Type Specimen Book: "Textures"

This book explores three typefaces and their various weights, size, numbers, and glyphs through the design and theme of "Textures."

Project Task

The task for this project was to create a Type Specimen Book that follows key guidelines supplemented by the professor.

The guidelines included choosing three fonts and creating a unified design that repeats in each chapter. The design must showcase various forms of the font and utilize basic elements and principles of design.

Process

For my Type Specimen Book, I chose the theme "Texture." I would always draft my ideas on paper to loosely visualize my ideas while noticing problems and finding solutions.

Sketching process for the first section and designs for the cover page with the words "textures."

Details

After learning about the color of type, I was fascinated by how paragraphs can create an illusion of a block of color. The different weights of the typeface can create an illusion of a lighter or darker palette which is somewhat similar to how printers use halftones to give an illusion of various color values. By utilizing this quality of type, I was able to create different textures and patterns to highlight the quality of the typeface while playfully decorating each chapter.

All of the patterns were created with InDesign. This process allowed me to come up with different techniques such as overlapping shape layers to perfectly align and compose elements.

Results

The three chapters in this Typographic Specimen Book showcase the typographic elements of Baskerville, Helvetica, and Bauhaus. The cover, endpaper spreads, and the title spread uses the font Parisian to contrast from the other fonts while complimenting the chosen theme of "textures."

Throughout this book, a cohesive design is achieved through the use of a minimal color palette, organized flow of each chapter, and distinctive decorative element which uses the color of type in varying ways.

This image includes the cover page, endpaper spread, and title spread. The endpaper showcases a pattern created by the letter "W."
This image includes the three complete chapters as well as spreads in between which showcases typographic textures while creating breathing spaces within the flow of the book.

This was my first Typography class and this Typographic Specimen Book was our final project. This project allowed me to utilize my fine arts background in playfully designing decorative elements while teaching me the intricate precision and balance that is unique to typography. I learned that I enjoy creating design elements that bridge between visual and practical organization.