Kerning/Kerndown - Mini Task

Kerning Lecture:

Grids - They rationalise design and create a tangible system in which to ensure consistency and structure, throughout the design of a typeface; or any element of design. This idea comes from the renaissance period. The grid created a system in which designers saw as good practice to keep in Graphic Design, this ‘visual system’ is thought to create design of ‘beauty’ such as the apple logo. ‘Of the just shaping of letters’ by Albrecht Dürer deems that the roman alphabet can be created from a grid system, variation in designs of the roman alphabet here is thought to have come from the grid. Yet any typeface to be reckoned as beautiful must have been created or must fit with the grid system.

 Kern down:

We were given a short amount of time to represent different types of businesses through 5 selected letters, we were to create a logo type using techniques such as overlapping, changing the kerning, tracking and baseline structure.

·      Luxury Car Brand

This is the appearance we decided best suited a luxury car brand. We focused on the identity of what a luxury car brand holds and what elements said atheistic they hold. When thinking of brands such as Range Rover and Porsche. Both of which include a medium kern, the baseline is also standard for all of the lettering; to give the feel of luxury and expense.

·      Budget Food Brand

The next type we had to create was representative of a budget food brand, we thought about aspects such as rotation, uneven baseline and various irregular use of upper and lower case. This can be found in Brands such as Lidl, and can be found in the logo type and typefaces used on products stocked in shops such as Aldi.

·      Condom Brand

A condom brand was the next type of company we were to create logotype for. When thinking of a condom brand consumer’s initial thoughts turn to safety, and an element of playful nature. These were considered in our placement of letters making an innuendo influenced placement contrasting against the strong structure of the baseline of the main body of text.

·      Indie Band

When thinking of indie bands branding you think instantly about alternate or no use of a baseline or really much structure, emphasising the whole lack of care aura around the indie scene. We represented this well through the miss placement of the letters irregular rotations, yet we kept the square structure to almost give the type a logotype appearance.

 

     IT Company

IT companies are that in which people place trust and reliance. This needs to be representative in their logo type ensuring people they can do what is needed. This is why we choose to use a close kern and regular baseline, it gives a formal and corporate look. This corporate design is reaffirming the nature of the business by the traditional use of an uppercase and followed by lowercase letter structure.