Type Anatomy
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Type Anatomy •
Introduction
The following work is an experimentation with the anatomy of type while deconstructing its historical origins into the design.
Skill: Illustrator, Photoshop
Timeline: November-December 2023
Research
Born in San Francisco in 1908, Jackson Burke was a type-director for Mergenthaler-Linotype during the years of 1949 to 1963. He developed the TeleTypesetting System (TTS) for magazines around the time he designed Trade Gothic (1948). Gathering all this information is what led me to find the look and sketch out my designs.
Sketches
Key elements for my sketches were to include strong imagery that greets you with the typeface name and easy identifiable characteristics. Vintage newspaper design layouts were straight-edge and bold with either black, white, or grey as the main color scheme. With that in mind, I needed to create a design that is bold for its first impression.
First Renditions
My first rendition heavily focused on a grid format to resemble typesetting letter pieces. Each piece of information framed to their own space, however the design looked too put together than I initially planned. Leading up to my second rendition, the spacing is more breathable, text is easy to digest, while also imperfect to what a “clean print” would look like. Typesetting is prone to smudge or misalignment as anything man-made tends to be.
Poster
The poster is meant to be the first introduction of the typeface. I wanted to take advantage of showcasing the origins of the first use of this specific type in the late 1940s newspapers. Using aesthetics of typesetting compositions, information regarding the history of Trade Gothic is reflected with a vintage yet modern-edge look.
Folded Spreads
The function of the poster serves as a bifold booklet of two spreads when folded into fourths. Inside the spreads are the different weights and font sizes of the Trade Gothic sans-serif typeface.
