Journal Entry 8: Sublime album covers

I first heard Sublime's Self Titled album in 1996 soon after it came out and have been hooked ever since. I have all three of their original albums, and the first two of their posthumous albums. In this post I am going to look at three of Sublime's album covers. First I will look at Sublime's first album 40 Oz. to Freedom, next their Self Titled album, and finally their first posthumous album Second-hand Smoke. I mentioned this in my post about Propagandhi's albums, and it also rings true with Sublime, their logo changed constantly with all of their albums and promotional merchandise.

I'll start with Sublime's first studio album 40 Oz. to Freedom. The typographic layout for this album is very clean. The use of only black and white for the text gives it good contrast against the background. Not only does the type contrast with it's background, but it also contrasts with the image. The sun image is very busy and colorful, the simplicity and lack of color of the type contrasts well with this. The use of a script font for the title helps to unify the type and the sun image. Some of the curvy lines of the script font echo the curvilinear lines in the image. Emphasis is given to the band's name by placing it in the black bar. If the designer had not done this, or made the name any smaller it would have been overshadowed by the image.

Next we have Sublimes most popular, "final" studio album, it is a S/T, released shortly after the lead singer Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose. I say "final" because there have been a bunch of compilation and live albums released since then. I really like the type treatment on this album. Tattoo styled text on album covers is quite popular, but but not many bands actually use a photo of one of the member's tattoos. The tattoo style is often really busy and crowded, the simplicity of this is a welcome change. If his back were covered in ink, it would have distracted from the name/title and ruined the whole thing. On a non-typographic note, the way the black and white foliage frames the picture is superb. It also helps to camoflauge that pesky parental advisory well.

The final cover I will look at is their first posthumous album entitled Second-hand Smoke. This contradicts everything I said about simplicity, but I believe the busy layout works well on this cover. This is done in a graffiti style which in most cases is very busy. It's interesting that the designer chose to frame a photo with an illustration on this album also. Although the cover is very busy, the band's name stands out very well due to it's large size and bright green color. Another curious fact about this cover is that it does not have the actual title on the front of the cover.

Journal Entry 7: Typography in Hollywood

In this entry I am going to look at the typography on the covers from three of my favorite movies. Movie covers are very interesting because there are so many interpretations that can be made for one movie. This phenomenon was seen in the recent Take Two movie poster contest. The posters were all different from the originals, and even posters that were created for the same movie were vastly different. Posters and covers are a little different but the premise is basically the same.

The first is for the movie called Trailer Park Boys: The Movie. This movie is based on the Trailer Park Boys show. They took a lot of elements from the show and condensed them down into a shorter motion picture. I think one of the best elements of this movie cover is how they used a dirty old license plate to frame the text. Most of the cars driven by the main characters (especially Ricky's car) are old and kind of trashy, hence the old license plate. They probably could have done a better job at blending the type with the license plate, but this may have become too contrived. They used the same font for all of the elements on the cover, the only differences are the size, and some of it is in italics. It is a very bold font with thick stroke, I believe it is Impact, or something very similar.

The next movie I chose is Donnie Darko. This is the director's cut, I like the cover for the director's cut better than the original because it is less crowded and it generally fits the theme of the movie better. This movie is a science fiction film that is very ethereal and the way the typography for the title was handled, reflects these aspects of the movie. It is hard to tell if the type that is "ghosted" behind the title and words "The Director's Cut" is even the same words. When I look at it, I see what almost looks like an X behind where the D is, but the end of Donnie and Darko look like they have the correct letters. This aspect of the typography is what really gives the ethereal feeling.

The final movie cover I chose is Quentin Tarantino's cult classic Pulp Fiction. It is filmed in Tarantino's signature style with ton's of violence and a nonlinear story line. The slab serif font for the title seems to fit this cover perfectly. I can't think of any other example of lettering that would fit this better. This font is very bold and in your face, just like the movie.

Journal Entry 6: More bicycle logos

Since I was already on the topic of bicycles I thought I would keep going down that trail and examine some logos for specific bikes. I am going to examine three different logos from different bikes from Specialized. If you can't tell, I ride and like Specialized bikes a lot. I am going to include a picture of the bike along with the logo because the design of the logo is integrally linked to the design of the frame.

First off we have the Stumpjumper, this is the bike that started it all. As stated in the previous entry, the Stumpjumper was the first mass production mountain bike to be released, that was in 1981. Almost 30 years later it is still a force to be reckoned with in XC (cross country) racing. Although in that time the logo has undergone many evolutions. Many of Specialized's logos for specific bikes are somewhat similar. They all use unique typefaces, that feel like they belong to a family. This makes sense, and gives the brand as a whole some unity. I especially like the Stumpjumper logo because it really feels like it follows the same lines as the top tube of the bike, and unifies the two. The rounded letters convey a sense of aerodynamics and swiftness.

