OUGD504 SUMMER TASK - CRUMBLING KIDDERMINSTER AND BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE MOCK UPS

Crumbling Kidderminster

Starting off with Kidderminster I went round the town briefly finding some examples of the kind of run down typography and peeling paint that had been shown in the Disengaged and The Olympic Project publications. I wanted to include two photographs of each example, one close up of the individual letterform, and the second of it within it's surroundings, so it is clearer why such a typeface has been sued, and the impact it has on it's surroundings, what light it may shine on the location.

This "V" is from a poster stuck onto an abandoned building in the old part of Kidderminster, advertising a circus. It uses neon colours to attract passersby's attention, as the colour is a great contrast to anything else on the building. It uses a rounded slab serif to appear bold and legible on the poster, but not appear too harsh with it's rounded edges. The black outline on the fluorescent yellow type makes it a lot more legible, as otherwise the yellow and green would blend into one another being extremely similar colours, and the text would be very tricky to read. The added black outline also makes the text appear 3D as well, due to the application of different weights of the outline, making it a lot more dynamic.

When you view the letter and poster within it's environment you can a real idea of why it is so bright and fluorescent, so that you can really read and recognise it as you walk or drive past. The effect of these fluorescent colours are not only that it stands out against it's surroundings, but also makes the building look increasingly run down and shabby, especially with metal mesh fencing visible to the left the same as in a photograph in Disengaged. The skip visible to the side and the peeling paint create a very unappealing image, which makes you want to run past rather than walk and admire the building.

This street name like sign signals a long stretch of steps down to the old part of town from a car park, places on the side of another empty shop in Kidderminster. There's some sort of marking on the wall next to the sign which makes it look a bit run down, but what really makes this an unpleasant photograph is the graffiti on the metal pull down door on the empty shop to the right, and the fact that the metal safety door is even down at all, instead of a welcoming shop being open and people milling in and out. The dark blue paint around the doorway also makes this scene look a lot more dull, extending the shadows into more than necessary of the photograph. The typeface on the sign is a standard serif used on a lot of street name signs throughout the UK. Used for legibility and readability.

This is a sign on a fence stating that "Unauthorised parking will be clamped". A sans serif typeface has been used for this small sign, and alongside the neutral colours used, a minimal, functional appearance has been created. The sign doesn't stand out particularly strongly due to the used of two neutral and quite similar colours, and is hard to read from a distance because of this. Title Case has been used for this sign, so that it appears strong and definitive, but not aggressive due to the lower case lettering

The sign is attached to a simple metal fence with some scrubby grass at the foot of it on the floor. The combination of the brown grass and greening wooden fence behind the metal fence creates a bit of a scruffy and unkept appearance, as well with the sign at a wonky angle. Also the need for two fences raises suspicion as to the safety of the area.

This warning sign uses the standard sans serif uppercase type to warn people away from entering through the door, as well as the standard yellow and black colour scheme, which is standard regulation for such signs. However what makes this sign stand out as being slightly different is the graffiti'd "SWAG?" next to the illustration park of the sign, as well as the other scrawled markings at the bottom of the sign covering the address plaque below the sign, which is unusual to find on the front of a door. 

When you look at the whole door the sign is secured on, and it's immediate surroundings, you get the bigger picture very quickly, as the amount of graffiti becomes very obvious fast. As well as the grey, dirty looking door the sign is on, making you never want to step through that door, the brickwork shown to the left adds to the dodgy appearance of this photograph, with some brick falling away at the bottom, making this a complete crumbling, rough looking photograph.

This "R" is a standard uppercase sans serif, being white so that it stands out against the red background colour, and also being the sae as the object colour, so that this is actually only a one colour design, saving on money. This "R" is very simple and legible, with no flair at all, it looks quite industrial.

As you can see this "R" was on the front of a recycling bin in the middle of a car park in Kidderminster, with the bottom of the bin looking very dirty, as the dirt shows up nicely on the white paint. With it being positioned clearly in a car park, with wearing out paint work on the ground, signalling a lack of care, which is emphasised by the dirty recycling bin, this creates a very run down appearance, one thats a bit rugged and industrial, with industrial looking buildings in the background.

