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.
You're struggling a bit to get the wording right, but I know what you're trying to say. Look at how Garfield talks about type and try to emulate this clarity.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't tackled the more creative bit of this reflection: "propose the sort of unification it might facilitate in a meaningful way. If it were a person or a relationship, how would you describe it? How does it join? Who does it join?"
You've done the hard boring bit, now for the fun bit!