Advanced Typography | Task 2: Wordmark and Collateral

- 12/5/2026 ~ 21/6/2026/ (Week 4 ~ Week 9)

- Takeguchi Shunta/0386416/Bachelor of Design in Creative Media

- Advanced Typography GCD60104

- Task 2: Wordmark and Collateral 


 

TABLE OF CONTENTS



 

LECTURES

Lecture 4: Designing Type
- Type design carries a special responsibility, so one must continue to improve its legibility. Type design is a form of artistic expression, according to Xavier Dupré.
- The moral obligation on designers is imperative when they see the need to be fulfilled.
- Adrian Frutiger contributed to typography, including the typefaces Univers and Frutiger.

- Frutiger is a clean, distinctive typeface made for the French Airport. He tested with unfocused letters to see which letterforms could still be identified.

- Adrian Frutiger also contributed to creating a new Devanagari font for modern type setting and printing processes.
- Matthew Carter created Verdana and Georgia. Verdana was a typeface for the Microsoft computer screen. 

Fig 1.1.3 Verdana (left) and Georgia (right)
(Source: 


- Matthew Carter also created Bell Centennial, which is for telephone directories. It keeps legibility even in the rough printing techniques of telephone directories.

Fig 1.1.4 Bell Centennial
(Source: https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/bell-centennial-std)


- Edward Johnston created Johnston Sans to unite the London Underground Group. He applied the proportions of Roman Capital letters to his typefaces. So it was traditional but had the simplicity of the modern age.

Fig 1.1.5 Johnston Sans
(Source: https://x.com/thedreadvampy/status/1264682597977817088)


- Gill Sans was made by mocking Johnston Sans by EricGill.

Fig 1.1.6 Gill Sans
(Source: https://www.fontshut.com/gill-sans-font/)


- When creating type, we should understand history, anatomy, conventions, terminologies, sidebearing, metrics, hinting, and more.

Fig 1.1.7 Construction of capitals and lowercase
(Source: https://www.letterfountain.com/drawingtofont.html)


- It is important to determine the purpose of the type.
- We should examine existing fonts that are presently being used for inspiration, ideas, reference, context, usage patterns, and more.
- Sketches can be done by hand or with digital tools; both have pros and cons.
- We should take care of the counter form at the digitalization stage. The readability of the typeface is heavily dependent on it.

- Testing is an important component in the design thinking process for refinement.
- If display type, readability, and legibility are not as crucial as other types.
- Deploy is to find the teething problems that did not occur before.
- Like Roman Capital, using grids with circular forms can facilitate the construction of letter forms.

Fig 1.1.9 Roman Capital with grid
(Source: https://es.pinterest.com/pin/388717011563640692/)


- An important visual correction is the extrusion of curved (and protruding) forms past the baseline and capline (overshoot / undershoot). This also applies to vertical alignment between curved and straight forms.


- The letter must be altered to a uniform visual white space, and it should appear the same (fitting).


Lecture 5: Perception and Organization
- Perception is "the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted".
- Perception in typography deals with the visual navigation and interpretation of the reader via context, form, and organization of the content. 

Fig 1.2.1 Method in typography to create contrast by Ruedi Rüegg.


- 7 contrast of typography by Carl Dair was created "to make design work and meaning pop out clearly and unambiguously, and with flair". It is composed of size, weight, form, structure, texture, color, and direction. 
- Size contrast provides a point to which the reader's attention is drawn. The common use of size is in making a title or heading noticeably bigger than the body text.

- Weight describes how bold type can stand out in the middle of lighter type of the same style.

Fig 1.2.2 Weight contrast
(Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/design/fonts-typography/what-is-typographical-contrast)


- Contrast of form is the distinction between a capital letter and its lowercase equivalent, or a Roman letter and an italic variant. 

Fig 1.2.3 Form contrast
(Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/design/fonts-typography/what-is-typographical-contrast)


- Structure means the different letterforms of different kinds of typefaces. 

Fig 1.2.4 Structure contrast
(Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/design/fonts-typography/what-is-typographical-contrast)


- Texture refers to the way the lines of type look as a whole up close and from a distance. 

Fig 1.2.5 Texture contrast
(Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/design/fonts-typography/what-is-typographical-contrast)


- Contrast of direction is the opposition between vertical and horizontal, and the angles in between. 

