Type Decades
Illustration
To study different typefaces in history, I created these sets of illustrations with some references to pop culture. I particularly enjoyed working on the pulp magazine cover and mandala pieces. Each image was very much an experiment to create content that reflected each time period.
The typeface Eckmann was created by Otto Eckmann in 1900 and is considered the first German advertising type. It was designed with a brush and is frequently accompanied by floral forms. Eckmann’s paintings also had similar floral decorations. Eckmann was made for large prints such as posters, book titles, and advertisements. The flowing forms are often found on the Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) facades in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is one of the most recognizable typefaces in Jugendstil and is still in use today.
Reporter is a brush written typeface designed in 1938 by Carlos Winkow. Futura was created in 1927 by Paul Renner. Futura was revolutionary because most German books were still being printed in heavy blackletter scripts. Both typefaces were often used on Pulp cover magazines which were printed on high quality paper depicting femme fatales in distress. The women are usually shown with torn clothes waiting to be rescued from cryptid monsters. Pulp covers became increasingly popular because people needed an escape from the great depression. Reporter was also used on early Pulp Fiction poster covers and has since been used in all sorts of advertisements. It has a scribbly effect that feels like it was created with fast strokes of a brush. Meanwhile, Futura is based on geometric shapes and is still used in a large variety of media.
The Twilight Zone tv series typeface is a specialized version of Bernhard Modern created by Lucian Bernhard in 1937. The show itself aired in 1959 in a time where 90% of homes contained a television. It was also used in the revival series that aired in 2019. Bernhard Modern is a serif typeface that has a low x-height and elongated ascenders.
The typefaces I picked this week are called Village and Orbit from the phototype era. This method uses a photographic process to create rows of type on scrolls of photographic paper. Linotype molds were replaced by negative photos. This piece was inspired by photo-lettering techniques that replicated mandalas.
These typefaces are so similar, they are often used together as Village & Orbit. Village appeared in 1968 in PLINC’s Psychedelitypes booklet, but no designer was credited. It was included in a feature on Ed Benguiat in Typographic i in 1978. Orbit’s origin is also unclear but appears in many 1970-1980s catalogs. One of the first digitized versions of Orbit was credited to Humberto Gillan in 2017. Orbit was inspired by the circular movements of our planets.
The second design/typeface is called Helvetica Compressed. This typeface was significantly different from other versions of Helvetica. It has a much heavier weight and was created with a Linofilm typesetter in 1966 by Matthew Carter. This typeface was used on a poster of Andy Warhol vs. Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1985 (artist vs artist). Warhol's art often focused on consumerism and popular culture. After I found a Boxed Water Is Better package that used Helvetica Compressed, I turned it into a Warhol like illustration.
Megahertz was created in 1997 by Bill Dawson and was often used by 90s rave culture in posters for techno music. It was also used in several popular movies including The Amazing Spider-man. It is classified as a display font.
I found David Carson’s work to be interesting and so he was my inspiration for this piece. His work is very experimental often distorting his typefaces. Overlays are sometimes used and repetition to express his ideas.
These illustrations were created for a class project, with no affiliation to the respective owners. All images, logos, products, videos, and other copyrights or trademarks featured, mentioned, or referred to within the project are the property of the respective owners. The use of the trade name, copyright, or trademark in my student portfolio for identification and reference purposes only and does not imply any association with the copyright or trademark holder of their product or brand. My work is not affiliated, associated, authorized, maintained, sponsored, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with these copyright or trademark holders. The respective owners do not sponsor or endorse any of the shown work. I declare no affiliation, sponsorship, nor any partnerships with any copyright or trademark holders.