This project stars the typeface ‘Bodoni’, a modern serif typeface that was developed by renowned Italian designer, Giambattista Bodoni in 1798. Its design was inspired by John Baskerville’s namesake typeface. Bodoni, however, pushed Baskerville’s ideas to the next level. This was achieved by “creating even more contrast between the thick and thin strokes, making letters more vertical, and greatly condensing width more than Baskerville had ever done”. Its modern and elegant nature is what sees it still being used to this day, especially in the fashion industry. The iconic Vogue, the luxurious Armani and the stylish Zara are all brands that make use of it.
Our goal was to thus centre our design around the fashion industry. We started this process by designing the poster-zine's cover page to resemble a magazine cover, like Vogue. The main element is a water-coloured painting of a model. The painting is primarily black and white, however, the model’s lips, lipstick and makeup are painted red to add a certain flare that the fashion industry favours. We then went on to design the table of contents, we chose the heading to read, “In this issue”. This was to continue the feel of a Vogue magazine. The next page highlights some of the iconic fashion brands that use Bodoni. Pages 3 and 4 showcase the typeface's rich history. The idea was to create a stage out of the word Bodoni. On the stage, we placed three dresses, the first being from the 18th century, around the time that Bodoni was born. The other two are dresses from the 19th and 20th centuries. To illustrate these dresses, we used a watercolour brush that ties in with our cover design. We strategically placed the text around the dresses. The last spread focuses on the key elements that make Bodoni, namely, vertical axises, ball terminals, small apertures, high contrasts and exaggerated modulation. To complete the poster-zine, we designed a mini illustration that consisted of a ‘Bodoni’ stage, two spotlights made from the letter ‘O’ as well as brackets (the light shining from them are also made from text), and lastly, two walking models with a paper texture that again, ties in with the painted cover page. Throughout our design, we explored the concept of negative space. We experimented with text as much as possible to create an aesthetically pleasing outcome. Alongside the poster-zine, we also designed two posters. Similar to the poster-zine, our colour choices included grey and white, it also included a 'pop’ of red, just like the model’s lips, lipstick and makeup.
