To go alongside the modern illustration style i have chosen, and that my entire project will include the use of simple shapes I have decided to look at regular sans serif and serif geometric type faces which will fit into this theme. I will look at four different types and decide which will go best with the illustration style of Hey Studios.
Before starting online research, I looked at my thinking with type boo to get a basic understanding of what I am looking for, from this I got an understanding of what style of each type would look best. This was an easy process to develop a basic background before moving into digital.
For the sans types, I chose two geometric types - not dissimilar to a well known and commonly used type called ’Futura’. I decided not to go with this type due to how often it is used and how it is a stereotypical choice for minimalistic design. Sans serif is the obvious choice for minimalist design, finding the correct form is the hard part.
’All Round Gothic is a font family inspired by classic sans serif fonts. This font is a structured geometric sans, but also creates a sweet and cute atmosphere by removing unnecessary stems.’
All round gothic is the pinnacle of minimalist typefaces, the removal of stems make all forms seem more circular and geometric, along with this a wide range of weights offer lots of options for Headings and Body copy. The form of the type does not reflect anything from this time period but does reflect the illustration style and theme of the prototype and publication/website.
’Europa is a modern sans serif combining geometric reduction and humanistic vitality. Despite the distinct geometrical touch and characterful roughness, it can be used for both text and headline purposes, due to optical modulation rather than metrical construction. Its name refers to the inspirational origins, two popular European typefaces: the geometrical Futura and the humanistic Gill Sans.’
Europa is a minimal and geometric typeface, with similarities to Futura and Gill Sans. It is less symmetrical and circular than All Round Gothic. Europa has three weights able to be used for heading and body type, although due to the more subdued nature it may be an option to look at alternatives for headings. Again, the sans form of this type does not reflect the time period of Sherlock Holmes but would fit well with my selected theme for this project.
’Obvia, a geo-humanist type for all media. Obvia appeared as a result of direct observation on typefaces classified as geometric and the plan to explore for the first time width axes - to be published soon - expanding its usability. The idea behind Obvia’s design was to create a distancing from geometrically pure shapes, in this case, square shapes. Then some details were added, such as subtle ink traps, concave endings of the stems and carefully drawn alternate characters, giving a ‘geo-humanist’ tone to the font. This first family of Obvia has 9 weights ranging from Thin to Black with their respective italics, delivering a strong typographic identity, from the paper to the pixel.’
Obvia is minimal and geometric but is more square than the previous options I have looked at. It has a range of weights which would be suitable for headings and body copy. The more modern style of this type would work well with my theme but I have concerns that it is too far from the Sherlock theme and has moved past the compromise level of the modern Sherlock theme. I will compare it with the illustration style and make my decision once I see it alongside the illustrations - this will allow me to understand if it relates to the visual image I have.