Fig 1.2.6 Direction contrast
(Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/design/fonts-typography/what-is-typographical-contrast)


- The use of color suggests that a second color is often less emphatic in values than plain black on white.

- If contrast is too similar, it creates conflict.
- Form refers to the overall look and feel of the elements that make up the typographic composition. Visual impact and first impression play a role.
- Best design is in between form-based design and functionality.
- From original Greek typography, it can be seen as having two functions: to represent a concept, and to do so in a visual form. 
- Displaying type as a form provides a sense of letterforms' unique characteristics and abstract presentation. 
- The interplay of meaning and form brings a balanced harmony, both in terms of function and expression. 
- When typeface is perceived as a form, it no longer reads as a letter because it has been manipulated by distortion, texture, enlargement, and has been extruded into a space. 
- Gestalt psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions. 
- Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. 
- While a component may be functional at an elemental level, the sum of its parts is not greater than the whole or the overall form. 
- The law of similarity: elements that are similar to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group. 

Fig 1.2.8 The law of similarity
(Source: https://autovery.weebly.com/blog/similarity-gestalt-principles)


- The law of proximity: elements that are close together tend to be perceived as a unified group.

- The law of closure: the mind's tendency to see complete figures or forms even if a picture is incomplete, hidden by other objects.

Fig 1.2.10 The law of closure
(Source: https://ixdf.org/literature/topics/law-of-closure)


- The law of (good) continuation: humans tend to perceive each of two or more objects as different, singular, and uninterrupted objects even when they intersect.

Fig 1.2.11 The law of continuation
(Source: https://ixdf.org/literature/topics/gestalt-principles)




INSTRUCTION






PROCESS WORK

Task 2A
For this task, it was required to create a wordmark that indicates myself.
I started by creating a mind map and moodboard as instructed. I like clean, neat design, and it is also my character, so I take these kinds of words as keywords. 

Fig 2.1.1 Mind map, week 4, 16/5/2026


Fig 2.1.2 Keyword and moodboard, week 4, 16/5/2026


I also draw wordmark sketches and digitize. I couldn't come up with an interesting design here, so it would look like primary sketches. In the left column of the digitalized sketch, I focused on stroke continuations. The letters 'h', 'u', and 'n' are combined and connected like a wave. In the middle, I tried to mock a diligent feeling, using straight lines and even curves. I realized that I really need to be creative with how I combine letters to creative wordmark with this design. Lastly, on the right, I divided each letter into two strokes, added gaps, or slid one of them horizontally. This is my favorite of the sketches among them, but I couldn't make many changes to the letter 'S' because it would cause recognizability problems.

Fig 2.1.3 Sketches, week 4, 16/5/2026


I received feedback on the moodboard and sketches in the week 5 class: include look and feel to the moodboard, and explore more for sketches. Many other students and I mentioned the lack of look and feel in the moodboard. Mr. Vinod suggested cropping specific elements of my favorite artwork or picture, and there I can find my favorite kinds of look and feel. 

The refined moodboard is below. I looked through my picture album and movie rating apps to find my preference. After looking at different designs, I realized I like brutal architecture and classic posters. There are cropped pictures of my favorite designs.

Fig 2.1.4 Look and feel moodboard, week 5, 23/5/2026


From the look and feel, I added more typographic moodboard. I searched for the feeling of the bold typefaces of the classic poster, but it also has its own uniqueness. 

Fig 2.1.5 Keyword and moodboard, week 5, 23/5/2026


After that, I redo the digitalization part. I explored and tried to create a design using the characters of each letter. I found that it can be look circle by placing the 'Sh' above and 'unta' below (middle of the picture below), but I didn't pursue it since it appears different from the moodboard feeling. Then I came up with the idea that it can appear like a half circle when I create even curves with the beginning 'S' and last 'A'. I utilized the stroke of 'A' to 'u' and 'n', and the design on the right was created. I felt it was really nice, with the balance of cleanness and uniqueness. Therefore, I decided to pursue with the design. 

