3D Type in London

This is known as "Songboard London," known as a "multi-sensory interactive installation" according to its website.  The little yellow and black balls allow the public to spin them to change what is being displayed.  People have used this to make words and spread messages.  Many created typographic messages, which makes this a very interesting example of 3D type.  Children and adults alike have used this to make pictures and words.  Students at a local university created this outside King's Cross Station, a major transportation hub in London.  The installation was up from July to September in 2012, but I believe it should have been permanent.  Projects like this allow people to express themselves in a public forum, bringing out the artist in everyone.

Here are links to the official site, and a blog featuring the installation:
http://www.songboardlondon.com
http://collabcubed.com/2012/10/17/song-board-central-saint-martins/

-Franny

Milk Stout Beer

     I took a trip to the Biergarden in Asbury Park and tried different beers. This Milk Stout caught my eye because it tasted like coffee and the label design (of course) so I had to take pictures. First off... there is a cow on the beer which makes no sense, totally random, another reason why I like it. But the typography is curvy using capital and lower case letters throughout giving it movement between the letters. The white type on the royal purple background makes the type stand out. There is a pattern in the background that would clash if the type was a different color. The pattern is curves and entwines overlapping with other lines. My favorite letter is the M because of how the top part does not touch the two vertical lines. The air between the letters is small but is just enough that from far away you can still make out what letter it is. It letters are decorative which continue down to the bottom where the saying is. It is a small point size which fits perfect in line with the length of the cow. Continuing around the bottle, the ingredients and information about the beer is written in sans serif capital letters and bold. Again white type of purple background but it is separated into sections to break down the information. An icon is used to show how to properly drink this beer. The type starts out around 12pts then gets smaller to 7/8pts at bottom. This is one of the first beers I've seen that includes their social media tags. The design is overall beautiful yet playful and yes... it was delicious!

- Alyssa D'Urso

Hand 3D Type

http://www.3dtypographybook.com/2013/02/handmade-type.html

I found this to be an interesting example of 3D type. The artist drew black lines on her hands and proceeded to use the lines in which she drew to create the relation between upper and lower case letters. In some cases she only use one hand while in others she used two and in some instances she even used her arm. This is a different and unique way to display type. The artist made her creation of 3D type to be more interactive rather than something that just hangs on the wall. It is something that was done in the moment and photographed.

Natalie

Montauk Brewing Company

The Montauk Brewing Company utilizes a simple packaging for their beers. Although simple, the design is unique and immediately caught my attention. The use of one bright color along with the text allows for the name of the beer to stand out. The design of each can is also different, for example, the summer ale uses two blue horizontal lines while the driftwood ale uses a yellow X. I also like the layout of the text on the cans. The first line of text is their slogan, "Come As You Are," with two horizontal lines before and after it to add a design element. Below that is their unique logo and below that is Montauk in all caps. Beneath Montauk is a small curved line depicted waves followed by the name of the ale. The last line of text is situated the same way as the top and reads "craft beer 12 fl oz." What I found most interesting about this beer was how it was depicted on their website. If you were to read about their beers, they do not have a real picture of the cans, rather, they have sketches of what the cans look like. I found this to be unique because it is a different way to approach the presentation of their beers and it gives their website an elements that allows them to stand out. The package design of the Montauk Brewing Company is one that is inviting and pleasing to the viewer.  The design also gives the beer a beachy, refreshing feel which is what the creators were aiming for. If I were to see this on the shelf in the store I would most likely pick it up and I am not even a big fan of beer.

http://montaukbrewingco.com/pages/home

Natalie

Beer Bottle Packaging - Carton Brewery

http://cartonbrewing.com
This is a local brewery out of Atlantic Highlands, NJ. This particular brewery is known for coming up with many different flavors of beer. Carton brewery use the color orange a lot for their logos, but would often use red as well. They split the two colors between their pints that come in a can (orange) and the (red) for 12 fl oz. bottles. Carton brewery is also known for their playful cartoon labels that can be seen on the cans and the bottles. They often incorporate colors that would coincide with the flavor of the beer. I feel that the 3d square they use for the flavor of the beer is to much. Just having maybe rectangle the slightly off would be enough. The type that they seem to use is appears to be the widely used Helvetica. Whatever typeface they used, it is a sans serif typeface that is clean and readable especially on the angle. I found that they were very creative with the UPC barcode by making it to look like their Carton logo. Maybe someday I might even try one of the flavors shown.

