DVB201 A2 SEM 1 2020

DVB201 ASSESSMENT ITEM TWO

CHLOE FINNIS N10463623

Design Critique

How many typefaces were used?

It has a total of four typefaces on the label.

How do the typefaces relate to each other?

All the typefaces are quite unique when compared to each other, the more informative text is an easier to read typeface than the others which are more decorative.

How did the design use space and alignment to organise the text?

As the bottle is quite tall there is a lot of empty space between the different areas of text, particularly between the logo and the rest of the information. The text aligns from the start of the logo with most of the text and within that is left aligned.

What were the treatment used to differentiate text and organise information?

The largest type is in the logo at the top of the bottle which puts it up the top of the hierarchy, it also enlarges the ‘e’ which could be because that letter in from of other words generally means eco-friendly or environmental. This also creates the possible reading of ‘Earth choice’ and ‘E choice’. The second largest and easiest to read, sans serif evenly spaced, tells us that this product is dishwashing liquid. The smallest text is the same typeface as the previous heading but its size allows for more information. All three so far are white against the clear plastic and a green back sticker making them stand out the most. The scent of the product is the lowest text (apart from the ‘1 Litre) and is in deep green which doesn't stand out as much, it is not as important as the others. The hardest to read is a brown and all capital typeface that tells us the product is ‘natural clean,’ this seems to be the least important because of the way it has been portrayed when thinking about the hierarchy of information

What are the other elements on the label?

A half globe accompanies the text in the logo which is appropriate for the brand name. A small leaf is used as a dot point for the small information, this leaf is also used in the ‘natural clean’ guarantee. The bottom of the label contains a photo of lemon slices and a daisy flower representing its ‘Lemon Fresh’ scent.

What is your opinion about the quality of the label? Does it work? Is it aesthetically pleasing? Is it effective? Why do you think that is?

The label works to portray the product as an eco-friendly dishwashing liquid, the design is not the most modern design but it is unique in that does not use the typical trope of completely handwritten fonts like many natural companies utilise. The simple layout provides easy reading for the customer. The use of photography potentially clutters the bottom of the label but does not interfere with the text. I think it is effective but not as aesthetically pleasing as it could be, the multiple typefaces and graphics contribute to this.

How does the use of type and its organisation on the label influence the aesthetic quality and efficiency of this label?

The use of white text organised and relatively spaced keeps an aesthetic simple but the use of the green and brown more decorative texts do not really continue this. It is an efficient label and it get its message across in using these different types and elements of them, but a more cohesive choice could improve the aesthetic.

Label Design

1. Two typefaces and one colour

2. One typeface and one colour

3. One typeface and two colours

Description & Explanation

For all three designs I used relatively the same layout to see if the different fonts and colours change the look or effect of the label on their own.

I noticed as I was trying to create the layout it was quite challenging to get that amount of information on such a small logo and still have it be legible while also looking aesthetically pleasing. I made sure to leave a decent amount of white space on the part of the label that would be facing out so as to not have it look overwhelming.

'Laundry Liquid' is the most important piece of information for a customer to know so it is the largest on the second and third labels. On the first label it is a unique font as a point of difference. I used the same unique font but smaller for all the headings on the back part of the label. I also separated this information to both sides as I have seen on other labels as well keeping information about the product and information about the company, this made the most sense in terms of or reading order.

The things listed on the brief as needing to be on the front on the label all appear in various font sizes for hierarchy purposes. The next size down from the previously mentioned 'Laundry Liquid' is the logo and the bottle volume followed by, in capitals, key phrases about the company (Family Company, Made in Queensland) and product (Ultra Concentrate, Front and Top Loader). The smallest font is the more specific details that are not as important to the average buyer but still relevant enough to be on the front; 'Eco cleaning products' and the consequential details such as 'biodegradable' and 'grey water safe'.

The colour green highlights all the main headings and obvious info in the final label.

Much Ado About Nothing Hierarchy Challenge

Description & Explanation

Poster One

I tried to take a classic approach with the first design and kept all the text aligned within and spaced to an invisible box as can be seen by the 'about' and a strong sans-serif font. As with all the posters I followed the hierarchy explained by Ina Saltz, with the title most important in the largest boldest text followed by 'William Shakespeare's'. The next most important is the cast and directer's names; I put these in capitals but the thin text makes them harder to see as important, rather the review stands out as it is in bold despite it being in normal sentence structure, 'WINNING YOUNG CAST!' stands out the most obviously. Then the smallest and thinnest type is the finer details about the event. There is a fair bit of white space before the bottom of the page this is often done in other advertisements to show the fine-print so I attempted it here.

