Type Specimen Booklet
Project Scope
A type specimen is a brochure or catalog printed by a type foundry to market the use of specific typefaces. A properly designed specimen will showcase the various uses with a range of weights and sizes. There should also be sample text to demonstrate how the typeface looks when used for a headline or body copy.
Background
The typeface on display is Avenir, a geometric sans-serif designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1988. Avenir is French for the future and Frutiger created the typeface with that in mind. Avenir was designed to be a geometric typeface with a touch of humanist characteristics. Unlike most geometric typefaces, Frutiger opted to use the two-story “a” and a “t” with a curl at the bottom.
Avenir Next was designed by Frutiger from 2004-to 2007 with help from Linotype’s designer. With this release, the original six weights were upgraded to 24 different styles with the addition of Avenir Next Condensed. For a short time, beginning in 2012, Avenir was used by the iOS and macOS software. A handful of other companies have adopted Avenir as the typeface that represents their brand. For example, Spotify (prior to rebranding), AOL, Disney+, Bloomberg, and others. Best Buy even has its own style of Avenir designed specifically for its branding.
Ideation
I am using 8x8 sized pages instead of the usual 8.5x11 because I believe the square fits the geometric tone that Frutiger intended for Avenir. It is also not as common to see a booklet in anything but 8.5x11. A square booklet is unique and feels better in the consumer’s hands.
The large array of weights and styles within the Avenir family would pose a challenge for me as I attempted to showcase all of its uses. I quickly learned this wouldn’t be possible because just the original installment of Avenir had too many to display on page comfortably. I would continue trying different methods to showcase the variety of weights until eventually realized it wasn’t necessary. Avenir and Avenir Next were almost the same typeface and displaying the italics of each weight was unnecessary as it could be assumed what the others might look like italicized.
Composition A
I chose three different paths to pursue for my compositions. The first was a black, white, and red concept that resembled a lot of the type specimens I had viewed during the ideation phase. This was the original design and the “alphabet soup” page originated from this comp. However, I wasn’t pleased with this design and felt that it was overdone by every type foundry.
Composition B
The next was a green and black concept that took inspiration from Spotify, a company that used Avenir for their logo in the past, and Vans. This was a fun design to create because it’s targeted more to a younger audience with the inclusion of checkerboards, a pattern that’s blown up amongst Gen Z. This, however, didn’t feel like the appropriate tone for a type specimen intended to sell the typeface.
Composition C
The final composition was a pastel and minimalist concept that many of my colleagues referred to as the “the Tutti Frutti one.” It consists of a very light tan color for the paper and red, yellow, and green for the text. The design was meant to resemble retro styles from the 70s and 80s, an ode to the era when Avenir was created. The main idea for this comp was simplicity. With a typeface so perfect, I wanted it to speak for itself.
Revisions
During this project, I went through a designer slump. I wasn’t remembering my basics and instead was reverting to overcrowding the layouts I was creating. This is obvious when looking at the “Alphabet Soup” page included in the final design.
During a consultation with the creative director, she told me, “You’re doing too much. Let the typeface speak for itself.” I immediately returned to my pages and cut out the clutter. Any extra unnecessary embellishments were removed, including the pages numbers. They would eventually be replaced with very small type displaying the foundry and typeface name. Then I realized that most of the graphic design had already been done for me when Adrian Frutiger designed Avenir in the 1980s. I was simply advertising its beauty. When I saw the project in this new light I was able to create a clear and clean design that appropriately displays the typeface.
Final Product
As Avenir is literally French for the future, the future was the main focus of the final composition. Frutiger had the future in mind when designing Avenir and it has continued on as one of the most popular typefaces for decades.
I also wanted the design to be a bit playful as Avenir is a more playful geometric font that was intended to resemble human nature. I decided the include a message from the typeface itself on the cover, enticing readers to look further into the booklet. This is the same place as the page footer that took place of the page numbers, which were removed because they disrupted the flow of the specimen. The booklet was only twelve pages so it’s not necessary to include indicators for this project.
The final design is minimalistic and pastel, containing only three familiar colors; green, yellow, and red. Avenir has been used with these colors for companies like Snapchat and Spotify so it radiates a sense of familiarity to the consumer. I also felt a feeling of nostalgia for elementary school when looking at some of the pages. This emphasizes the typeface’s ability to be clear but also friendly.