Next is the Demo, this is strictly a downhill bike featuring 7" of suspension travel in the front and 8" in the rear. For comparison, the Stumpjumper has less than 4" of travel, and this bike has only 4-5" less travel than a motocross dirt bike. This bike is meant for extreme riders and extreme terrain. The logo is fitting because it is also extreme. As with the Stumpjumper logo, I think this one follows the top tube quite well. The M follows the line of the top tube just in front of the seatpost. And the way the logo seems to ascend slightly from left to right, also echos the shape of the frame. Also the thickness of the letters have the same feeling of strength and sturdiness of the frame.

Finally we have the FSR XC. This logo is interesting because it is composed of acronyms. FSR stands for Future Shock Rear, which is a rear suspension design that specialized patented. And XC stands for cross country. This is basically a cheaper version of a full suspension Stumpjumper. I would have used the Stumpjumper FSR for comparison but the logo is almost identical to the regular Stumpjumper, using the same typeface with thinner strokes. The combination of the solid filled and rounded letters of FSR contrasting with the stroked and hard edged letters in XC is an interesting juxtaposition.

Journal Entry 5: Bike Company Logos

When Im not stuck in class or doing homework (and the weather is nice) I like to spend my time riding my bicycles on mountains. I thought I would take a look at the logos for three quality bicycle manufacturers. Specialized and Kona are large manufacturers that make a wide range of bikes, from mountain to road. Niner Bikes is a more specialized company that focuses strictly on mountain bikes. They are unique because they focus on 29" wheeled bicycles (hence the name Niner), while most mountain bikes feature 26" wheels. Both Kona and Specialized offer 29ers but are not focused on them as Niner is.

At first glance all of the lettering in the logo's looks quite similar. They are all very bold and edgy. Each company wants it's logo to convey the feeling of speed, so they are all italicized as if they were charging down a trail or road. Bicycle companies don't want to be "generic" so they generally don't employ a pre-made font in their logos, instead opting for custom lettered type.

Thus far I have focused more on the wordmark part of the logos, but as you will notice each logo also has a second element. Specialized has a large stylized S as part of it's logo. I found the website for the company that designed the logo (I think just the S and not the wordmark) and it was stated that the logo was designed "specifically for their bike's narrow headtube." Here is a link to that article: http://www.thebrandgarage.com/?page_id=306

Next is Kona, they use a gear shaped element for part of their logo. Since their name is so much shorter it is easier to employ it on different sections of their bicycles (for example the skinny headtube). And finally we get to Niner's logo. Their logo features a large 9. I think out of the three logos I have looked at, it is the most fitting. The big advantage to a 29er is it's larger wheel size, which helps with rolling over obstacles, gives additional speed, and improves traction. The large 9 conveys these ideas well.

Specialized is the oldest company out of these three. They introduced the first mass production mountain bike to the marketplace in 1981. Oddly enough the wordmark part of their logo has changed very little since the early '80s, yet still feels modern.

Kona is the second oldest company out of these three, it was founded in 1988. Although the name comes from Hawaii and many of their bikes have Hawaiian themed names, the company is based out of Ferndale, Washinton and Vancouver, BC. For a company that is only a little over 20 years old their logo has changed quite a few times, I saw about 4 different variations on one page of a google image search.

Niner is the youngest of the three companies, I could not find an exact date, but 29ers started to gain popularity in the early 2000s. Although the trend really took off about 10 years ago, I think Niner is only about five or six years old. They are the smallest of the e three companies, and are more independent, and their logo reflects this. Not that the other two companies are generic or feature generic logos, but they can be distinguished as larger companies.

All of these logos have a wordmark and a separate logo element that can be used on their bikes or for promotional material. Using the other logo element alone is an interesting concept. Usually when you see companies logo, such as Adobe's A logo, it is accompanied by the companies name. Certain brands that have become household names such as Nike will employ their symbol alone, but that is because every one knows them. With a more specialized company such as bike companies, not everyone will recognize the symbol. But the companies will still use the symbol alone on different promotional materials. It's as if recognizing the logo entitles you to membership in an exclusive club.

It would have been neat to look at the logos of specific bikes from these brands but that would have led me far astray and made for a post that was far too long.

Journal Entry 4: Book covers of Neal Stepenson

Since we just finished the book project, I thought I would go ahead and examine the typographic layouts on some book covers by my favorite author, Neal Stephenson. The first book is called Quicksilver and it is from his historic fiction series, The Baroque Cycle. The second book is Cryptonomicon, it is also a historic fiction novel. And the third book is one of his earlier books called Zodiac. Quicksilver was published by William Morrow, Cryptonomicon was published by Perennial, and Zodiac was published by Grove Press.

I picked these book covers for discussion because they are good examples of how typography can help to represent the contents of a book and help sell the book. Of course the old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover" still rings true, but it is good when the inside and the outside of the book are unified. For example, it wouldn't make sense to have a romantic novel with a cover that looks like something from a Rambo movie.