Poster Two

The second poster is more fun using a hand-written effect font for some of the wording, it is largest in capitals for 'William Shakespeare's' as the second point of importance, smaller for the review and smallest for the performance details. I use a large bold sans serif font for the title, the same font in capitals for the third highest; names. I used the font in a lighter weight for the location details at the bottom of the flyer. This version is centred and laid out more simply than the first flyer making it easier to read but follows a similar order as the first.

Poster Three

For the third I completely changed it up for a more experimental design. I made the title and playwright thin but large to contrast from the other text on the flyer everything else was in a small bold font with little space in between lines, I made the names a little bigger to maintain hierarchy. I left most of the poster in white space to really bring attention to the information and separate them in importance.

Spread Re-design

Original Spread

Redesign

Explanation & Description

I had some trouble with this exercise finding a good balance between allowing space and having all the contents on the spread. I did not manage to get everything on the pages I believe this is partly because the magazine seems to have unique sizing. I only noticed this towards the ending of the task trying to fit the image descriptions in but thought it could be a good challenge. Despite not fitting the descriptions I think made the article more freeform and relaxed as the original was more grid like with the pictures almost all aligned across the middle. I thought the name of the woman was too small seeing as this article is entirely about her so I made it bigger and highlighted her last name with slight bold. I also used a more modern and unique typeface as I thought for a design magazine it should be this way. I placed the summary of the piece at the very top of the page so readers can see that after noticing her name and can decide whether to pursue reading the whole piece. I also placed the images more relevantly to the information.

Unpicking the Grid

Explanation & Description

I have taken a few pages and spreads from and old Frankie Magazine publication to explore for the grid unpicking exercise. I first noticed that most of the articles used a large image at the top of the page. You notice this first as the subject of the text below. The grid for both the individual pages and spreads are relatively the same. One notable difference is that these photos on the spreads do not abide by the margins whereas they are inside the type area on the other pages. They all have a two column design. The columns start with aligned spaces for the title and subtitle followed by white space and then onto the text. All the pages appear to have the same gutter between and around columns. Outside of the type area there are a few small links and details.

All the pages use three different typefaces, one for the title, subtitle and then the normal text, and colour to show hierarchy. There is a lot of white space making reading approachable as well as ensuring an aesthetically pleasing design.

Healthy Living Exercise

Thumbnails and Inspiration

Final Design (Pages represent both sides of one sheet)

Explanation & Description

Inspired by the style and layout of the Frankie Magazine pages as well as a number of different flyers and designs I found online (pictured above) I wanted to create a minimalistic but enjoyable flyer. The spread above shows the front and back of the 'healthy living' poster. I used a simple grid much like the one from the LinkedIn Learning tutorials that allowed me a lot of freedom but made sure my elements would stay in line and decently spaced. I used two columns as to not overwhelm the reader as the amount of information could look harder to manage with three or more, I also had these sized differently for a point of interest.

I used two very different typefaces throughout; Abril Fatface was used for all the headings and subheadings, excluding the title of the piece, to noticeably organise the different areas of the flyer. I used it at its largest and in colour for the introduction heading of 'Healthy Body' and then scaled down for the subsequent headings. I also used it at the same size as the main body for the tips sections therefore if readers were skimming they would easily notice that valuable information. The other typeface used was Raleway which as a sans-serif thin font is easy to read and compliments the heavier font. Highlighting different areas with colour also helps them stand out such as the summary, resources and some of the tips. I used complimentary images and a modern colour scheme to appeal to the intended university student audience.

Zine

Concept

After some examples from class and researching I found an interest in the brutalist and grungy design methods; taking typefaces to their extreme or creating interesting compositions with them. I originally planned to focus on the use of specific typefaces in these designs, then I moved onto typefaces used relative to the space around and finally landed on my concept of breaking the rules and taking away meaning from words, chaos and art in typography.

Inspiration & Research

I thoroughly enjoyed finding inspiration for my concept and found myself looking outside zines or magazines into different typographic expression. In particular, album covers. The 1975 album and sleeve are pictured below with both a very simple minimalistic design and an overwhelming compilation of elements, they also use only two colours which aligned with the task perfectly. A lot of my inspiration came from music as many of the zines I found centred around punk culture for example.