Week 4: Typography

Week 4
Find 3 designs (posters, flyers, billboards, magazine ads/layouts, album art, political propaganda, product labels, product packaging, DVD covers, whatever) and discuss the typographic choices made in the design. Is the typography effective? Why or why not? Does the typography effectively address a particular target audience and / or support the central message or theme of the design? Etc. Try to identify the font used if possible.
You may photograph or scan the designs, or find them on the internet. Give credit for where you found the designs.

Cool site: http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/ads

Express More With A Touch:

The first image I chose to analyze is an advertisement for Nintendo DS touch.



http://inxiaonia.deviantart.com/art/Nintendo-Ads-69780051

The typography for this ad looks hand drawn with a pen. This is perfect because they are advertising a product that uses a digital pen. The ad is covered in black and red ink which ads to this creative/artsy theme. Creativity doesn’t follow rules such as consistency in font size and position. The letters are slanted and squished together at one end.
This typography is effective and definitely speaks to its creative young target audience.


The Living Dead:

The second image I chose is a student’s assignment which required an oxymoron with image to support.



http://jfashner.deviantart.com/art/Oxymoron-Typography-study-993747

The reason I was pulled to this image is because it is simple. The Giant “DEAD” looks like it is underground/buried. I think the image isn’t necessary but mostly because I’m not sure what it’s representing. The use of the hunters for the “I”’ is effective though. I also enjoy the word “DEAD” in the big “D”. The black and white contrast/appose each other as well. Good typography always includes the CRAP principles too.
The typography is good, but not great. I'm really not sure what the message or the target audience is. The student should have come up with a target audience and clear concept and then figured out how to incorporate an oxymoron.


The Prestige quote:

The Second Act is Called the Turn
The Magician Takes Something Ordinary
And Turns It into Something
Extra Ordinary



http://bella-elizabetta.deviantart.com/art/Prestige-Typography-2-98956040

I love the look of this image. Every few words are in a different type and size. The “look” is very old time circus. It looks aged and is in black which is appropriate with the time period it is supposedly written in.
The word “TURN” has playing card suits on it.
The type at the top and bottom are very similar, which is good use of repetition.
Another use of repetition is “takes something” and “turns it into something” are the same type.
“Ordinary” is in a type which looks ordinary to me because it is relatively simple type.
The giant “&” is brilliant. The size of it reflects the size of the word “Turn”. Both “turn” and “&” make me pause for a second after I read them because I put more focus in them. for example, if “into” was in a huge font the flow wouldn’t work as well.
The centered alignment of the poster makes it obvious that the words are the only focus of the image.

This image is effective because it reflects the style of the movie from which it is from and speaks to its target audience (people who have seen the movie,18-40ish market).