Yale Exhibition

As a reference, I wanted to post up two photos from the exhibition at Yale. This is what the original design looked like. The boxes are 6ft high by 4ft wide (182.88cm x 121.92cm).

The Rescuers Exhibition at Yale University, NY.

Typographic Issues

Some issues have arisen with this design, and I also wanted to make some notes regarding some features of the new design that I would like to include.

The Rescuers Exhibition at Yale University, NY.

Firstly, the typeface had a small anomaly - the lower case a had a small mistake which was visible at a large size. This meant that I had to create outline for the text and use the Bézier pen to correct it manually.

Secondly, the type was set a little low for people to read comfortably. At the time of designing, I thought that putting the breakout quotes on the bottom would deal with this issue, but visitor feedback has suggested otherwise. Unfortunately, because of the size and cost of printing a proof, it was impossible to test this prior to printing, and this has led me to thinking about ways to correct it for the new exhibition, particularly because the Bosnian exhibition will be set in two languages and require even more economy of space.

Thirdly, on testing the original typeface in Bosnian, it simply did not have enough glyphs to work. This leads me to the only conclusion that a completely new typeface is necessary for the new design in English/Bosnian, and this will have to come first, before I try to find a typeface in Khmer, as it will act as a visual guide in this regard.

New Typography: Issues to Consider

At the moment I'm reading the very funny and informative book Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works, by Erik Spiekermann and E.M Ginger. It's a great book getting an insight into the history of type and the elements that are good to consider when choosing a typeface. It is also incredibly useful for helping me to create a checklist of features that the new typeface for the exhibition could benefit from. 

X-height
The x-height of the type is where your eye focuses when reading blocks of type. Having a good balance between the x-height and width of the letters will create a nice flow for the reader. If the x-height is too high in comparison to the width, it can begin to strain the reader's eyes. 

Ascenders and Descenders
Extended ascenders can give a nobility to a typeface, but they can also distract from the x-height. Likewise, descenders should also strike a good balance with the x-height. 


Font Families
Choosing a font that has a wide variety of members within its family could also be useful. Being able to choose from light compressed to ultra black wide will help to create variety for the reader while still maintaining an overall design unity. 


To serif or not to serif?
Serif fonts are more legible for large blocks of text, while sans serifs can create a nice, modern, sleek look for headings. Experimenting with these types of set ups and how they can work together will be part of the planning for the exhibition. 

Purpose-built
In choosing a typeface, it always has to come back to the task at hand: it must be approachable, friendly, not too serious, but not too jovial. It has to transcend culture as much as possible, and be applicable to people from many parts of the world. It cannot take over from the photographs, but it must be inviting enough to make the viewers want to stop and read the stories of those within the photos. 

The Bosnian Exhibition
The issue of legibility and creating an inviting atmosphere is particularly important for the Bosnian exhibition, which will be in a public outdoor space with an estimated foot traffic of 100,000 people a day. Additionally, as it will be in two languages, the challenge is to keep enough space around the text so that it does not appear cluttered or too challenging to stop and read. 

The Cambodian Exhibition
The Khmer typeface for the Cambodian exhibition raises issues of its own. Firstly, it would be optimal to find a typeface that has a similar character - or 'feel' - to the Bosnian exhibition. However, it is considerably more challenging for two main reasons: the script of Khmer in no way resembles Roman lettering, and therefore the connotations associated with Khmer typefaces are completely unknown to me. Secondly, as Khmer is only emerging in a digital format, there are very few typefaces to choose from, and just as difficult to get hold of. I had some issues installing Khmer Unicode on a Mac system, but after a few weeks found a solution to this problem. This means I can now see Khmer script on my computer, but typefaces still need to be found.