Fig 2.1.6 Illustrator screenshot, week 5, 24/5/2026


In the picture below, I made a different version of the design. 
- Left column: both ends of the vertical strokes in 'A', 'u', and 'n' are straight lines. 
- Middle column: deleted the straight lines, the crossbar of 'S' and 'A' moved lower. 
- Right column: the shoulder of 'h' starts from the same height as the crossbar of 'S' and 'A'.
The left column design feels firm due to the straight strokes. On the other hand, there's more fun and uniqueness in the middle and right columns. 

Fig 2.1.7 Design exploration, week 5, 24/5/2026


After much deliberation, I chose this piece because it stands out the most for its originality. Mr. Vinod suggested 3 things: the connected horizontal line should be removed to make it a cleaner design, adjust the space between letters, and the shoulder of 'h' can be a more rounded curve. 

Fig 2.1.8 Week 6 submission, week 6, 26/5/2026


The space adjustment was especially difficult for 'T', since the letters are slender with prominent vertical lines. I repeatedly made small adjustments to the spacing between adjacent letters to narrow it down. For the shoulder of 'h', Mr. Vinod suggested trying to make the beginning of the shoulder, the line where it touches the stroke, thinner, so I gave it a go. The change can be seen in the images below. The wordmark generally has a uniform line thickness, so that part stood out too much and looked out of place. Therefore, the first refined wordmark was ultimately approved.

Fig 2.1.9 Refined wordmark 1, week 6, 26/5/2026


Fig 2.1.10 Refined wordmark 2, week 6, 26/5/2026


The wordmark is approved, so I moved on to the color palette phase. I utilized https://colorhunt.co/ to select the color. Since I like the blue color, I chose color palettes with blue as the main color and tried to apply the colors in Illustrator.

Fig 2.1.11 Color palette apply screenshot, week 7, 2/6/2026


Fig 2.1.12 Color palette apply screenshot 2, week 7, 2/6/2026


As you can see from the screenshot, I tried out many colors, making it difficult to choose one in the end. However, I ultimately selected the following color palette because every combination of colors provided strong contrast and was easy to read, and I particularly liked the combination of blue and gray. I also thought that the calm gray, the cool vibe of the light blue and deep blue, and the accent of orange could be used in various combinations when expanding the wordmark in the future. 

Fig 2.1.13 Selected color palette, week 7, 2/6/2026


Fig 2.1.14 Selected color palette with the wordmark, week 7, 2/6/2026


In the Week 7 online feedback session, I was told that there were no problems with my color palette, so I moved on to the final work of Task 2A, the GIF animation. My wordmark is a simple arrangement of letters; it didn't really evoke much movement, therefore, I struggled to come up with animation ideas. After much thought, I decided to create something that utilized the distinctive shape of the rounded-top rectangle formed by connecting the outlines of the wordmark, and I came up with the following animation. The rounded-top rectangle shrinks, and the letters hidden underneath gradually become visible.

Fig 2.1.15 The rounded-top rectangle, week 7, 3/6/2026


Fig 2.1.16 Animation 1, week 7, 3/6/2026


However, I felt that the animation lacked movement and wasn't very effective. I worked on improving it. First, I added frames to create movement, making the rounded-top rectangle appear from the right. After it stops in the center, the gap appears in the middle of the shape (which is the space between 'u' and 'n'), and the two separated shapes gradually shrink until the letters become visible.

Fig 2.1.17 Animation Photoshop screenshot, week 7, 3/6/2026


Fig 2.1.18 Animation Photoshop screenshot 2, week 7, 3/6/2026


The finished product is shown below. With the addition of movement, it has become a more visually appealing animation. I also put effort into adjusting the speed of the transitions on the timeline to make the movement natural. Making it fast -> slow -> fast again towards the end. By setting the speed of the transitions in such detail, I was able to avoid monotony and add smoothness.

