We were tasked with creating a 6 word story using typography, which encapsulated the essence of a book written by particular authors. I chose to do Oliver Twist by Charles Dickins using the quote ‘please sir I want some more.’
After some initial sketches I went onto adobe illustrator and started playing around the type, using 2 different typefaces to cut them up and put them back together to create a mix between the two.
As you can see in most letters i have added parts of 2 different typefaces to create a different affect. For example, in the word ‘some’ I have added thicker lines from to the ‘m’ and the ‘o’, I did this to create a slightly jagged effect to convey the nervous thoughts that I would imagine Oliver having when asking for more food. I’ve also added the same effect to ‘WANT’ as well as adding it to capitals to outline how demanding the word want is. Both words are spaced apart randomly and slightly tilted to either side, this is another way to convey the thought of his being nervous and worried about using for more food.
After placing “please sir I want some” I created a hybrid font between the two typefaces for ‘more’.
I decided to make the letters much more of a mix between the two typefaces and to show a lot of the hybrids with the jagged edges and misplacement. I think this is fitting with the word ‘MORE’ as it contrasts well with ‘please’ and looks more rough and rude. I moves the text around in a few different ways but thought the above layouts didn’t work well enough to convey the meaning. The draft above is effective but doesn’t use the space well enough and the word ‘MORE’ is too small, it should fill the space and be much bigger.
I enlarged ‘MORE’ and added more letters on top of the word to give the sense of literally having more on the page. I think it works much better to fill the space and works well to convey the feeling of the quote and the book in general. I think I could have experimented more with the layout so it doesn’t look so symmetrical, or added more hybrid fonts on some of the words. However, I’m happy with the outcome considering it was one of my first times using illustrator.
Ben Jackson 