B O L D + B E A U T I F U L
Type Specimen
‘Bold and Beautiful’ is an experimental type specimen booklet showcasing the typeface Franklin Gothic ITC. The design is based off Morris Fuller Benton’s intentions of making Franklin Gothic the standard display sans serif typeface for newspapers and advertising in 1902. The pages are thus designed to mimic the aesthetics of advertising in magazines and newspapers, playing off the phrase ‘Bold and Beautiful’which essentially describes Morris’s typeface. Vibrant yellow and magenta were the chosen colors to convey the striking appeal of an advert and accentuate the imagery as well as the typeface’s bold characteristics.
All Photos were derived from Secondary Sources found on the Internet.
my designs of the various spreads in the book are inspired by the various elements that are characteristc of the commercial advertisng world especially during the first years of modernism in the 1920s to the 60s. Hence the use of billboard imagery and typical products like cars and perfume.
Below: Various thumbnail sketchs of my initial ideas in designing the spreads for the book
