I also have checked books like How to, by Michael Bierut (The chapter "How to travel through time), Greeting from Retro Design, by Tony Seddon (to better understand the Art Deco, Art Noveau and Mid-Century modern designs) and Retro and Vintage Design, by Lisa Hayek (which shows vintage products that can be a source of inspiration for the book).
Concept 1 - Time travelling using typeface
The first season of Stranger Things is a very good example of how just the music, colours and typefaces can take one to another time, when we were younger. It's a TV show that takes advantage of the nostalgy of the audience in order to sell their product. If that's their goal, they are doing a great job.
Something similar could be done with the photographs taken in Salamanca. A publication mainly focused on typefaces should appeal older audiences. Despite the bad connotations the times of Franco's dictatorship might have, usually people can't have their nostalgy feelings under control when they are exposed to the charms of old packages and logotypes, and to certain extent to typefaces that were used in certain time and place.
In order to achieve this, an old looking publication (not sure what kind yet) with an appearance of the 40-60's could very well fit this purpose.
After the talk I was suggested by John Watters to check the designer Louise Fili, specialised in retro packaging.
This concept has one possible derivation in Concept 3.
Concept 2 - The good, the bad and the ugly
This would be an ironic guide book of how to succesfully choose typeface to design anything in Salamanca. This would be done pointing out the lack of originality and variations there are in the city.
As most of this design decision are based on conservative lifestyles, it could be a good opportunity to make jokes about how difficult for that part of Spain is to evolve and be daring with design, if there's even a proper designer behind these sign boards. Designers doesn't seem to be taken in consideration in those areas (Comic Sans is everywhere) and complaining about how careless and dirty some places look because of its design it's not a topic people talk about. Some of them are vintage, but because of a perpetuation of what everyone around is doing instead of being a justified design decision.
I think this publication should be cheap to produce. It is not the type of publication to be given away (like tourists leaflets), but to make people aware of something. A critique is made to be heard and spread, not for the people willing to spend an important amount of money on a book.
It would be a visual publication, but not something meaning to be visually pleasant. It would have to be in a size that doesn't convey greatness (full bleed on big paper size usually appeals to the contemplation of a picture). It is a critique of what's in the pictures, so it needs to be somehow mocked.
The target audience for this book would be Spanish young people with political opinions towards the left wing. In Spain there's a lot of criticism from both wings to each other. It's something that never dies and focusing on design to appeal younger generations and artists it could potentially change the way Salamanca looks.
I would also explain that the book is intended to critisise bad design based on conservative and originality lacking choice, and not old design per sé.
Edit 1: Make a publication about the beautiful side of using old typeface and the ugly one separately, so it wouldn’t be such a negative publication. Showing a contrast would also increase the effect of both sides.
Concept 3 - Guide to travel in time in Salamanca
This is an extension of the Concept 1. I don't want to mix this two concepts, as the first one might derive in something different I might consider.
This would definetely be a publication for a Spanish older audience or that audience who is specifically interested in history, which is not strange at all, since the main attraction of this city is its history. It would fill a gap I think is in the market, which is the connection between history and typeface in Salamanca. This kind of things are what give personality to a city or a country.
Talking to my girlfriend (who is from Salamanca) about this project, I was trying to explain her how I need to produce a publication informed by the content of it. After speaking about it for a while, she said that it'd be nice if the publication is called "Al pie de la letra", which is "Down to a T" or "To the letter". Both in English and Spanish it means to perfection, but it is actually a pun. It's a saying everyone uses, but with the purpose to emphasise the typeface. Besides, "Al pie de la letra" literally means "At the feet of the letter". It was then when I realised I could design some kind of touristic guide to move around the city in order to visit these spots which are not the main attractions, but the fact that they are a physical proof of a more recent period of history and it's more than likely that most of them are going to be removed at some point (as soon as the owners decide to update their signboards or the owner changes) it has an additional value to it, as it is somehow ephemeral.
