Sketches

Following my research, I decided that I was really interesting in conveying Futura’s involvement in the Apollo 11 mission as I think that it best represents the typeface’s modernist values, reaching as far as the moon. I began to sketch several designs, considering important elements like geometric shapes which where motifs among my images of inspiration. Ellipsis’ and line appeared the most, as they were symbolic of the planets and paths involved with achieving the moon landing. My first sketches focused on presenting the composition of the solar systems, with lines being used to create a sense of distance and orbit. However, as I began to develop these early designs I found I was really interested in altering and manipulating the flight path which Apollo 11 space. From my research, I learned that the space craft did a figure of eight around the earth and its moon before returning. I thought this was a really exciting, geometric shape that mirrored the unusual elements that I found throughout Bauhaus designs. I decided to explore how this figure of eight, reminiscent of an infinity sign, could be altered, resized and cut to create an interesting space for my text.

Developing My Sketches in Figma

I decided to use Figma to create my vector drawings. This software allowed me to begin exploring how I could develop my sketches onto the iPad screen, providing interesting tools that could develop my rough sketches. As shown in the above image, I wanted to focus on created circles, arcs and loops to reflect the figure of eight that I had experimented with in my drawings. I began to use masks to create the above design in which the typefaces’ title is repeated in different weights and sizes to create a fill that in combination with the ellipsis silhouette, creates the impression of the spherical moon in which Apollo 11 landed. I found this experiment successful as it allowed me to create the circle elements I had sketched in a new interesting way through Figma as the obscured fill creates a sense of depth and texture.

write about the dashed line and the transparency of the dash line etc…

I also experimented with creating an arc path which the text follows to try and reflect the figure of eight path from my sketches, using the background text for Futura as an interesting fill for the audience to follow. I did not like how the pathway obscured the spacing of words and letters, and decided to continue experimenting with a neater way to create this loop path. I decided that I preferred the dashed line featured in contrast to the text path, was more successful as it was neater and broke down the text heavy specimen. I also liked this path better as it reflected a traditional maps dash path which the viewer is familiar with following, allowing me to highlight the interesting figure of eight shape and emphasise the fonts role in a form of futuristic adventure.

Colour

In the above samples, I experimented with colours. I decided that it was important I use a dark tone for the screen background as it is easier for the audience to read the text which can stand out in a vibrant, lighter shade. A dark shade would also allow me to reinforce the Apollo 11 theme which I wished to convey, the background reflecting the dark stretch of space in which the astronauts on board travelled. While the black shade was effective in creating a contrast with the bright red, yellow and white text, I preferred the midnight blue background as the three primary colours co-ordinated well. From my earlier research I also found that the primary colours also featured heavily in both Bauhaus work (the time in which Futura was designed) and also in media during the sixties (Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969) as bright colours were utilised in fashion, album art and many other forms of design due to the rise of movements like psychedelia. I found that blue created a more exciting energy, mirroring the interesting period of history filled with change.

Other Experiments I considered

Inspired by my research into the Bauhaus movement, I decided to experiment with emulating László Moholy-Nagy’s interesting typography compositions. In his book cover design for “Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar 1919-1923” (1923), Moholy-Nagy rotated text by 90º and placed it at perpindicular to its counterparts to create angular geometric compound shapes.

I experimented with introducing simple arcs into the design to establish a level of depth to the text. Geometric shapes were utilised during practitioners of the Bauhaus and International Style as the simple elements created an objective, stylish outcome. I found their inclusion successful in my own design as the two circles, one larger than the other to play with proportion, reflect the planetary imagery I had experimented with in my sketches. I chose vibrant, high-contrasting colour palette which reflected futuristic era of space travel.

Final Outcomes

Class Critique

After class critique, I moved the 1927 (before editing seen above) so that it better aligned with the dashed-line loop in the same column of my grid. The result as seen in my final outcome for this specimen benefits from this better aligned, creating a much more organised visual that reflects the modernist structure of Futura.

Final Outcomes