TASK 8.3
FINAL ZINE PROJECT
Decisions
Visual Elements
1) ORIGIN title:
As the content on the origin spread alludes to the impact that the brutalism architecture movement had on typographic design styles, I wished to create some visual element to support the body text. Hence, I played with the title text "origin" to mimic a city skyline by condensing and stretching the letters to mimic the high rise buildings. As shown in the image below, I originally planned to create my own skyscrapers using blocks of placeholder text coloured black, with a lighter accent colour to act as the lights of the rooms in the building. However, I thought this was too distractive and visually competitive with the body text and didn't showcase the creativity that brutalism typography is known for.
2) Using Illustrator:
A key aspect of brutalism design is its playful and non-conventional qualities however, due to the restraints of the zine task which meant I had to use a lot of creative problem solving when creating the zine. Sometimes this meant bringing textual elements into Adobe Illustrator to further manipulate them and add an extra dimension to the otherwise flat zine. I used illustrator twice within this project: once on the 'layers' and 'textural type' spread and once more on the playful design page. In both instances I brought text into the software to manipulate its shape using wave forms and add a Gaussian blur effect to further blur the line between type and visual graphic.
The 'LOTS OF LAYERS' text is still fairly legible and acts as a background element that adds texture and interest to the page. Whereas on the playful design page, the repeated text of the word 'brutalism' has been warped to the point of it being indistinguishable.
example of extreme type manipulation in Zine
examples of restrained type manipulation zine
3) Exaggerated Glyphs:
The last form of typographic manipulation used within the zine is the use of exaggerated glyphs to create interesting forms and shapes within the spread, as well as push the boundaries between text and graphic image. Within the Brutalism spread the glyphs B and S have been sized up and shown in both solid and outlines forms to act as a visual element rather than a legible glyph. In this case it is implemented to bolster the notion of "textural typography" that is showcased within brutalism type design. There is often simple graphical elements in brutalism design that add textural to the final design, however due to the text only restraint for this project, common shapes and other images where substituted for exaggerated glyphs (Brutalism in Design: Its History and Evolution in Modern Websites, 2021). Moreover, on the Zine cover, the word "BRUT" has been significantly sized up to act as more of a visual element that a working title.
use of exaggerated glyphs on zine cover
Typefaces
When designing my Brutalism Zine I utilised a small number of typefaces and focused mainly on the manipulation of weight and appearance. The primary heavy-weight font I used was ‘Hanson Bold’, this type face became the centerpiece of the zine as it was a single weight font variant, meaning I couldn’t manipulate it as freely as my secondary typeface.
The second typeface I used was the ‘GT America’ family, specifically: Light Italic, Regular, Bold Italic and Expanded. The different variations of the GT America Trial family allowed me to create continuity and synergy within the zine but keep it visually interesting at the same time. I designed the zine as if the ‘Hanson Bold’ were the anchor that kept the ‘GT America’ tied together. Moreover, I was also very conscious to maintain contrast in typeface weights, thereby I frequently paired the light italicised with either the Hanson Bold or Bold Italic version of the GT America Font.
A key part of brutalism typographic design is also the strict usage of sans serif font, which I ensured to follow within my zine. There is no definitive answer as to why the sans serif font is favored over the serif style but, I would argue that since brutalism design trend is closely linked to the utilitarianism brutalist architecture movement in the 50s, that the lack of serif quality is to mimic the modern and stark aesthetic of the buildings. It is said that brutalism architecture favored bold shapes and form and lacked flourishes that were seen in the prior Art Deco architectural movement (1920-1940) (Buckley, 2020). Hence, when translated to the typographic and graphic design medium, it would make sense that the typefaces used to create the style carry the same modern, geometric appearance. Thus, the exclusive use of sans serif type.
Colour
Originally, I had opted for a monochromatic colour scheme for the zine. Using a pale pink paper, with a darker pink and black ink to compliment. Initially I wanted to use a monochromatic colour scheme to pay homage to the bleakness of brutalism design, as the primary building material was concrete. In turn, creating an architectural landscape that lacked any sort of colour. Moreover, the use of pink as my main colour choice was to juxtapose the industrialist qualities of brutalism typographic design. For the reasons stated above, designers often use black and white to maintain the same bleak and minimalist look. Though, I wanted to put my own take on the brutalism typographic design trend and opted for a more approachable pink.
However, after doing more research on brutalism typography it became apparent that the modern adaption of the design trend uses much brighter and more vibrant colours. Another key trend that is being used simultaneously with the brutalism aesthetic is “Hyper-Saturated Colour Contrast”. This style aims to use overstimulating and boundary pushing colour combinations, which I believed followed the ‘anti-design’ connotations that brutalism provides (99designs Team, 2021) Hence, I swapped the dark pink colour for a vibrant lime green as this colour is still complimentary to the lighter pink (red and green compliment) but further bolsters the anti-design notion that is created by brutalism typographic design.
pink lime green black
#f17db1 #b2d463 #000000
Hierarchy
It can be hard to distinguish a hierarchy when showcasing brutalism design as there are often several completing visual elements. Moreover, I constructed the zine to act more as a visual playground that encapsulates what brutalist typographic design is rather than to explain to the viewer what the style is in great detail. Therefore, the hierarchy established in my zine is dependent of the topic of the page or spread. For instance, on the overview and origin spread there is a focal “text” element with a supplementary body of text. However, on the minimalism spread the only element on the page is the 4 lines of text which, although small, act as the page’s focus.
For other pages like the misc. spread, I used typographic elements to visually demonstrate the context of the page (i.e. using sans-serif font for the sans-serif page). Similarly, for the layers and texture spreads the chaos is intentional to demonstrate the features of the style. The hierarchy, or lack thereof, is such an integral part of the brutalism style so it made perfect sense to create some pages that seem almost like a digital scrapbook of various layers and competing typographic elements.
Alignment
For my brutalism zine I used a 3x3 grid for every page and when applicable I used a baseline alignment and maintained use of 1, 2 or 3 column system. Certainly, there will be some alignment discourse while using the brutalism style but I respected the traditional alignment methods as much as possible to create an overall neat and organised looking zine. Furthermore, I used a mix of centre, left and right text alignment throughout the zine to create interest, but again respected the grid and margin alignments.
Reflection
Overall, I am pleased with my final zine and I believe it portrays the trend of brutalism typography well. This project was quite challenging for me, as this style is very out of my comfort zone, but from drawing upon the knowledge and typography techniques I learnt from week 7 of DVB202 to now, I was able to push myself to create this zine. I believe the robust research I did on the topic of brutalism and brutalist typography design also enabled me to make informed decisions and iterations of the zine until I reached my final design. If I was to design this zine again I would have wanted to push myself even further and use more unfamiliar colours, alignments and fonts as I believe that although my zine reflects brutalism design it is still my personal take on the topic and incorporates elements of my own personal design style.
References:
Brutalism in design: its history and evolution in modern websites. (2021, June 30). 99designs. https://99designs.com.au/blog/design-history-movements/brutalism/
99designs Team. (2021, December). 9 inspiring color trends for 2022. Retrieved from 99designs: https://99designs.com.au/blog/trends/color-trends/#8
Buckley, S. (2020, April 3). Art Deco architecture, buildings & houses. Retrieved from Architecture Design: https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/features/list/art-deco-architecture-buildings-houses#
