In todays class we looked further into typography, specifically wordmarks and the anatomy of typography. Understanding this will give us more knowledge of what makes up a typeface, what makes them appropriate for different uses, and how we can use typography effectively in our designs. Adjusting the anatomy of the typeface can create some very unique word marks, and this is something that many brands have used throughout the years. This gives the brand logo a trademark, and makes it different to other brands logos. It is very important to look at letters as shapes.
Kerning is when individual letter spaces are adjusted to make them more suitable for each letter combination. Kerning is very important for making words more legible and readable. Kerning can also give unique characteristics to the type by pushing letters closer together or further apart, to create new shapes. An example of this is Chevrolet, who use kerning to join some letters together, as you can see the E and the V are connected along with the E and the T. I think that this instance the kerning adds to the logo as since it is a car company, it gives the feel of speed, while it also still looks classy and luxurious. Kerning is very useful for creating unique word marks that can then be trademarked.
Ligature’s are when characters are connected to make a single glyph. They are used to join characters together seamlessly and can make them more legible and readable. They are very useful for when 2 letters clash and become illegible, so using ligature to solve this is a great tool. I thought these were quite interesting as they make letters seem more fluent and overall adds a touch of class to the type. They can also be used to make the word mark more unique, to make the type stand out from others.
The anatomy of a typeface breaks down all of the elements of a typeface, and names them. Understanding out to break down and dissect a typeface is very beneficial for creating word marks and logos as you have a better understanding of what elements of the typeface to change, expand or join together. A task that we had to do today in class was to create our own type anatomy using our bank brand names. We had to label all the different elements in the typeface, and this was an enjoyable exercise to do and was also very helpful for learning and memorising the different parts of the type anatomy. I tried to cover all the type anatomy elements that I could within the time we were given and I am happy enough as I think I got most of them from the word I was using.
Having a good understanding of type anatomy helps when it comes to looking at other brands word marks, as you can clearly see what they have done to make their word mark unique, and with some inspection it is usually the simple ones that are done right look the best. Here are a few examples of big brands using simple character modifications to bring about an extra sense of flair to their word marks. I really like the Vans one and how it enlarges the V and enlarges the terminal on the cap height to cover the rest of the letters. It is definitely an iconic logo. Another one that I am a fan of here is the Casper logo, and I really think that the extra stroke on the C makes it more classy and luxurious, and this enriches it a lot especially as it is a bed brand.
Our next task of today was to then try and put what we have been learning about into practice, as we were given 8 words and had to try and adjust them to incorporate meaning behind them. I found this task quite tricky at first as I found it hard to think of ideas to incorporate into the words that we were given, but after some playing around with the type anatomy, I was able to create some interesting word marks. My favourites are Back, Click, Cut and Bounce. The reason why I love back is because it was the last one I did and the one I struggled the most with. I found it hard to try and describe what the word back meant, but in the end I decided to flip it upside down and add an arrow to the end of the C. For click I like how simple it is, and I didn’t even have to adjust the characters, but instead added some lines which adds onomatopoeia to the word which I thought was cool. Cut was my favourite as I changed it too a handwriting typeface and added shapes to make it look like a directors clapperboard. I feel like this was my most creative. The last one I liked was bounce, and I think it simply represents bounce very well and also looks very good. I especially love the ball and the shadow it leaves behind making it look like it actually bounced.
Todays class was very useful for me as I never had any prior knowledge of word marks and type anatomy apart from when we covered it briefly last semester, so I learnt a lot today. I found todays tasks both difficult yet enjoyable as it really pushed the limits as a designer what can be done to words to create them into effective word marks. I now have a new outlook on word marks and how they can be used creatively to reflect the brand and make it unique to others. This class will also help me for my bank brand in creating a word mark that is unique.