Alphabet Soup - Typeface (3)

1960's Moviestars

As I knew very little about 1960s fashion I felt I needed to inform myself more about the specific traits and popular trends. From this general extract of information I took some specific words regarding to fashion and investigated further into them.

What has interested me most and what I think will be the most useful in this task is the shape of the bell-bottom trousers and how this could be manipulated or reflected in my work. 

I researched some background knowledge into Audrey Hepburn as she was one of the famous 60s movie stars and someone that Taylor admires. I looked at many images and clips of her and came up with a few connotations of what her personality seemed to reflect.

- elegance

- beauty

- sophistication

- grace

- expense

- sharp natured

- feminine

- confident

- outspoken

A few of these seem to contradict each other, this could also become part of my design perhaps relating to contrasting line weights, not only does this display traits of Audrey Hepburn but as I have already clarified Taylor also has opposite characteristics.

Alton Kelley 

Grateful dead were an American rock band from the 60s, mainly famous for their cover with Bob Dylan of 'knockin' on heavens door'. These posters were created by designer ALton Kelley in the 60s and the typography used was what particularly drew me in. Looking at other typefaces used in the 60s to see how they conveyed the time period was what I found useful, how they represented the easy going laid back lifestyle. The words never seemed to flow in a straight line but as though on a wave of curves or circles, this to me shows the movement of the time and how things were changing with no real structure. I took particular interest in the serifs used here, they are extravagant and large, they don't seem to be following a grid just being put in to compliment the rest of the letterforms structure. 

Other types of design were also important for me to look at, a wide spectrum of the 60s is what I was aiming to gather from a wide breadth of research. This is a company logo design for Dorey Design, a Portland based web design company, is what I found in the Graphis Annual of 67-68 designed by Jeremy Knight and felt it fit in appropriately with my research. The use of circles to create the letter was what caught my attention, the basis of each letter is a perfect circle of which the stem revolves around. I think the way the two circles are the eye catching part is useful, its not necessarily readable but I think that is because there is limited letter forms and it appears to be slanted on a large degree.

Gerald Holtom created the peace sign just before the 60s in 1958, this has become a lrage part of my research and I think will also play a big part in the development of my typeface. The initial sketches by designer Eric Austin are the ones that I prefer the most, the way the three lines crossing through the circle flare slightly before intercepting the outer ring links in really well to my idea of incorporating fashion into the circle like typeface. As my partner declared that the thing that makes her the most unhappy is watching or listening to the news I felt that this is extremely relative to show how she wants peace and happiness and doesn't like to hear of all the unfortunate events taking place around the world on a daily basis, it represents her kind and caring side.