west look, as do the unique serifs.

It's contemporary because, well, it's in a 2010 menu for one.  And, it's angled, giving it a modern "notice me" appearance. It also has some swashes added to the letters, giving it a slightly updated feel.

I wanted to know what this font was.  And because it was a PDF, I got lucky. 

A few years back I discovered a way to find out what the fonts are in some PDF documents. (A little sidetracking here) With a PDF file open in Adobe Reader, go to FILE>PROPERTIES>FONTS (tab). And wal-la, if you're lucky, it'll list the document fonts.

So the font here is called, "Nasty" and I was able to track it down (thanks Google).  It's a free font and can be downloaded from Fonts101.com.  Click here for a direct link to the download page.

I'm a fan of this font and how it has been used.  I'm making a mental note of it's existence in case I need it for a future project.