Brief 1 - Visual Thinking/ Alphabet Soup: 10 Final Letterforms

Below shows my 10 final letter forms for alphabet soup. Next I will look at turning one of them into a full alphabet. Every letters threshold has been adjusted so that they are clearer and precise. However because some letters were created by paper stencils or layering it means the edges have become rougher than they should be, I will look into editing this but I quite like it how it is as it makes it feel more hands on.

The 'B' was playing around with the idea of a circuit, having a gap where something is missing or broken. The serifs have been removed and so has the varying widths so that the letter is all the same width. This shows how much impact the instrument has, it can be smooth with defined edges. It is very much a statement letter, the broken gap implies it has stopped suddenly and is still to be completed. Im not sure whether this would work as a body copy but it is definitely something I will explore.

To create the 'C' I layered black and white paper increasing in size so that each piece had an outline. The concept behind this was to show the many layers that an instrument has, the different depths and complexities behind a singular instrument. Equally I wanted it to portray the build up and layering of different instruments in an orchestra.

The 'D'  is to represent the intricute detail in instruments, I wanted to portray how an instrument can go from quite large to very small. The thicker width on the curves provides a dramatic contrast showing how the size can decrease very quickly. The serifs have been kept but only on the outer side of the stem so that it leads nicely to the next letter whilst still being showing a straight and prompt edge.

The 'I' above shows intricate detailing and was originally cut out using a scalpel. The idea was to show two things. Firstly how fine and detailed an instrument can be but also what affects can be made with an instrument such as a scalpel. I think the original affect has been lost since it has been scanned in because it isn't clear it has been cut out by hand, the edges just look rough and messy not hand rendered.

The 'I' above was a similar idea as the previous 'I' except basing the negative space on a violin. With this 'I' I didn't cut it out by hand but created the shape with a pen, this is why the edges of the letter (given they're not perfect) are a lot smoother. This letterform would potentially work well as a header copy but not as body text as it is too chunky and with the detail on in a small font it would blur the letters together.

The 'L' is focusing on keeping the serifs the same but drastically reducing the size of the stem and base line to provide a higher contrast. I wanted to focus on seeing how much of a difference the letter could take without looking out of balance. In the case of this 'L' I think the bottom of the letter works well but that the top bracketed serifs may be too heavy. However that isn't to say I don't like the concept behind this letter.

With the 'O' above I have gone off on a slight tangent looking at musical notes and playing around with tilting the axis so it represents a Semibreve. When looking at musical instruments the notes used are very closely linked and could almost be classed as an instrument to music in themselves. I do like this idea but I feel it may be a bit to similar to my 'D', however it is certainly an idea I will play around with.

The 'P' is aiming to show the thin lines of an instrument. With the lines being parallel it shows how everything has to be neat and inline to work together, it shows how every part is just as important as the next.

The 'Q' was looking at two things. Firstly the idea of a circuit being broken and missing an instrument, similar to the first 'b' but without adding colour to see if it would look better with just thicker outlines. I took the tail from an arial font because it was more exciting and I felt it better represented instruments and it has a smooth curve to it. 

The 'U' was playing around with extending the letters to show elegance and a slender shape. This was one of my original ideas representing a test tube as a scientific instrument. If I was to carry this further I would play around with potentially making the width smaller, if not all other then in set places like on one of the stems so that it would represent elegance more. Extending the gap between the x height and baseline whilst trying to use the least space possible horizontally would give the illusion of longer and thinner letters.