Graphics Gals

Friday, September 11, 2009

Victorian Era Clothing

Probably the thing I find most interesting about this time period is the clothing. I cannot believe how much women went through just to look "presentable". While I love how some of the attire looks, I don't think I would enjoy going through the same process every single day. Probably the most ridiculous invention for women's dress was the bustle or tournure. This was essentially a skeleton grid of a huge dress made of our rows of whalebone that ran only from the woman's side and around the back. This made a woman's rear look ridiculously large and not to mention must have made it really hard to walk around. And sitting? Forget it. Well, until 1887 when Lillie Langtry created a bustle that had springs in it so that the bustle folded up as a woman sat down. Apparently, it would even spring back to its normal position when she stood back up.

A Langtry bustle replica

Each of these things would also be accompanied with layers of undergarments. They would wear long white muslin "drawers", flannel petticoats in the winter, a calico petticoat that was quilted and reinforced with whalebone, and numerous other petticoats (the outer one usually was embroidered). On top of all of this was a tightly laced corset because even with layers and layers underneath, a woman still needed a tiny waist. These clothing rituals were continued during all times of the year, including the hot summers. I cannot imagine wearing that much clothing in 90 degree weather. I am definitely thankful that the times have changed.

http://victorianbazaar.com/crinoline.html

http://garymag.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/harempants/victorian-bustle/

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/patterns/1873bustleinfo.html

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Caslon and Janson

While searching through the AIGA archives, I found this book that was published in 1963 called "Fathers to Sons: Advice Without Consent". The typefaces used were Caslon, Granjon, and Janson. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the "Fathers to Sons" typeface, Caslon. This font was created in 1725, but still holds relevance in this design nearly 200 years later. Caslon is described as being "a versatile typeface with a friendly, homey quality." I believe that this is very fitting for this book. It is for fathers and sons, so the typeface needed to be stout and "manly". Caslon is not particularly elegant looking, but instead sturdy and strong. Even though the Janson text underneath is a little more feminine, I think it still holds a masculine feel and is a great compliment to the Caslon text above.

http://ilovetypography.com/2007/11/21/type-terminology-old-style/

http://www.rightreading.com/typehead/caslon.htm

http://designarchives.aiga.org/

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Baskerville Updated

"Poetics of Place," a book designed by Paul Carlos and Urshula Barbour in 1998, is a collection of photography concerning parks and gardens created in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. The typography is mentioned on AIGA's website as being especially well suited to the design of the book. The actual typeface is Mrs Eaves, a version of the transitional typeface Baskerville. This fits the subject matter of the book because Baskerville was first introduced in the eighteenth century, in the middle of the time period the book focuses on. An article at absolutearts.com says of the photographer, Lynn Geesaman, "...she works in an atmospheric mode reminiscent of the pictorialist photographers active about 100 years ago, while the stark abstractions of her compositions resonate with more modern sensibilities." The fact that Mrs Eaves is a more modern version of Baskerville creates a nice parallel. There was obviously a lot of thought put into what typeface to use in the book.

http://designarchives.aiga.org/index.html
http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2000/03/17/26710.html

JH

Humanistic Typefaces

When I saw the typographic design for the AIGA Boston Conference postcard, I thought it was very unique. The typefaces they chose work really well to depict the history of Boston. I think the typeface is humanistic because it resembles a combination of calligraphy with the imperfections of handwriting (the rough edges of the letters). It was very creative of them to use "05" in place of the "os" in Boston. I also like the other humanistic typeface they used to type "Back to where it Began," and capitalized the "AIGA."

(Designers: Roy Burns, Clifford Stoltze)

The IBM 2000 Annual Report also used a typeface dating back to the

Renaissance. I think it was an appropriate typeface to use because IBM was going through many changes. Renaissance means rebirth, and I think that's what IBM was kind of going through.

(Designers: Scott Hickman, Michelle Platts)

Sources:

http://designarchives.aiga.org

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Garamond

When browsing through the AIGA archives, I came across a book cover done in the year 2000. It was titled Leonardo Da Vinci.

The title of the book cover was written in a Garamond typeface. Garamond is a humanist or old style typeface. Claude Garamond (the type designer of the Garamond typeface) lived throughout the age of the Renaissance. Since Leonardo Da Vinci was born into the the Renaissance age, it seems appropriate that the type on the book cover used the Garamond typeface. This correlation is something I would have normally never thought about or have noticed.

Garamond is considered to be among the most legible and readable serif typefaces for use in print applications. When looking at the book cover this seems to hold true. Also, the color that was chosen works well with image. I think the type worked perfectly for the cover of this book.

Sources:

www.aiga.org

www.wikipedia.org