-Phil

Beer Bottle Packaging - Thirsty Turtle

Thirsty Turtle

http://www.ohbeautifulbeer.com/2011/05/thirsty-turtle/

I tend to be drawn to simplicity just like this packaging because it has a simple logo with a simple san serif typeface and kept a limited color palette. The bottle imitates the same shapes from the logo to the packaging (the turtle on the bottle and the windows in the packaging).This makes it cohesive with the packaging because it With the choice of using black as a dominant color, it looks as if it plays viewer's eyes especially in the type. Since turtles live underwater, with the choice of using the blue for the type, it looks like it is actually water showing through. I thought this beer packaging was really cool. Overall, it has many elements that makes it a very successful packaging.

-Kayla Cusano

Adam Schwartz- 3D type

I saw this picture on pinterest and was immediately drawn to it. This is an ampersand created completely out of balloons taped to the floor at different distances from the viewer’s eye. All of the balloons are black on the white background and pop off the page like they are right in front of you.  I think it is completely awesome that someone thought to make an ampersand out of balloons. It creates an almost perfect composition of what one looks like. This is a common everyday object, not something that may be lying around someone’s home but something that a person may come across every day and not notice. This draws the viewer in because the balloons are black; balloons are normally colorful and bright. This reminds me of stefan sagmeister’s 3d type in different materials that he found. If I created this composition I would have liked to see what this looks like in different environments. I would also like to see how it would look in different colors.

-Adam  

Corona - Adam Schwartz

The corona bottles as well as the package are simple designs with few visual graphics, which makes the type one of the main focal points besides the actual beer. The type is an old English or black letter typeface and takes up the largest portion of the package. First letter C is capital and the rest of the letters are lowercase. Under the word corona is sitting the word Extra. Extra is written in the font but is a fraction of the size of Corona. The terminals at the bottom of the letters come to sharp points acting almost as arrows pointing to the rest of the information at the bottom of the package.  The type is in the center of the two long sides of a six-pack and is blue on a white background. The color offers a high contrast that makes the name stand out. The being an old typeface represents that the beer is the same as it’s been since they began producing it. The rest of the package has few graphics. Two strange looking animals that could be birds are at the bottom of the package. There is also a crown that could represent royalty or being king. I think it symbolizes the original and old school look that they are going for because today there is no longer people that rule as kings and queens. Corona is going for an original and simple package to represent their beer. The rest of the package is divided into two main colors white and royal blue. Corona is almost trying to say it is what it is, without dressing up their package like all the other beer companies do. there are attempting to be as transparent as possible with the simple design and clear bottles.

- Adam

Stranger & Stranger Spirit No.

I chose Stranger & Stranger Spirit No. because it's packaging obviously depends heavily on typography. There's so much type variety and a lot of content on each label creating an awesome vintage broadside appearance. The logo itself is a very retro san-serif typeface with an outlined shadow, establishing the vintage vibe for the product. The typeface changes from section to section similar to the broadsides we studied in class, using boxes to separate information. Some sections are rotated slightly, or manipulated to wave across the label adding visual diversity and preventing the label from becoming too monotonous. There is a clear hierarchy of type from large to small, guiding the viewer's eyes to the most important information first. What I love about the label is that while the typefaces, sizes, kerning, leading, and orientation vary, it's all printed in the same bright orange color to create a unified image with a lot of texture from the smaller information. I also admire the contrast between tall, thin, and tightly spaced letterforms alongside short, fat, and widely kerned typefaces. 

In addition to the awesome label, the bottle itself comes wrapped in a brown paper bag with additional typographic work and hand drawn images. This outer packaging features a different collection of typefaces that truly replicate vintage advertisement, and resemble letterpress. The Brush script utilized for "No. 13" maintains a retro personality while giving the brand a more artistic and free form identity. It contrasts well with the formal typefaces utilized on the label.

Alyssia Bifano

Ignite 3D Type Display

Watch the video of the installation here!

I chose this example as 3D type because it reminded me a lot of what our last project is supposed to be like. This installation was created using cardboard, which most people have just lying around from boxes and whatnot, so making an piece like this is something you can do with materials around your house/apartment/super tiny dorm room. From far away, it looks like smooth wood or any kind of smooth material, but it's not until you get close that you can see those typical cardboard creases. Pretty cool! I like that this pieces doesn't look like letter cut out from cardboard. Instead, it looks more like cardboard pieces put together to create type. The type itself looks beautiful. It is a serif type with really high contrast that has a calligraphic quality to it, like something you'd draw using a brush and ink. I think incorporating the swirls at the top and bottom of the quote complete the look.