Fig 2.1.19 Animation 2, week 7, 3/6/2026


Task 2A Final Submission

Fig 2.2.1 Black wordmark on white background, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.2.2 White wordmark on black background, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.2.3 Colour palette, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.2.4 Wordmark in actual colours on lightest shade of colour palette, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.2.5 Wordmark in lightest shade of colour palette on darkest shade of colour palette, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.2.6 wordmark animation, week 8, 15/6/2026
(If gif not working: https://gifyu.com/image/bIyRk)



Fig 2.2.7 Task 2A PDF compile, week 8, 15/6/2026


Task 2B
This part required creating expansions of the wordmark, such as collateral and pattern.  I first tackle making a pattern. Referring to the page (https://www.pentagram.com/work/parla) provided by Mr. Vinod, I decided to extract characteristic shapes and lines from my own wordmark. In my wordmark, the strokes used in common with 'u', 'n', and 'A' are distinctive, so I extracted those. I wanted to create a simple pattern; therefore, I iterated through the design to create the following pattern. Also, I created a second pattern that is an orange rectangle with a pattern cut out.

Fig 2.3.1 Pattern 1, week 7, 4/6/2026


Fig 2.3.2 Pattern 2, week 7, 4/6/2026


I tried these patterns out on collaterals to see how they would look. I used a website where I could download Collateral mockup PSD files (https://mrmockup.com/free-mockups/) and selected three items—a T-shirt, a tote bag, and a hoodie—to represent an apparel brand.

First, I designed the T-shirt. I wanted a clean, versatile design that could be worn anywhere, so I opted for a minimalist design with a logo on the left chest.

Fig 2.3.3 T-shirt design 1, week 7, 4/6/2026


For the tote bag, I used the second pattern. Same as the T-shirt, I aimed for a "clean" design, which is my branding keyword. Since the pattern alone felt a bit bland, I added a fictional address in small letters below the pattern to provide some visual balance.

Fig 2.3.4 Tote bag design 1, week 7, 4/6/2026


Finally, for the hoodie design, I used the first pattern. I can't quite explain, but because the hoodie fabric is thick and the silhouette has a heavy feel, I couldn't come up with a design that fits on the hoodie. In the end, I settled on a design that combined a large graphic and balanced positioning of text, as shown in the reference image.

Fig 2.3.5 Hoodie reference image, week 7, 4/6/2026


Fig 2.3.6 Hoodie design 1, week 7, 4/6/2026


I wasn't entirely satisfied with the hoodie collateral, but I decided to rework it based on the feedback I would receive in Week 8, so I moved on to the next step. To prepare nine images for Instagram, I created designs incorporating wordmarks into my selfies. Looking back through my albums, I selected a good selfie and cut it out to create the designs below. I wanted to add a little accent to the wordmark, so I placed the rounded-top rectangle in the background. I think that by deliberately overlapping the cut-out selfie with the wordmark, I created a sense of perspective and made it a unique piece.

Fig 2.3.7 Cut out selfie, week 7, 4/6/2026


Fig 2.3.8 Selfie with wordmark, week 7, 4/6/2026


I now have nine images (three collaterals, two wordmarks with different colors, two patterns, one color palette, and one selfie), so I created an Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/adt27330?igsh=dnY1Y3Axd2d3eWUz&utm_source=qr) and uploaded the images. I made sure to choose colors evenly in the background of the collaterals and patterns, and I also paid attention to the overall look when they are displayed in a 3x3 grid, so I think the overall color scheme is well-balanced.

Fig 2.3.9 Instagram screenshot 1, week 7, 5/6/2026


Fig 2.3.10 3x3 full-size image grid, week 7, 5/6/2026


I submitted this 3x3 full-size image grid to my Week 8 class. And I was instructed to revise the design, especially the hoodie. Also suggested using the keyword in the patterns and collateral. So, I discarded the first pattern and started redesigning it. Based on the feedback, I came up with a new pattern that incorporates the brand slogan 'Clean Design Product', which expands on the keyword 'Clean' and a distinctive rounded-top rectangle.

Fig 2.3.11 Pattern 3, week 8, 10/6/2026


I used this pattern for the hoodie. I changed the mockup to one facing forward so that the pattern would fit better.

Fig 2.3.12 Hoodie design 2, week 8, 10/6/2026


Additionally, I made some minor adjustments to the designs of the T-shirt and tote bag, adding the words 'Clean Style Product' to the T-shirt. For the tote bag, added a wordmark and changed the color of the text to blue.

