Considering your target audience...

A few simple questions useful to ask yourself are:

What supermarket do they shop at?

What clothes shop do they shop at?

What is their job?

What else would be next to this on a shelf?

What is it's main competitor?

Mansueto Ventures (2013) defines searching for your target audience as considering the following:

Demographics:

• Age
• Location
• Gender
• Income level
• Education level
• Marital or family status
• Occupation
• Ethnic background

Pyscholographics:

·         Personality

·         Attitudes

·         Values

·         Interests/hobbies

·         Lifestyles

·         Behavior

Evaluate your decisions:

• Are there enough people that fit my criteria?
• Will my target really benefit from my product/service? Will they see a need for it?
• Do I understand what drives my target to make decisions?
• Can they afford my product/service?
• Can I reach them with my message? Are they easily accessible?

Mansueto Ventures (2013) Inc. :How to determine your target audience, available at: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/defining-your-target-market.html/1, viewed on: 09/12/13.

Redesigning a page in The Big Issue...

In an attempt to understand the use of typography for creating audience approriate moods or sentiments, I set about playing with the layout of one page from The Big Issue Novemeber edition.

The orginal page:

Bird, J. (2013) The Big Issue, edition November 18-24, p13.

Article is John Bird's sharing his personal thoughts on his reaction to the Kennedy assassination.  John Bird is the Founder and Editor in Chief of the Big Issue. 

Here is my redesign of this page with fonts i had on my computer, in the style of The Big Issue:

Here is my redesign of this page with fonts i had on my computer, in the style of TV Choice mag:

Here is my redesign of this page with fonts i had on my computer, in the style of The Guardian newspaper:

Analyzing different papers and magazines

Looking closely at the choice of fonts, the hierarchy of types, page layout, use of images and any adverts.  By analysing the general rules/themes applied to the magazine/newspaper as a whole I can see vibe of the content and gauge:

*the target audience.
*the mood implied.
*what the magazine/paper is about.


The Big Issue magazine

Fonts:
Brand name:       Unique individual style type, bold sans serif with surrounding box.
Header:              Mostly Sans Serif (same as subtitles) occasionally is more elaborate header.
Subheadings:      Sans serif
Body Copy:       Serif
Highlighted bits:  Bold variant of Serif (same as body copy)
Specials:            Script/handwritting font

Colours:
Black and Red largely throughout, Choice of colour for subheading differs in section:
The mix: Red
Films, TV, Culture: Ocre yellow.

Light gloss to pages

Content:
Cultural issues or features on lighter side.
Ads are for community projects or homeless assistance
No product placements
Free-er speech
Less formal content and style of writing.

Example page, p 13:

The Guardian newspaper,

Fonts
Brand name:           Slab Serif, bold version.  Lower case writing for both words "the guardian"
Header:                  Slab Serif (same), bold version.
Subheadings:          Slab Serif (same), bold version.
Body copy:            Slab Serif (same)
diagrams/specials:  Thinner sans serif.

Same font, different parts of the family for it -
bolder: page title
regular: body text
in red: for subheadings and bold
thinner: for quotes
condensed:  section title header top
6 varients on pages 6 and 7.

Colours
Larger colour photos,
limited colour palette - mainly black white and red, varies colour of subheadings for some sections.
ocre yellow, orange, maroon red and occasionally blue.


Content
For the people
3 or 5 text columns a page instead of 2.
Family orientated ads - time together to catch up as family.
High end purchase ads - cars, designer bags, M&S.
Consumer ads on most pages
Charity ads occasionally through.
Political subject matters.

Example page, front cover:

TV Choice magazine

Font
Header:                different for each article, even if 4 on page! Round or blocky, sans serif largely.
Subtitles:              Sans serif, italic version (of body copy)
Body copy :         Sans serif

Colour
6 used - red, white, black, yellow, green, blue - all very bright!
Borders and text and b/g's are coloured.
Colour tab on page edge for day

High gloss pages

Content
Ads are for cheap but practical clothes or accessories, appear to be at a glance better than are.
Ads for elderly assistance items
tabs like "new" appear like price tags, stuck onto pics and overlap stuff.
Intense - an assault on the senses.
Fast read - intended for quick pick up and short reading.