Taking two photographs of each letterform has helped me to realise how important seeing the letter in it's surroundings is, to understand how it impacts things around it, and adds to the overall appearance of the area. I think when I take my actual photographs for this project, I should ensure my use letter photographs are clear exactly what letterform I am looking at, as sometimes a letter might be quite small, and it is hard to get just one letter in the photograph. I should also ensure my surroundings photographs take in enough surroundings so you get an idea of the location, but so that you can still see the letter that I have focused on. All of the photographs should be the same orientation and size as well, to ensure a continuous appearance when the presentation is compiled.

British Countryside

Similarly to the Crumbling Kidderminster idea I went round Kinver finding examples of typography which I thought reflected the typical British style I had discovered in Ludlow, a similar style of town.

This is an A board outside a shop on Kinver high street. It uses a hand written style typeface which has definitely actually been written on by hand using special blackboard pens. Uppercase lettering has been used to give emphasis to the information you are receiving, with the key parts in a much larger type size, the "2 for 1". Everything is in black and white, which I think is necessary for the board not to look over crowded, as there is quite a lot of detail on the board, and the use of more than one colour may make it look a bit confusing. Just using white also relates to always using just white chalk originally, instead of there being more than one colour chalk available nowadays, making it look more traditional. This is perhaps a more modern sign, with the use of a sans serif typeface, although this may just of been for practical reasons on hand drawing the lettering, as the letters would have to of been drawn quite small to fit on the board, the added detail may of made it look too cramped.

This is an alleyway between a row of shops, which unlike alleyways you find in Kidderminster is very inviting, with those trademark hanging baskets scattered around, as well as what appears to be fairy lights or some sort of banner as well. Wooden balconies are visible on the left hand side, reflecting the age of the village, and making it look a lot more charming and cosy, with them being well kept and maintained, rather than looking disused and dingy.

This is a house name plaque next to the front door, which uses a very sturdy sans serif typeface, which somehow looks earthy on against the wooden block it has been carved out of. Similarly to the "Step Entry" sign from Kidderminster, this house sign is also against a brick backdrop, however a well painted front door can be seen on the left, and the bricks have a much more quality appearance with the rich red colour instead of being a yellowy brown shade. This makes this photograph look homely and nature related,not urban at all.

This is a hand painted sign on a wonderful shop selling hand made everything. It uses the same block serif found a lot in Ludlow, however completely different colour. Black and gold give this shop a slightly darker appearance, also kind of magical as well when you can slightly see things through the windows in these photographs. The kerning is also really small as well, with all the letters very close together, which makes the shop name slightly hard to read, however this may simply be because if the name was any wider it may start to go round the edge of the shop front, following the bay window round, which would distort the lettering greatly.

This is a sign I suppose found in front of a vintage shop in Chenevre Mews in Kinver which was for sale. It shows very beautifully hand painted lettering throughout, although the "Joshua Higgins" is particularly impressive with the addition of black and white to give it a 3D appearance, looking squeaky clean and polished as well with the white, looking as though it's shining. All the colours are quite similar to that of The Globe signage in Ludlow, red and gold, which suggest wealth and royalty and gold, suggesting this is something a more well off family would buy, or that Joshua Higgins toy maker's target market were more middle classed families.

Going round these contrasting towns has been really beneficial to be to highlight the contrast between the two places, and how much I can write about the two different places. I feel that I have enjoyed finding the typography examples and writing about them more from the British countryside idea, however I have a more clear direction for Crumbling Kidderminster with the clinical aesthetic of the presentation, however I'm not sure if I can apply this presentation for the British Countryside idea as well, or whether something more complex would be appropriate, or whether the photographs would stand out better again a neutral background. I think some research should be done into publications and layouts of such photographs, to see whether busier or more neutral appearance would be most appropriate.