Blog Post 5

Thats a Saucy Type

Blog Post 3: Getting Around

I have chosen to typographically analyse my bus concession card. The primary function of this is to identify myself as a student in order to receive discount when travelling by bus. It includes a passport style photograph of myself, my name, date of birth, expiry date and an official hologram.

Font Choice:

It is often a misconception that whenever designing something that appeals to young people it should include funky fonts and lots of colours. This can often result in tacky designs that really are horrendous. I am unsure of the exact font used for “Young Person’s Bus Concession” but it is a perfect example of this misconception. The font is awful and it does not reflect the content or the market well. On a more positive note the simple Arial font used for the other type on the bus pass works well because on such a small scale it is key to get across the essential information while still making sure it is legible.

Information Hierarchy:

As already mentioned I find the overall design of this bus pass tacking and I am quite insulted that the designer feels this would appeal to me. Even though there is an overbearing amount of visuals in the background the white box around the essential information (my name, date of birth and expiry date) highlights it as a priority. The simple, clean cut box offers a contrast to its busy surroundings. The designer has also applied this technique to the Transport Scotland logo and the hologram. By making the expiry date all in caps and in bold the designer creates a typographic hierarchy. It is essential when using the bus pass it is legible for the bus driver to see whether or not it has expired therefore this is why in terms of typographic hierarchy it is the most important. The type that identifies it as a Young Person’s Bus Concession has been kept white and thickly outlined in black. Even though the designer has done this to highlight the text against the busy background I think it still gets lost. The hideous Young Person logo in the bottom right corner again has been outlined thickly in black but because the fill is the same colours used in the background it does not stand out the same as the essential information highlighted in the white box. This shows that a simple white box is far more effective in highlighting text in terms of typographic hierarchy 

than the methods used for the other text.

Usability:

The users of this item are young people typically students travelling to and from university/college. The purpose of the item is for them to receive discount on bus travel and this is fulfilled. The essential information is displayed on the bus pass in order for this to happen however as stated before the stereotypical tacky design for “young people” really is inappropriate.

Grid Exercise

In light of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti the Society of Typographic Aficionados decided to release a font solely made up of ampersands. They chose to name the font "Coming Together" to represent the idea of people coming together to help one another. Designers from various fields of work from all over the word contributed. Shown above is my chosen ampersand. 

The calligraphy like strokes used in the ampersand clearly distinguishes it as a humanist letter form. The weight of the strokes changes throughout from extremely thin to a heavier stroke seen especially at the use of ascenders. The fluid lines of the ampersand create a feminine, elegant type. Since the design is so intricate playing with scale and size may cause it to look squashed and loose the beauty of it's design. 

Even though I would consider this a 'fancy' design it does not stray from its distinction. The 'ET' is still clearly identifiable and is delicately worked into the design of the ampersand (a sign of a good designer). The use of variation in stroke weight assists this also. By varying the stroke weight it is avoiding making the ampersand too delicate or making it too heavy thus no longer being able to distinguish it as elegant. 

The whole ornate design of the ampersand reminds me of the French art nouveau design period. Design principles to describe this particular design period would definitely be a clear influence from nature and have a feminine, elegant design. All of these principles also apply to this ampersand. The fluid sense of movement portrays a feminine beauty and elegance.