DVB201 A2 W8
EDITORIAL DESIGN 1 - Choosing & Combining Type
TASK 1 - LABEL DESIGN CRITIQUE
1. How many typefaces were used?
There are a total of 3 typefaces.
2. What kind of typefaces are used and how do they relate to each other?
The typefaces are quite heavy-weighted and bold, sharing a consistent look of a longer x-height. They are monospaced and can be categorised under the Sans-serif font types.
3. How did the designer use space and alignment to organise the text?
The designer has organised the texts in centre alignment, and has utilised closer tracking between the letters to emphasise the heavy look of the font. Additional texts and logos were also used to balance the composition of the design overall.
4. What were the treatments used to differentiate text and organise information — size, scale, treatment (colour, effects)?
The name of the brand, ULTRA, is emphasised with all uppercase caps, bold and the largest font size, with additional decorative elements of 3D effects and an arrow logo, adding dimension. The categorisation of the product, glass and window cleaner, is emphasised with low caps, bold and medium font size, and has additional decorative elements, such as the shadowing and contrast strokes around the lettering, also adding dimension as the sub heading. The description of the product underneath is written with all uppercase caps, bold and smallest font size, and is organised into dot point format, marked with a tick image. It also contains decorative elements, such as the shadowing and contrast strokes around the lettering, to keep the dimensional format consistent throughout.
5. What are the other elements on the label (logos, images, graphics, rules, background colours)?
Other elements on the label include images and graphics, such as the white flash that is used underneath the heading text to emphasise it as the name of the brand, as well as the 'Australian made' text with the kangaroo image contained within a triangle to indicate the location of production.
6. What is your opinion about the quality of the label? Does it work? Is it aesthetically pleasing? Is it effective? Why do you think that is?
My opinion of the label is that it is high quality and well made; it is clean and simple, making it aesthetically pleasing as there is use of only 3 colours (blue, white and navy), and there is minimal content of text. It is a simple yet effective label design that works effectively to communicate what the product offers, and the boldness of the letters and simplicity in colour, type and organisation allows it to be easily noticed from a distance, making it more noticeable and easily identifiable to customers.
7. How does the use of type and its organisation on the label influence the aesthetic quality and efficiency of this label?
The label consists of the same kinds of typefaces, and there is even spacing and centre alignment that is consistent throughout, that guides the eye to follow a sequence and retain focus to the centre. The minimal quantity of text and similar line length also plays a role in the simple and clean aesthetic of the design, allowing readers to identify and focus on each line, which states only the important aspects of the product and the brand; this makes the label design efficient in its purpose as a descriptive label.
TASK 2 - LABEL DESIGN
ITERATION 1 - 2 typefaces and 1 colour
For this design, I used a soft and rounded font to match with the environmental and natural qualities of the product. For the main font, I used a sans serif font called Chalkboard SE, and to compliment this, I used another sans serif font called Avenir. Both fonts are very rounded and have similar structure and shape; the only difference is that Avenir is slightly more straight lined. Whilst Chalkboard SE is written in uppercase and bold lettering, Avenir is set aside by being used for additional information, being written in lower case and light weight, with upper case and bold weight only being used for sub-headings.
The main font Chalkboard SE was chosen as it resembled neatly written handwriting, which emphasises the natural qualities of the product, and Avenir was chosen because although it was of similar shape and structure, it consisted of straighter lines, therefore it was used for the additional information of the product and company. Decorative elements were added, such as the use of the rectangular lines to seperate texts and areas of information, as well as the tree imagery to represent the environmental and natural quality of the product.
ITERATION 2 - 1 typeface and 1 colour
For this second iteration design, I used only the Chalkboard SE font. The text has been varied through uppercases, lower cases, bold and light weighting. The title 'Glow Naturals' is emphasised with large sizing and bold, uppercase lettering and is highlighted by decorative lining underneath. The qualities of the product is organised underneath the decorative lining with even spacing, and is also further emphasised with the imagery of the tree in the middle. The title, sub-headings and body texts have been differentiated with uses of both weight and casing of the letters as I have use only one typeface.
ITERATION 3 - 1 typeface and 2 colours
For the third iteration design, I have continued using the Chalkboard SE typeface and keeping the black colour for the text, I have added green as the second colour to seperate the sections of the label. I chose the colour green to visually emphasise on the environmental quality of the product, linking to the imagery of the tree. I used the green colour for the decorative elements to highlight the sections of the paragraph and organise the information so that customers can easily identify what they are reading. I decided to eliminate the black outlining of the label itself, to create a more clean and organised look to the design.