Example page, p4:

Big Issue November 18-24 edition

Photos of types :

Advert on  page 5:

Page 4 "The Mix - posted"
A page dedicated to posts and tweets regarding The Big Issue

Title:

Body text:

Comment of the week text:

Tweet type (unable to analyse in the app)

Page 2 - Editors intro  - Paul McNamee gives intro to this edition

Big Issue logo:

Main article (front cover story), quote text:

Notes:

Body text - serif.

Titles - Sans Serif

Substitles - Sans Serif, in red

Use of colour red or black throughout articles.

Type, through the eyes of FUSE

FUSE was set up in 1990 by Jon Wozencroft and Neville Brody.  It was a place for experimental typefaces to be showcased, celebrated, experimented with.  It was published by FontShop, each edition took four typographers and gave them a platform by asking them to design an experimental typeface each to a theme.  Thought-provoking themes and editions followed, such as Pornography or Religion or Freeform found in FUSE10, that brought joy to readers who loved the bold and ground breaking ventures it took in typeface designs and brought criticism from traditional typographers.


Interview by Yves Peters:

Quote from Neville Brody:
"The basic idea behind freeform typography is that the computer keyboard can also be used as a musical instrument or a painter’s palette. It can be used as a way to redefine the representation of digital language." 

Peters notes:
"When those letters are abstracted to the point that they stop performing this function, then one can’t qualify them as letters nor typography anymore."

He is probing at the purpose of the FUSE edition 10 called Freeform, where the typeface designs in this magazine seem to push the boundaries of lettering to uncomfortable levels for some, rendering the words unreadable.


Erik Van Blockland 

Blockland counters:
"It takes a poor typographer to be convinced that letters are only meant to convey meaning. "

Blockland is standing up to criticism of experimental typography by reminding us of the duality of written communication and the relationship we have with them is not solely perfunctory. 

Blockland also notes:
"Letters are peculiar things, and readers can take quite a bit. It is possible to create shapes that are individually unrecognisable as letters, but that are readable when put in context"

and

" By changing the separate components you learn more about the whole."

Reading this reminded me of the Google search engine logo that frequently alters its form to pay homage to the anniversary of influential scientists or artists, or for Royal events or special current events.  Sometimes the individual letters themselves are replaced with imagery that does not represent the letter shape at all, but because of it's known brand name and colours, the indication of the letter serves as enough when viewed as a whole.

Examples:

C.V. Ramans 125th birthday - nobel prize: deflected light forms wavelengths.
http://www.google.com/doodles/cv-ramans-125th-birthday

Leon Stukelis 115th birthday - Yugoslav olympic gold medalist
http://www.google.com/doodles/leon-stukeljs-115th-birthday

Wilbur Norman Christiansen's 100th birthday - radio astronomer, build Chris Cross telescope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wcst6AOXcQ

Erik Speikermann notes:
" He is correct when he says that a keyboard can be used as a musical instrument or a painter’s palette. However it think is incorrect to call this typography, although the term digital language can be used."

Speikermann abides by order and precision and yet also has a loving relationship with letter forms and typography.  In his understanding of typeface designs and requirements for typeface designing, i find him very strict but largely fair, perhaps he is abit more black and white about the process, seeing typography as intrinsically linked with conveying the message of language, but he recognises the possibilities of using lettering for another kind of visual language.  

Even if the end result is not successful or has not gained any merit or purpose, it is worthwhile to explore possibilities, as Speikermann (2010) notes " Even if an experiment doesn’t lead anywhere, that is one of its very reasons of existence."


Wozencroft notes:
"At the same time we agree that the language of bees, the mating calls of the rainforest, and the choir welcoming every new dawn sounds pleasingly “abstract” yet melodic to our ears. Just because we can’t easily imitate this “information”, does this imply that it has no meaning? Of course not."