This publication should be easy to carry for both Spanish audiences and foreign tourists. Also, it needs to be free, so it needs to be cheap and financed by publishers. It should be a publication that makes audience realise about how some texts and signboards in the city take you some decades back.
Talking to my girlfriend (who is from Salamanca) about this project, I was trying to explain her how I need to produce a publication informed by the content of it. After speaking about it for a while, she said that it'd be nice if the publication is called "Al pie de la letra", which is "Down to a T" or "To the letter". Both in English and Spanish it means to perfection, but it is actually a pun. It's a saying everyone uses, but with the purpose to emphasise the typeface. Besides, "Al pie de la letra" literally means "At the feet of the letter". It was then when I realised I could design some kind of touristic guide to move around the city in order to visit these spots which are not the main attractions, but the fact that they are a physical proof of a more recent period of history and it's more than likely that most of them are going to be removed at some point (as soon as the owners decide to update their signboards or the owner changes) it has an additional value to it, as it is somehow ephemeral.
This publication should be easy to carry for both Spanish audiences and foreign tourists. Also, it needs to be free, so it needs to be cheap and financed by publishers. It should be a publication that makes audience realise about how some texts and signboards in the city take you some decades back.
Concept 4 - Salamanca Retro
A historical timeline throughout photographs of typefaces contextualised. In this format, the photographs should have a correct colour grading in order to convey the feelings from other times and it would be very visual, so it would have to be a big publication (maybe a cofee table book or something similar), as it is something to visually enjoy.
Concept 5 - Shopping in Salamanca (set in the past)
A catalogue of some kind that shows the shops that can be found in Salamanca. In order to add more depth, it could be designed like any other catalogue of the 40's and 50's. Although, this is a quite vague concept, amongst other things, because not all the pictures I have are of shop signs.
Concept 5 - How people from the past used to see the future
This would be a very interesting approach, but I don't see how I can relate the idea of "future" with the pictures I have and the type of design I have registered.
Feedback:
After speaking to Simon about these ideas he also suggested that in order to keep it free and feasible I should consider including a space in the publication for advertising.
The feedback session helped me to identify what idea was the right one in order to make an interesting publication. This was thanks to the questions others made, like: "Are you political?".
The most interesting ones were:
- I can make something visual, but that looks cheap on purpose... like pointing out that one can be original without expensive resources.
- Make it in two languages, despite it is mainly for Spanish audience. This shouldn't be a problem, because the book won't have much text.
- Use a book cover already done (pointing out lack of creativity). Or maybe do all the opposite, and do something that doesn't look like a book at all.
After this feedback, I realised that if I want to carry the concept 2 I probably need to focus on bad design (apparently made mostly because the designers don't have the credit they should in places like Salamanca or maybe because they do what everyone else do, and in a conservative place like that it's not nice to stand out too much).
After having a chat with Nick he gave me very valuable feedback that I think takes this project to a more suitable path for me. After explaning my project to him, he pointed out that there's no lack of originality. That actually, the owners of those stores actually think they are standing out when they are doing more or less the same as everyone else. This is because the designers are not taken in consideration, and sign boards are made by non-designers. They are just regular people with the resources and they are asked to make a design that stands out with this and this colour and hey, don't forget the big text! This is something I've noticed many times in the past: people trying to be different is what makes them exactly the same as everyone else. The book shouldn't have any text to avoid bias, just an explanation of the purpose of the book about how despite the good and bad design decisions they all look the same, they don't stand out because designers are not appreciated as they should in order to help business to attract new clientele. This book would be aimed to critical thinkers interested in graphic arts between 20-30 years old. Writing down possible names for the book could help me to get my message across clearly. Names like: Everyone is original (not really), Nothing special in being original (if everyone else is), stand out and blend in, nothing to see here, keep walking, how to blend in standing out, you are original (not really), be unique and go unnoticed.
I've also checked this colour grading tutorials in order to have a consistency in the images throughout the book:
https://fstoppers.com/education/making-color-grading-easy-using-color-palettes-109061
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrD53AJmfEM
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