Lucian Typeface Promo Cards

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THE PROJECT

Research a font designer and work with a typeface from that designer. Create four cards for the selected typeface using ONLY characters from that typeface: (1) cover card, (2) designer information card, (3 & 4) two typeface variation cards. Work is limited to three colors.

CREATIVE INTENTIONS

Preliminary Research

I wanted a typeface with distinctive, beautiful characters to show off on the promo cards. I researched many font designers: Ed Benguiat, Margo Chase, Adrian Frutiger, Eric Gill, Erik Spiekermann, Hermann Zapf and many others. The finalists were:

(1) Adobe Caslon by Carol Twombly;

(2) Goudy Oldstyle by Frederic Goudy;

(3) Cochin by Matthew Carter; and

(4) Bernhard Modern by Lucian Bernhard.

Typeface Selection
I chose Bernhard Modern. However, in my subsequent research of Lucian Bernhard, I came across a quirky, unique typeface of his called Lucian. I instantly fell in love with the flamboyant "Q," the fierce and severe "q," and the quail-plume-esque ear of the "g" that switched directions when going from Roman to Bold. An unconventional and somewhat impractical typeface, Lucian begged to be showcased!

Concept Development

I found many examples of type specimen sheets for inspiration:

I created some thumbnail sketches, testing Bernhard's quotes and a few of my favorite letterforms:

Concept Refinement

Lucian Bernhard was a pioneer in the development of the Plakatstil (poster) style. After reviewing my sketches and learning more about Plakatstil, I decided to incorporate the style into each of my Lucian typeface promo cards.

I corralled as many of Bernhard's posters as I could find (some of them are shown below). I then decided which posters would lend themselves to the types of promo cards I needed to create. I narrowed down a color scheme and got to work.

COVER CARD
Uses em-dashes and dot separators to replicate the famous Priester matchsticks.

TYPEFACE VARIATION CARD #1

Shows full alphabets, numbers and other glyphs for both Lucian Roman and Lucian Bold.

DESIGNER INFORMATION CARD

Uses the counter of the quirky "g" as a frame for a short biography on Lucian Bernhard.

TYPEFACE VARIATION CARD #2

Uses Lucian characters to replicate the fountain in the exhibit poster. Includes the German pangram, “Victor jagt zwölf Boxkämpfer quer über den großen Sylter Deich,” which means "Victor chases twelve boxers across the great dam of Sylt," and is considered the German equivalent to the English "The quick brown fox..." pangram. SOURCE