Fig 2.3.13 T-shirt design 2, week 8, 10/6/2026


Fig 2.3.14 Tote bag design 2, week 8, 10/6/2026


Fig 2.3.15 Instagram screenshot 2, week 8, 10/6/2026


Task 2B Final Submission
Fig 2.4.1 Collateral 1, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.4.2 Collateral 2, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.4.3 Collateral 3, week 8, 15/6/2026


Fig 2.4.4 Instagram screen grab, week 8, 15/6/2026
Instagram account: 
https://www.instagram.com/adt27330?igsh=dnY1Y3Axd2d3eWUz&utm_source=qr


Fig 2.4.5 3x3 full-size image grid, week 8, 15/6/2026



Fig 2.4.6 Task 2B PDF compile, week 8, 15/6/2026



FEEDBACK

Week 5
General Feedback:
- Wordmark, expand in various content, it becomes the visual identity, brand.
- Include a look and feel moodboard.
- Monogram is 2, 3 uses of letters, not wordwark.
- Wordmark needs to be pronounceable. 
- Don't show the whole artwork, crop the specific look and feel.
- Space may be an enemy in Workmark.
- Narrow the scope in the moodboard.
- Good exploration starts wide and ends narrow.
- Balance between negative and positive space is crucial.
- Turn on the grid when creating a wordmark.
Specific Feedback:
- Look and feel missing.
- More exploration for sketch.

Week 6
General Feedback: 
- Move on to Task 2B once getting approved.
Specific Feedback: 
- Adjust the space between letters to make them appear with the same spacing.
- Adjust the thickness and curve of the shoulder in 'h'.

Week 7 
General Feedback: 
- No general feedback, since online feedback session.
Specific Feedback: 
- My color palette looks good. 
- Take care when making the pattern from the wordmark; don't make it too complicated.

Week 8 
General Feedback: 
- Use a selfie that looks like a professional designer.
- Expand the wordmark well when putting it on the collateral.
- Apply a different design for each collateral.
- Look at some references provided (https://www.pentagram.com/work/parla), and translate to the expansion to own wordmark.
Specific Feedback: 
- The hoodie design can be better, using the pattern in a more creative way.
- Use keywords in the design and pattern. 




REFLECTION

Experience
This assignment, which involved creating my own wordmark, was enjoyable because it offered a high degree of freedom. I was able to create a wordmark I was satisfied with, and I felt a sense of accomplishment by actually opening an Instagram account and posting my work. The only stressful part was the animation creation stage. I used Photoshop to create a GIF, as I learned in Typography class, but the temporary data saved during the process was getting large, and I was unable to save the file or export it. So that process took up more time than expected.


Observations
When I was sketching the initial wordmark, I looked at various works and observed the techniques used to translate images into wordmarks. By looking at a wide range of works, I learned the importance of paying attention to details by considering how details such as letter shapes and spacing manipulate the viewer's perception. I realized that the process of translating an image into shapes and colors is a continuous process of trial and error that requires visual experimentation.


Findings
This assignment involves the expansion of the wordmark, and I found the difficulty of creating a work by expanding on a single theme. I realized that correctly extracting the elements of a theme and creating something fresh that still evokes the theme in the viewer requires a lot of trial and error. I also felt that it requires the skill to observe the theme in detail and extract the characteristic elements that the human eye perceives.




FURTHER READING

What Is a Wordmark Logo and When Should You Use One by softriver (https://www.softriver.co/blog/what-is-a-wordmark-logo-and-when-should-you-use-one)

This task involved creating a wordmark, so I referred to this website. It contains a wide range of information about wordmarks, including their definition, importance, and differences from brand marks. Before this task, I hadn't heard the term "wordmark" much; I thought all graphics used by companies and organizations were simply called logos. So this site taught me that there are further subdivisions, such as brand marks and lettermarks.

I made some new discoveries about color, particularly from this page. Regarding color selection, it stated, "A vibrant red might bring energy and passion to mind, while a calming blue can inspire feelings of trust and dependability." When I read that, I thought about which companies came to mind. YouTube and Netflix came to mind for red, while Windows, Intel, and IBM came to mind for blue, and I realized that these companies perfectly match their colors and images. Especially for blue, many IT companies came to mind; the trust and reassurance derived from digital intelligence are indeed associated with the color blue. Many typography tasks restrict the use of color, so I don't have much knowledge about color theory. Therefore, I would like to use this task to experiment with various colors on my wordmark and acquire knowledge and skills about color selection.



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