Lettering+the+Environment

=Signs=

Lettering The Environment
Investigating the attributes of graphical elements applied in store signs. The main focus of this project is to analyze different typographic styles–used for naming places and defining spaces–as an effective identification tool.

Background
Richard Hollis, in his book //Graphic Design: a concise history// (Thames&Hudson Inc., New York, 2002) categorizes the three basic functions of graphics into: a. Identification b. Information and Instruction c. Presentation and Promotion.

If we include Store Signage in the first class–graphic design as an identifier: to say what something is or what is its function– we will realize that the key to a successful design is to implement the elements and principals of design in a strict //denotative// direction.

Critical Position and Analysis
What makes a design good? There is no emphatic answer to this question. Although there exists many beneficial guidelines in every aspect of graphic design; conforming them, even to extreme degrees, does not guarantee the effectiveness of the design.

To analyze the characteristics of a sound store sign, I have grouped its attributes into five sections: 1. The choice of typeface 2. Properties of the chosen typeface 3. Placement and position 4. Material and Dimension 5. Lighting
 * Anatomy of a good design**

The interactive concept map–which acts as the outcome of my analysis–expresses my effort to exhibit some effective designs in contrast to weak ones, in an effort to speckle some of the lucid ground rules and guidelines in store sign design.

Opportunities
One of the main responsibilities of a designer is to inform and educate the clientele, and to push the boundaries of design literature, in an attempt to raise the overall cultural taste in the society. This project could be expanded and improved, to be made into a crash course style educational material, if the opportunity of such design appears in a designers’ professional life.

Conceptmap
Note: The Interactive Conceptmap has to be viewed via Adode Acrobat Reader.

Images
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