NOBEL: Typeface Spread

CMINI // F2020; Project 3

NOBEL

For Project 3, we are tasked with choosing a typeface and designing a spread combining text and visual elements to best represent a self-chosen typeface.

I decided to go with Nobel. My first impression was that it looks really similar to Futura but with a playful touch to it. Geometric but not constrained, and orderly and dynamic.

NOBEL in regular, bold, and italics.

ESSAY AND RESEARCH

First off, theres kind of an overarching issue with researching Nobel. There’s almost NOTHING about this typeface online. The few sources I’ve found just keep regurgitating the same thing over and over again so I think in the end I’ll have to resort to telling my own story of Nobel.

Research and my first essay draft.

Some key points I’ll be sure to include:

• Birthed 1929 by Dutch designer Sjoerd Henrik de Roos in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This was a commissioned typeface.
• Nobel was created to be a Dutch cousin to Futura, making it known as “Futura cooked in dirty pots and pans.”
• Geometric sans-serif

Looking at the big picture: Exercises w/ Type + Composition

Typesetting and Exploring Text Composition

After writing my essay, I got to exploring which arrangements and typesetting formats would be the most effective for displaying my short essay. I tried using both a sans-serif (Nobel) and serif typeface (FreightText) for my body copy. Although generally a serif would be the safer option, I felt like Nobel was pretty readable and legible (for me) and I like having the consistency throughout the page.

Some typesetting exploration.

Given the fact that I am planning on working with a sans-serif for my body copy, I’ll have to make sure the typesetting is appropriate in maximizing legibility + readability of the typeface in use. I’ll probably have to increase the tracking and kerning just a little so everything doesn’t end up lookin super bubbly and round.

Thumbnailing

In addition to playing around with typesetting of my essay, I started thumbnailing general spread layouts. I wanted to explore the way that “Nobel” as a title/word can serve as an element of imagery.

Thumbnails with high emphasis on composition.

While doing these thumbnails, I began to consider what kind of imagery I would want to include in my spread. I was reminded of one phrase that I thought summed up Nobel pretty well: “Futura cooked in dirty pots and pans.” I just started making pots and pans to get this idea rolling.

Thumbnails with pot + pan inspiration.

Maybe this approach is a bit too literal but I don’t hate the inspiration and I think there’s something I could explore with this direction.

EXPLORING IMAGERY

• Began to take inspiration from the geometry and colors often seen with these types of letterforms and the Art Deco period.

I had trouble thinking of ways to visualize a narrative about Nobel without relying too much on the “Futura” reference. I tried a few approaches, going from super abstract and really colorful to taking direct inspiration from 1930–1960’s posters. I definitely tried to stay super geometric and started incorporating muted tones and gradients to allude to print design from that time period.

Feedback from Joseph

• Leading might be too large for body text.
• “There is flow and rhythm to the spread through the use of vectors, but the placement of the objects could be more intentional.”
• “I wonder how you can apply scale and proportion to the spread to make it more dynamic.”
• Thinks that there might be something cool to explore with Spread A: the variety and somewhat hectic organization of the title alludes to the ‘pots and pans’ reference. This might be something like branding the typeface.

Feedback from Vicki + general class

• Color choice feels old (kind of intentional because Nobel ‘died’ out). But Vicki thinks I can stick with the muted background approach.
• Maybe ditch the gradients?
• The spread doesn’t necessarily direct me around the pages.
• Be a bit more intentional and try to take advantage of the versatility of the 12-column grid.

Taking inspiration from one of my previous spreads to come up with a new approach.

Rough mockups using 1. Geometric Breakdown and 2. Nobel ‘logo’.

Feedback from Jaclyn

• Geometric shapes are the way to go for representing Nobel.
• The text on the left page feels trapped and awkwardly placed.
• Some form issues with the way I’m trying to geometrically break down Nobel.
• There could be something to explore in spread with the three adjectives underneath NOBEL.

Feedback from Vicki

• The “branded” Nobel spread is definitely the farthest along out of my selections. Work with it more.
• Remember this is a readability assignment: try to hone in on the “simpler” parts of the spread instead of relying on the decoration of the page.
• Text on the left page is similar enough to the body copy on the right page that it isn’t necessarily prompting me to read it first.
• It could be interesting to take some inspiration from modern Dutch print design and combining elements from the more “historical”/vintage motifs that I’ve been working off of.

Choosing a final direction

After my meeting with Vicki, I decided to go with the approach using the yellow circle. I think it has an interesting touch that alludes to some kind of branding with geometry and the variety offered by the typeface.

I did some furthering explorations on how to incorporate the typeface styles and the yellow ‘o’.

Exploring different styles for the Nobel ‘logo’.

I noticed that the options that don’t involve yellow turn out to look a lot more refined and classy, maybe even corporate, whereas the yellow options turn out to be a little funkier and playful. Based on the narrative and image of Nobel that I want to communicate, I thought that a combination of these two styles might be appropriate.

Further explorations using this approach.

I kept exploring different compositions and even tried adding green and red (for some reason… these colors keep coming back to me this mini). I enjoyed how the unbalanced rectangular color block sections text and imagery. I tried to incorporate geometric elements and shapes but I’m not exactly sure how it’s working out…

Final submission (pre-revisions)

Revisiting the spread (Post-Video)

After making the video, I wanted to revisit my spread. There were plenty of things to fix up and I wanted to see how I could visually connect my video and my spread!

Meeting with Vicki

• The current spread you have can use some more direction to make the viewers eye move throughout the pages.
• The composition of the spread is somewhat of a ‘megaphone’ (this kind of shape <). Not necessarily a bad thing but it is super linear and directional.
• Green needs to go… Specifically Vicki said, “Francis you should take a step away and NOT use green at all for the remainder of the semester and the spring semester!!!”
• Geometric shapes are fine! They are a visual motif present in the video. But give more purpose to the shapes. Right now, they are just sitting at the bottom of the page.

After all the feedback, I started iterating again and came to this kind of idea that I felt like I could work with.

Revised spread thumbnail,

I changed the colors and started to play around with the placement of the shapes that I was using. Everything need to be tidied up but I think this composition is a lot more compelling and a bit more playful like my video was.

FINAL SPREADDDDDD

This is my final spread!

I wanted the shape placement to be a lot more intentional and serve a purpose in guiding the eye around the page. By using spots of yellow throughout the page, I wanted to draw the viewers eyes to the ‘1929’ text block, the Nobel title, and eventually the body copy on the right side of the spread.

I tracked the text a bit more as well in order to make sure the sans-serif body was fully legible.

Final Nobel spread