Helvetica Spread and Video
Part 1- Understanding the type.
After the first round of critiques on the spreads, I decided to re-explore the characteristics of Helvetica. My aim was to inform the audience not only the formal qualities of Helvetica, but also how its style resonates with the modernist movement.
I felt that my use of imagery in the spreads were inconsistent with people’s expectations of Helvetica. So I turned to more relevant imagery of modernist furniture designs. By placing Helvetica type over modernist imagery, I attempted to draw a formal parallelism between the two artifacts.
Instead of color, I decided to experiment with black and white forms. I played with scale, shapes, and various placements to communicate the bold, balanced, and clear visual qualities of Helvetica.
Part 2 — Pushing sketches forward
Utilizing the concept sketches, I began to play with how motion can help me to communicate a message.
I began by extracting some adjectives from the text and made various compositions with glyphs. I imagined how these glyphs would behave if it were in motion. I used indesign to draw quick sketches.
I chose to work with a string beat produced by Dj premier, one of the most influential musical artists in hip-hop since the early 1990’s. Placing the motion sketches on top of the beat, I experimented with how I can chop up the beats in various paces.
Part 3 — Constructing the frames
Once I had a general idea of all the options that I can take to visually express the types, I worked on establishing a hierarchy of information. I wanted to prioritize not only on describing the font but also show how Helvetica appears in context. I developed more concept sketches of how I can contextualize the information for the audience.
With more content generated, I decided I could create an engaging narrative by alternating between descriptive content and visual content.
