From last article that I wrote about how designer using typography in an artwork to delivery the message and idea. We can see text or typography in everywhere: street signs, company logos, poster, and especially in advertising. Many artworks or design works have typography as a text that give an information to audiences. Designers use typography by begin with letters, then letters became words, and combining words to form sentences, paragraphs, and arrange in columns.[1] On the other hand, many of designers also consider typography as an image, and use it as visual element in the design works. Either designers consider typo as text or image, how typo works still same. How to use typography in artworks has many ways to use depend on which kind of works, and which category of media that designers are going to use. For example, Advertising usually uses typo in several sections, and divide as: First, headline is the main type in a work that normally it is primary information. Second, subtitle or sub-headline shows secondary information, and has smaller size or weight from headline. Third, text or body copy is usually the longest typographic material in the artworks, also is the main information source for audiences.[2]
In the present days, advertising and graphic design are using typography to be the main tool to delivery the messages to audiences, and typography became to be an image not just a text. Many school open a course to teach about typography like creating typography, or how to use typography in particular aspect. Many designers concern about how to use typo in many aspects such as characteristics of typeface, size, weight, spacing, and color to fit in the artworks and send not just messages, but also feeling as well, especially in advertising field. In advertising typography as image is very popular since 1990s which designer using typography to express and delivery messages to audiences by not just put text messages or some images, but using text as image that can delivery messages from text itself or the meaning from image that text preforms too. Also many of advertisements that using text as image have double meaning or contrast meaning by meaning of words and visual.
The Beat-Breast Cancer campaign is playing with the main word of the campaign which are Beat and Breast by using words Breast cancer to be the focal point that send a message of women’s disease[3]: and then uses a hand show the shape of scissors that a doctor use for surgery to cover “r” and “s” to created a word “Beat” from “Breast” to send the message of the campaign beat a breast cancer. This campaign doesn’t use typography as an image, but it uses text with image to double meaning of itself and communicates to audiences. By covering some letters from the complete word can creates another word and another meaning. Also it has many word that hidden in other words too such as dying in studying or end in friend, it depend on how well designer is going to choose the words to play together and create the meaning that can delivery campaign’s message to audiences.
The campaign “Make Home Fun” from IKEA[4], designer uses the technic play with the spelling to send the message to audience. This advertising is using the words that missing some letters but still able to read to make people fill the words and complete the sentence, after that people will understand the meaning of the advertisement that try to send the message that people can find the missing piece of their furniture in IKEA. Another ad is using technic switching the letters of the words, and when people switch the letters back to a real word they will know the meaning of this ad that in IKEA people can build their own furniture and decorate it by themselves. This campaign plays with people’s understanding about words. Even though the words are not complete or switch letters around, but people still understand the meaning of words and understand the message from the campaign.
This ad campaign from Coca-Cola Lemon is using a letter to send the message of the campaign that Coca-Cola has a new flavor[5]. Because of a new flavor is lemon, so Coca-Cola uses the peel of lemon to created the letter “C” of Coca-Cola. As Coca-Cola is a well known brand around the world, people know the logo of Coca-Cola, especially the letter “C” of Coca-Cola’s logo. This campaign from Coca-Cola plays with their letter “C” by just show “C” from Coca-Cola’s logo in the poster which is created by lemon’s peel, and lets people think and they will understand that this is Coca-Cola Lemon by themselves with telling anything to audiences by texting.
The last example is from “Be Stupid” campaign from Diesel[6]. This campaign is different from other campaigns before, it doesn’t use any technics of typography like play with the words, the characteristic of character, meaning of the words, or anything, but the real good meaning of headline itself. Diesel’s Be Stupid is one of the most famous and successful advertising campaign in the world because of the headline copy of the campaign. Typography or text in communication art doesn’t have to present with some technic all the time, depends on the idea and concept of the works and how to send the messages to audiences. Sometime if using a technic and the work is come up good, then use the technic to present the idea by typography; but if it doesn’t, then come up with a great copy is better, like Be Stupid campaign. This campaign doesn’t use any technic but texts the copy that hit people mind, and inclines people to agree with the campaign idea. Big question of using just headline copy to send the idea of campaign and make campaign successful is “HOW?”.
These are the example and the ways that communication art in the present days using typography to communicate with people, especially in graphic design and advertising. Type is not just text message that works for sending messages to people, but also works as an image as well. Sometime people read texts for direct informations, but many time text has hidden meaning in itself, depends on how designer designs to use typography. Often that typography is used in creative ways to play with people understanding, or imply with somethings. On the other hand, a good headline copy also can catch people feeling very well too as I said “it depends on how to design.”
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[1] Meggs, Philip B. Type & Image. New York: John Wiley & Sons, INC., 1992.
[2] Meggs, Philip B. Type & Image. New York: John Wiley & Sons, INC., 1992.
[3] Duncan, . The Inspiration Room, "Safe and Sound Beat Breast Cancer." Last modified October 8, 2006. Accessed November 3, 2012. http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/beat-breast-cancer/.
[4] Carvalho, Matt. Behance, "IKEA Advertising." Last modified May 22, 2008. Accessed November 3, 2012. http://www.behance.net/Gallery/IKEA/94072.
[5] Coloribus, "Lemon Peel" Print Ad for Coca-cola Light Lemon by Publicis Amsterdam." Last modified March 2010. Accessed November 3, 2012. http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/prints/coca-cola-light-lemon-lemon-peel-13612005/.
[6] Creative Ad Awards, "Diesel: Be Stupid Advertising Campaign." Last modified 2010. Accessed November 3, 2012. http://www.creativeadawards.com/diesel-be-stupid-advertising-campaign/.
I always respond more to text in work because text becomes more than just words and sentences. It becomes image as well. As a painter, we are often taught that everything begins with line and from line you can create structure and text is simple line that forms sentence structure. The image of the "C" in the Coca-Cola add is a perfect example of how text and image are closely intertwined.
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