Small publication

The first idea I had for a small publication was doing a "periodic table" of typefaces. Since this idea was already done by Camdon Wilde I thought it would be a good idea to make it smaller and more visual rather than practical: Vignelli's favourite typefaces.

These are my first sketches:

At the beginning I thought to divide a long piece of paper in squares and use each one of the squares for a different typeface, like a part of that periodic table and fold the paper in a way that squares fit between the creases. Open (90x30) would be big enough to be a poster to be hanged if wished, but folded (15x15) would be an intriguing leaflet without much information. This size was chosen to keep it handy enough to be open anywhere, but when closed looked minimalistic, having white text resting in a comfortable black background, without tension on the edges.

On the other side of the paper the signature of Massimo Vignelli. This concept changed, as a signature is not always recognised, but the face is more likely to be.

This way of folding allows to present the leaflet as an M of Massimo as well.

In one of the first drafts the design was purely black and white because it made sense since the picture of Vigelli was black and white. The grid system was accurate but not appropiate, but this helped to identify what kind of grid was needed. The text on Vignelli's side was just temporary.

The following draft shows the evolution from the first ideas that were less flexible and forceful to something more modernist, so I checked Vignelli's designs to have some inspiration. The grid system was adjusted so when folding the poster every section would be a perfect square of 15x15.

On the side of the photograph there is the front and the back text in Garamond (to give to it a "classic" status) when the leaflet is completely folded. When the audience is opening it they can find a quote of Vignelli in Helvetica bold next to his face. I thought it would be interesting to put a different quote in every square, but when opened it would have looked saturated, and since the folding system is quite quick to be opened up the surprise should be saved for the bigger picture.

On the other side I used a combination of 4 colours: White for Sans-serif fonts, ideal to communicate simplicity and Gold for Serif, to convey serenity and hierarchy.

The information added to the typefaces is from the periodic table of typefaces.

The coral colour of the background on top makes the shapes of the white sans typefaces to look modern and minimalistic, while the dark brown emphasises the classic essence of the serif fonts. I followed the contrast of saturation and light-dark contrast. The colours are all warm as too much contrast (for instance, blue and red) would be too much information and distract the audience from the main purpose of the publication.

The grid divides the whole picture into 12 squares in the horizontal line and 4 in the vertical. They don't fit into the margins, they are there to keep the information within the boundaries. As a result, the squares on the corners are smaller. To compensate this, all the text blocks are the same size as the block in the corners are. This both helps to keep the consistency and leave more space between blocks, leaving the grids to indicate the way the leaflet should be folded.

For now the design has to be subject to feedback and a colour correction based on Pantone colour systems.

Feedback

During crit sessions the design was subject to analysis and one useful comment above all was to put all the font titles above the text, keeping the methodical approach Vignelli would have.

Another interesting idea that came up was to, instead having the title printed on the poster, it could be printed on a band that holds the design in it. This would also solve another problem: the folded publication doesn't stay closed, it's loosen.

Evaluation

Printing was a problematic process that taught me a few things. At least in College, is not possible to print on a double-sided coated paper if it is a big piece. Also, is not possible to print it that big and double sided because there are problems matching both sides, as it can come out off tilted.

What i did was printing a bigger version (70% of the size of the original one) on uncoated paper and a smaller one to have a coated version.

The ink cracked on the long fold because it wasn't possible to use folding machine for a piece that long.

It was actually a good thing that I had to make it smaller, since the size was more portable and if it was bigger it would have been a bit unpractical to deliver.