Written By: Melissa Hebbe

Blue Moon

Blue Moon White Belgian-Style Wheat Ale uses a single sans serif font throughout the design. The text also seems to be in a small caps, making the "B" in Blue and the "M" in Moon a normal cap height. Typographically, I think the text is very simple and to the point. I think the rounded terminal in the "P", which extends outside of the ribbon is a nice way to combine the text and image together. A few of these bottles are seasonal, but referring to the original "Blue Moon" label, the letter spacing is just right for the composition. The boldness of the type and tight kerning calls for attention by wrapping around the imagery , while the background engages with the name of the beer. The limited color scheme keeps a united look throughout the design and focusing on the product.

-Kelly Young

Off the Clock Brewery

The Off the Clock Brewery labels use a bold, condensed, sans-serif type primarily.  Expanded kearning in the titles and a larger font size makes them stand out from the other text on the label.  "The" and "Independent are in a script font that compliments the sans-serif.  The label combines a modern sans-serif feel with an old-style feel reminiscent of the speakeasies of the 20's.  It mostly uses black and white, with small pops of color, keeping with the modern/old-style feel.  The main sans-serif used shows different styles from the font family, which gives the label a cohesive look.

Franny Selby-Kieffer

IndHed Beer

Click the picture to see the full branding
process and some behind the scenes work.

I found this beer bottle packaging through Behance and really liked the approach the designers took. I tend to lean more toward typographic packaging and this is why I took an interest to this particular one. The logo (IndHed) is in a handwritten, almost calligraphic font with high contrast and curved terminals (seen on the I, H and d). Lately, I've seen a lot of designers turn to this approach in typography (Jessica Hische and her book covers for example), but what differs this brand from others is the three dimensional element added to the letters by extending the right of the type to the upper right; it doesn't look flat like how you normally would see type on a bottle. Compare the logo to the rest of the font on the bottle, like where is says "American Pale Ale" and you can see the difference. The font for "American Pale Ale" is in an uppercase, thicker weighted, no contrast, serif font that reminds me of a cleaner, more modern typewriter font. Above "American Pale Ale" is a script like font. This is the only part of the packaging I do not care for. Even when you look at closer images, it is still difficult to read. The could have used either a more legible script or a sans serif font. I do like how the calligraphic font and typewriter font pair together. The packaging as a whole is designed well, but I do wish there was more breathing space between the different texts. The logo looks looks too close to the script font, making the bottle seem more bottom heavy with type while having a lot of empty space at the top of the bottle.

Written By: Melissa Hebbe

coors light packaging

http://beerpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/coors-light-super-cold.png

I'm probably the only person who doesn't drink beer- Coors Light was the only name I could think of.  I think the script at the top and the bold italicized "light" in all caps is a terrible idea.  It looks ridiculous, when your combining a script font with something else you have to be very careful because most of the time it does not look right together. I like the spacing of the letters that say 2 stage cold activation. I think the weight for both works well. I don't like the italicized look for the light especially making the letters condensed. I don't know why, but I do like the drop shadow and the outline for the letters. I am not sure how i feel about the grey color but the other colors work together. The setup as a whole isn't bad but the two fonts together just irritate me. I'll stick to drinking Malibu Rum.
-shanna

Samuel Adama Octoberfest Beer Labeling

Above is the logo design for Samuel Adams Octoberfest Beer. I used this logo because I found it very appealing. Octoberfest as well all know is a huge event that happens in Germany where you can get all the beer you ever wanted. This a nice rendition of combining both American and German styles. First off the Samuel Adams logo is very clear, crisp and easy to read. This designer used the colors blue and white in their logo, why because it's an American beer company. It's only proper to use the colors white and blue to reference anything related to America. The type used in the "Samuel Adams" logo is a serif font that has been updated to look more modern day but still maintain that classic look. The words have also been bent and warped to keep the flow of the viewer looking from the top where the man (Adams) is drinking the beer to the bottom where it says the style brew. Now the type used for "Octoberfest" I love a lot. It looks very old school, clean and kinda looks like a German style font. With its curves and drop below the baseline it really draws a person's attention; plus the use of the different shades of orange and yellow really makes the text pop. Plus this beer tastes really good you guys should try it. 

Cheers,

Andrew Russo