Futura Poster
The world would go into disarray without the existence of Typography. Each typeface is unique in its own right. How do we study a typeface on a deeper level?
Words give the world meaning. It’s the main source of communication in our world today. From the print on logos, flyers, and your favorite book to the menu at the local diner, type conveys not only information but ideas as well. While typefaces differ ever so slightly, they have the ability to communicate different emotions. For this project, I created a typeface specimen poster for the well-known font Futura.
The goal was to create a type specimen poster that displayed the various letters in an assigned typeface. The final poster should be 18x24 inches and capture the essence of the typeface. The poster must include the name of the creator, the year of its creation, all uppercase and lowercase letter forms, and a short paragraph about its purpose and form.
Tools Used: Adobe Illustrator
Instructor: Jeanette Abbink
Course: Typography I
Timeline: 3 weeks
Deliverables: 18x24 Poster
Assignment Summary:
-Conceptualizing-
As I studied and researched this Futura in further detail, I discovered what made this typeface unique and purposeful. I narrowed down my discoveries to three values that Futura embodies. The first is geometry. Each letterform has sharp points and perfect edges, and also relies on symmetry. The second is advancement. As the name suggests, Futura was created to be the typeface of the future. Its form honors that idea with straight lines and strong angles. It conveys a sense of control and perfection that is often associated with the advancement of technology. The final value Futura communicates simplicity. Specifically, Futura relies on the simplicity of letters in the lowercase “j.” Typically, this letter has a curve when it drops below the baseline. Futura interprets this letter differently. It uses a straight line that drops down with no curve. Thus, geometry, advancement, and simplicity dictated the direction of my poster.
“Futura embodies Geometry, Advancement, and Simplicity.”
-The Creator-
Through my research, I learned about Futura’s creator, Paul Renner. This German typographer disliked abstract forms of art. He focused his work on functionality and valued the modernist ideals. Beyond typography, he was involved in book arts and other forms of graphic design.
In 1932, amid the Nazis’ rise in Germany, Renner published the book Kulturbolschewismus which condemned the Nazis’ policies. Because of this, he was internally exiled and removed from his position as a professor.
Renner’s work on Futura was meant to oppose the Nazi values. He aimed to create a typeface that merged the Classical Roman Capitals with simplified geometric shapes. He hoped to move typography away calligraphic styles and towards a new modern look.
-What is Futura?-
he purpose of Futura, as the name suggests, is to bring typography into the future. It was one of the most successful sans serif typefaces that broke the conventional ideas of type. Although Kulturbolschewismus wasn’t part of the Bauhaus movement, his work was heavily influenced by the same guiding principles.
Sans Serif: By not including serifs in his typeface, Renner was able to achieve a much more modern look. It was sleek, legible, and minimalistic.
Geometric: The letter forms in Futura are based on the standard geometric shapes like triangles, squares and circles. This keeps each letter proportional and uniform.
Uniformity: Throughout each letter, the stroke is kept consistent. This adds to the typefaces legibility and versatility
Today, Futura is a heavily used typeface in logos, posters and signs. Some of the most famous examples in logos are Volkswagon, Louis Vuitton, Supreme, and Nike. Each of these logos utilize Futura to give the company a sleek yet legible design. Other notable places Futura appears in the world include, Wes Anderson movie posters, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and Apple marketing. Most famously, Futura was the typeface chosen for the USA’s plaque that was placed on the moon.
-The Process-
-Sketches-
As I turned to create my final poster, I began by sketching out potential concepts. I played around with rotation and continuity. What I aimed for from the start was extending the forms in order to highlight the geometry of the shape. Some sketches were more successful than others, but they helped me to understand how the letters in the word “Futura” interact with one another.
After creating these thumbnails, I selected two to refine on a deeper level. In the first sketch, I was able to convey the form of the typeface by extending the anatomy letter “F.” I aimed to draw attention to the harsh angles that make up the typeface of Futura. The second sketch I wanted to play with negative space. I hoped that by using negative space I could bring attention to the forms and angles while also portraying a sense of simplicity.
-1st Iterations-
In my initial iteration of this poster, I focused on the background elements and their forms. I contemplated whether I should extend the forms of the letter “F” or leave the letter as it is, in order to draw focus to the raw form
I also tried a few different color variations. None of these colors seemed to capture Futura’s essence. These three colors seemed to be more focused on aesthetic and less on what the typeface represents.
After bringing these posters to critique, I realized I needed to focus more on the futuristic part of Futura. In a lot of ways, these posters lost the sense of innovation and advancement that I hoped to achieve. During crit, my classmates suggested using a pure Cyan color in order to capture the futuristic aesthetic.
-2nd Iterations-
Going forward I wanted to focus on the futuristic image of the typeface. I tried adding various elements that gave the poster movement--as if the poster was a snapshot as the typeface raced across the screen. This included trying variations of line movement in the back of the poster. The first draft seemed a little too distracting with the alternating colors of cyan and white. It made the display of each letterform harder to read. The second draft seemed even more distracting. I had hoped to find a way to display the different weights within the typeface, but the final product distracted from the initial form of the “F” I wanted to highlight. In the third draft, I tried to add an arrow to convey the sense of movement towards the future. As I stepped back to look at this piece, I realized it looked a lot like the “Catch me if You Can” Movie poster. I also didn’t think the blue type over the black block was very legible.
-The Final Product-
for my final poster, I decided to go back to the simplicity of some of my initial designs. I decided against including the background elements that distracted from the main form of the poster. I think this design does a good job of conveying the advancement that Futura brought to type. It nods to the Bauhaus era that occurred side by side with Futura. The grid I followed helped emphasize the geometry of the poster itself.
This assignment really helped me focus on the letterforms in typography. It forced me to evaluate what made Futura different from other typefaces. Throughout this process, I began to notice differences and similarities in the type I saw around me. I’ve definitely seen a shift in my perspective.
“Futura has withstood the test of time and made its impact in so many ways. It was a privilege to try to capture this typeface’s essence. ”
