My Typograms

I decided to create my own typograms in Adobe Illustrator. It is a fun way to be creative and learn how some fonts express certain emotions. The word becomes an image instead of just "text".

I used a thesaurus and brainstormed over a hundred words. I made many sketches on paper before I made the computer renderings. The best way to design logos or typograms is to sketch as many ideas as you can!

Fonts
Level: Futura
Illuminate: Helvetica (different weights)
Hostage: Goudy Oldstyle

Typograms

What is the typo-gram? It's when the letters create an image representing what the words means.









Image Source: Twist









Image Source: Contain
Can you guess this word?
Design by Keri Tew

The steps of creating a Typeface

Ever wondered how much work it takes to create a typeface? Check out this link:

http://ilovetypography.com/2009/03/23/the-first-ones-the-hardest/

The Orgins of Fonts - Sans Geometric

Time: WWI to 1980
"Age of the machine and advanced visual Ideas"

During this time period, people were looking for new "fresh" ideas. The geometric tyepfaces reflected this with large x-heights, and noticably more geometric shapes then past fonts.

Notice the O's, d's and b's are all created from perfect circles, hence the "geometric".


Sources:
Image
Notes from Kari Scheurch class

Helvetica: The Movie Trailer

Helvetica Trailer by NewVideoDigital

Check out this great video trailer, you would be surprised how often Helvetica is used in our society!

The Orgins of Fonts - Sans Neo-Grotesque

Time Period: 1950-1970, reaction to World War II

These font families were influence by the Swiss Designers. Less contrast, and more elegance was put into these fonts. Helvetica was first introduced during this time by Eduard Hoffmann and Max Meidinger. Helvetica is still one of the most popular fonts used today:




"Helvetica is a popular choice for commercial wordmarks, including those for 3M, American Airlines, American Apparel, BMW, Jeep, JCPenney, Lufthansa, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, Orange, Target, Toyota, Panasonic, Motorola, Kawasaki and Verizon Wireless.^[14] Apple Inc. has used Helvetica widely in Mac OS X (as default font for sans-serif/Swiss generic font family), iOS (previously iPhone OS), and the iPod. The iPhone 4 uses Neue Helvetica."
(From Wikipedia)

















Credits: Iphone Image
Hevletica 331 Image
Toyota
Jeep Image

The Orgins of Fonts - San Grotesque

Time Period: 1800-1900 (Industrial Revolution)

This was the first time fonts didn't have serifs (the little lines on the bottom of each letter). Many felt they were ruining type by taking the serifs away.


Credits: Akzidenz image

Akzidenz was the first Sans Serif font, followed by News Gothic. Eventually sans serif was widely accepted and still used today:

Credits: News Gothic Image
Notes from Kari Shcuerch Typography Class

The Orgins of Fonts - Slab Serif

Time Period: 1900-1900 Industrial Revolution

This was the start of slab serif or (Egyptian), and even San serifs fonts (fonts with out the little lines). Expeditions to Egypt inspired these new typefaces to have thicker and more square looks to them:



Slab Serifs can be characterized by their thick frames boxy serifs.



Credits:
Slab Serif
Honda
Notes from Kari Scheurch Typography Class

The Orgins of Fonts - Modern

Time Period: Late 1700's - Early 1800's, Romantism
As technology slowly advanced so did typefaces. New tools allowed designers to create more exact, geometrical letters:



Firmin Didot and Giambattista Bodoni became rivals when it came to creating typefaces. They pushed each other to create better typefaces. This rivalry is what influenced the "modern" movement. Today "modern" fonts are used often for Magazines or when there is a need for elegant words:



Modern Typefaces: Bodoni, Didot, ITC Fenice Regular, Melior, New Century Schoolbook


Credits: (please note I did not design the images above, click on link to go to their website)
Didot image
Magazine Cover
Notes from Kari Scheurch Art 260 typography class

The Orgins of Fonts - Transititional

Time Period: 1700's - 1800 Rococco
French King Louis XIV is credited for inspiring the "transitional" typefaces by establishing a royal printing office. The "grid" was first introduced thanks to the mathematicians and scholars who were now beginning to advance type :


The grid brought harmony and balance among letters and spreads. John Baskerville was an inventor who broke the rules of design/printing and now represents the "transitional" era of typefaces:


Other Typefaces: Bell, Bookman Oldstyle Regular, Adobe Caslon, Times New Roman

Credits: (please note I did not design the images above, click on link to go to their website)
Grid Image
Baskerville Image
"Q" design
Notes from Kari Schuerch Typography Class At BYU-I