Monogram
Explorations in Type
This project began with creating 100 of my initials with various substrates on various canvases. After the best one had been chosen, a peanut butter M on a Walmart birthday card, the letter form was combined with my other initial and paired with a write-up regarding a moment where typography left a deep impression on me.
Scanned in peanut butter M.
Threshold, rich black selection of the peanut butter M.
After the peanut butter M had been selected as the letterform for this project, the letter was then turned to black and white. This was accomplished with the threshold effect in photoshop, and filling the shape with a purple shade of rich black.
Once the black and white letterform had been extracted, it was combined with a digital letterform (my other initial), with the intention of creating a relationship and tension. between the physical M and digital letterform C.
Completed monogram of my initials using STIX Two Math.
Full Monogram file with writeup and canvas.
The Write-Up, Readable:
The most prominent experience I have had with type having a profound effect on my emotional response was the type choices used in the game Deathloop. Present throughout the entire game of Deathloop is stellar art direction, and great visual design choices, with a host of great fonts used for the games many menus and text displays. The most effective typographical decision made in the game however involves the text that pops up within the game world. When exploring the various open worlds of Deathloop, large, floating golden text will appear in front of the player. This text is often meant to be the main character’s inner monologue, presented as objects in the game world. The text that appears is often aggressive, sarcastic, or cynical in nature. The main character also comments on the presence of the floating text, alluding to possible hallucinations effecting the character. To drive home the almost manic feeling that this text provides within the context of the game, this text is written out in Handelson Two. Handelson Two is a font created by Melvastype, and is a script typeface with wide characters that makes it easily readable when encountered in the game world. The characters being handwritten, and scrawled helps drive home the manic nature of these hallucinations, especially when contrasted with the clean sans serifs that make up the majority of game’s text. When I first experienced the game, I remember being very impressed and impacted by the design choices made by the game, even if I was not then equipped with the knowledge to know why the game’s design was so intentional and effective. The hallucination text however left a lasting impression on me as a unique design decision that has stuck with me throughout my years as a designer.
Me and my Monogram print.
