Illustrators are being asked to deal with typography more
and more, whether it is incorporating words into our images, selecting font(s)
to accompany an illustration, or actually designing an entire project for a
client. For many graduates of illustration programs with curriculums devoted
strictly to pictorial concerns, having to deal with typography in any capacity
on a professional level can be daunting. However, there are ways to overcome
whatever typographical challenge an illustrator may be faced with. This article
is the first in a series of articles that will provide advice on two complex
subjects: (1) typographic integration, type used within an illustration, and
(2) typestyle coordination, type used to accompany an illustration.
For many people words, reading comprehension, and literacy are
what visually inexperienced people call “left-brain” activities. Dealing with
visual aesthetics, pictorial literacy, and visualization is known as
“right-brain” activities. Surprisingly, even illustrators and artists subscribe
to this worldview, however, graphic designers and typographers don’t. So it is
important for illustrators to know what designers know that they don’t.
Most simply put, designers have learned how “not to read”.
Instead of reading for content, designers have developed the ability to look at
letterforms as pure form, the same way we illustrators look at the human figure
as pure form. In other words, a graphic designer's figure study is the study of
letterforms. A designer’s awareness of a letterform proportion, style, weight,
tone, etc. are the equivalent of an illustrator’s understanding of figure form,
posture, musculature, expression, tone, etc. in a figure.
By thinking of type purely as a pictorial element, it’s
possible to learn to choose and coordinate type with the other subject elements
to be incorporated into an illustrated composition, or to apply type to accompany
an image.
There are a number of considerations that form the basis for
a decision concerning typeface choice and application. In reference to
illustration, the coordination and integration of typography depend on the
conceptual direction, the subject content, the compositional layout, and the
purpose of an illustration project. These components form the frame of
reference for the application of typography. Bearing that in mind, there are
some fundamental, or central criteria, that can influence an illustrator’s selection
and application of type.
The following criteria categories may be the used individually
or in combination to choose and execute an assignment solution. Those categories
for making typographical decisions are: context, function, association, and
style. For this introduction, these central criteria will be discussed briefly.
Context
The application of typography based on context involves a
close assessment of the native use of form and appearance of elements within an
illustration. Following along the lines of not reading type for content,
context in this sense refers to visual context. The choice and use of type
based either on mirroring the visual traits in an illustration or posing a
contrast to the form. The first two examples below demonstrates a contextual type
use by similarity, and the third example displays contrast.
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| Contextual type integration. Typeeverything.com. |
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Contextual type integration. For the Australian New Years Day
Music Festival.
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| Contrasting type selection. Illustrative design by Dannygdammit. |
Function
Obviously, type included in, or accompanying an illustration
has the purpose of fulfilling a function. The intended function of the text forms
the basis for decisions concerning type. One instance would be when type
included in, or associated with, an illustrated logo must be legible when
reproduced at very small sizes. Another instance would be when type is used in
an illustrated billboard ad on a motorway and must be must be seen and read
quickly. Below are examples of type used in these two extreme situations.
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Functional type selection. Illustrated logo design by Seven Thirteen
Creative Inc.
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| Functional type selection. Illustrated billboard by Helena Garcia. |
Association
Association refers to the native design intent and
attributes that are inherent in the typestyle itself. Every font design was
motivated by, and based on, a specific purpose. Certain fonts have been able to
transcend their original purpose to become “versatile”, while other fonts
remain stagnated by a narrow functionality or a stereotyped association. Use of
a specific font may be for the purpose of creating a visual association to an
historical or cultural form of style or usage. Below are some examples that demonstrate the use of both
highly adaptable fonts and stylistically limited, stereotyped ones.
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Stereotypical association type selection, western. Illustrative
design by Tuck Industries.
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Stereotypical association type selection, circus. Illustrative
design by Michael Doret.
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| Versatile non-stereotypical type selection. Illustrative design by Lucie Rice. |
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| Versatile non-stereotypical type selection. Illustration by Cailtin Kuhwald. |
Style
Style is what most illustrators believe to be the most
important criteria for creating or selecting type to be used with illustration.
However, style choice without the support of the other decision-making criteria
mentioned above can yield less than satisfactory results. To a great extent, a successful
typestyle choice is based on context, function, and association, which then are
shown to be evident in the visual appearance of a typestyle.
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| Stylistic integration emphasizing context. Illustrative design by Kerian Massey. |
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| Stylistic integration emphasizing association. Illustrative
design by Tuck Industries.
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| Stylistic integration emphasizing function. Logo design by Scott Whitehouse. |