Quicksilver is a historic fiction novel set in the late 1600 and early 1700s. The font chosen for the authors name and title is an old style typeface that is somewhat distressed. I believe that it might be Caslon Antique. This was a good choice for the typeface because of the time that the book was written about. There are parts in the book that are about printing using old style printing techniques and presses. One recurring theme is dissidents printing up libels on hidden press, I imagine the font they would use would look similar to this. Of course it probably wouldn't be printed in silver ink. It looks gold in the photo, but it is silver. Adjusting the color proved tricky due to the glossy paper.

Cryptonomicon is also a historic fiction novel, it deals heavily with cryptography and mathematics. Both the title and the author's name are san serif fonts in all caps. The authors name is in a condensed font that has medium stroke weights and the title of the book is in a font that I wold say is futuristic. It reminds me of something that an engineer or mathematician would use so it fits well with the book. The title font is interesting because of the mix of curvilinear and rectilinear shapes. The letters with round parts (c, r, p, o, etc) are very rounded on the outside but the counter forms of the letters are basically rectangles with 90º angles. Mixing the two makes the letters unique.

As mentioned before, Zodiac is one of Stephenson's earlier novels. This novel is an ecological thriller about a grassroots environmentalist, who is involved in a semi-legal campaign to save Boston Harbor from large chemical companies. As a side note, the main character is not concerned only with Boston Harbor, that just happens to be his main focus in this story. The handwritten text fits very well with the grassroots theme that runs throughout the book. The main character rides around on a zodiac taking water samples and also uses it on other "missions," it talks about how the name of his environmental group, GEE International, is spray painted on the side of his zodiac. This ties in with the handwritten font on the cover. This is a newer addition of the book, I won't even mention the first edition, it was horrible and kind of scary.

I started reading Stephenson's books when I was in middle school and have since acquired all but one. I picked them for discussion since we just finished the book project and because all the covers represent the books well. It is hard to say what my initial reaction to these was because I've owned them for between two and seven years. These books are definitely a case where I would not make a buying decision based on the cover. I can confirm that is true because one of his books has a terrible cover but I bought it any way. If his books have bad covers, I will probably look at them and judge the cover, but not the contents.

Journal Entry 3: Propagandhi's typographic treatment

Propagandhi is a band that makes self-styled "progressive thrash" music. They've been rocking since about '86. Throughout their 20+ years of existence, their sound and album cover quality have developed and matured quite a bit. In this post I will be examining there three most recent album treatments.

The first is their 2001 release Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes.

As you can see this title uses a bold slab serif font, that has been distressed. The same font is used both for the band and album name.

Next up is their 2005 release Potemkin City Limits.

For this album they went to a stencil and san serif combo. It's a little bit less distressed for the most part. And there is more stroke contrast between the band name and album title.

The third example is their 2009 offering Supporting Caste.

This was quite a change. Much cleaner. An elegant serif typeface, mixed with a fancy italic (almost script) font.

Looking at all of their album title's and merchandise, they must have at least 10 variations. This seems to go against all of the principles of branding. Some bands will always have the same word mark (some use letter marks, and symbol marks, but I will disregard those for now) for all of their albums and merchandise. I think it may be a genre thing, metal bands and 70s/80s bands like Boston and Chicago seem to stick with the same word mark for all of their albums and collateral. In any case it doesn't seem to be hurting them.

We talked about hierarchy for the book project in regards to the title, and author's name. Usually the book title has more emphasis, except in certain cases where they are trying to sell a book by a popular author. On every album I have looked at, the band name has emphasis. Ultimately this makes sense, it was just another interesting dissimilarity I noticed.

The typefaces that were chosen fit well with the music, if that makes sense. Today's Empires and Potemkin City Limits are both rougher. I don't mean rougher in recording quality, they are all recorded well, but more furious and more in your face. While Supporting Caste is more refined. It rocks just as hard (if not more so), is just as loud and is just as impassioned, but the music and lyrics are over all classier, along with the type treatment.

Journal Entry 2: Alphabattle!

LetterCult.com is a site I visit quite frequently, it's dedicated to custom letters and the people who design them. This year they are doing what's called Alphabattle. The name is somewhat misleading, as stated on the site, it's not a battle or even a contest. It was started last year as a Flickr group, and LetterCult decided to carry on the torch.

It's basically a forum (not in the literal since) where people can post custom letters they design. It started in March and every two weeks they will post up the new letter, going in order from A to Z. There are a few basic rules, the main one being that the letters must be made from scratch, not from a font.

Right now only A, B, and C are up but there are already some very interesting, and extremely unique custom letters. Here are a few examples.

Pancacke A... Yummy.

Maybe not the best example in terms of traditional font design, but certainly the most delicious. This was designed by Joshua Harless.

There were many good examples for B, it was hard to choose just one. This one has a nice pattern going on and the 3d is pretty shnazzy. It's a little more like a font than the last one. This was created by Leann Donaldson.

On to the letter C. It seems as if there are less entries for C and the designs are getting more abstract. Surprisingly this crab C isn't the most abstract entry. I like its playfulness and simplicity. It was designed by Jen Montgomery.

So far a number of people have submitted a letter for A, B, and C, hopefully they will keep on going and do all 26.