Wozencroft reflects compellingly on the two relationships we have with written communication, one of clearly defined languistic communication of facts, content and truths, and another of the joy found in emotive, abstract and ambiguous meaning.  He notes that we already embrace this communication in the world of nature. He finds that the two can work together to allow deeper meaning to be conveyed  and that this is applicable to typeface design. 

Wozencroft notes in reference to FUSE:
"It is a naked experiment, and at the same time a revaluation of the intrinsic dilemma between words as meaning, and words as images of meaning. 


Peters, Y (2010) 20 Years of Fontshop: Vintage Fuse Interview, available at: http://fontfeed.com/archives/20-years-of-fontshop-vintage-fuse-interview/, viewed on: 23.11.2013.


FUSE11 - Pornography

Translated through google translate, the webpage FontShop Osterreich lists the edition FUSE11 in which the theme was Pornography:

The ironic typographic debate on the issue Pornography made ​​FUSE 11 to a very surprising bestseller in 1994. Nevertheless, also in the FUSE 11 edition was strictly limited, and available today only a few remaining copies!

The designers are Luc (as) de Groot, "Fuel", Erik van Blokland and Just van Rossum and Ian Wright, the writings hot Handjob F, F Move Me MM, F and F TapeType What You See / What You Get. As a bonus font: the F Peep by Neville Brody in logically 6 sections. For font diskette's usual five-poster and extra three small typo Movies and TapeType animation on the topic.

available at: http://www.fontshop.at/fuse, viewed on: 24/11/2013.

One was a typeface that would appear on the screen but print out a sheet of blank paper once sent to print.  A comment on the interactivity of porn and the screen and the viewer.

One was called Move me MM, and showcased pornographic imagery.

It had Serif Black which was block lettering typeface, the other was distressed block lettering the formed pornographic symbols and imagery to form the letters.

Examples shown here

FontFabrik (2012), Porno, availabl at: http://www.fontfabrik.com/lucfuse.html, viewed on: 23/11/2013.

Notes from reading The Big Issue November 18-24...

Distinctly Independent from the beginning pages.  The use of language and content within is a lot more informal, in its subject and in its delivery.

Editors intro: addresses upcoming christmas themed donations and support in the idea of buying, or giving existing, small food items for your vendor - from the double offers and excess available for us this time of year.

The Mix: contains variety or tweets or letters that are quite insulting in their interpretation of previous big issue articles! freedom to speech feels pretty free here.

Adverts don't seem to be about products, but for
*courses or
*donation pages for big issue foundation or
*Crisis at Christmas
*Build your Vendor a shop - community based project where children or readers can enter a drawing of a buildable housing unit to protect vendors from weather

Celebrity interviews about life events, specifically about family:
*Samira Ahmed - her "Aunt" and her memories of their relationship
*Suggs - his dad on drugs.

The Big Issue - Pitch stories

As found on The Big Issue website, stories from some of the vendors.  Comes from section called "My Pitch"

Birmingham:

Darren Griffiths - Previously on Drugs and Alcohol, now off drugs and reduced alcohol. Has dog to look after.  Family seperation after 14 years.  Worked in construction and marque installations.  fishes in spare time.

Ollie Bain - previously worked on funfairs, travelling about on the dodgems.

Dinah Lee - autistic lady with anxiety issues.  Overcomes nervousness about what shoppers think of her by singing.  Has family, children also autistic spectrum.

Designing an innovative font...

Ecofont:

Designed by Spranq Creative Communications Agency, a typeface that was a version of arial with tiny holes dotted through the inked section, not visible to the naked eye at 12pt size.

2010 tests by EcoFont revealed it was 28% more efficient than ariel alone.  However, sans serif types use more ink than serif fonts so new software was invented that altered the typeface a person selected and added tiny holes to the inked sections when sent to the printer.

Currently supports 5 regularly used typefaces: Times new roman, Verdana, arial, Trebuchet MT, Calibri.

Matt Robinson's findings:

Matt did a simple experiment to test the amount of ink used in a selection of well known typefaces by colouring large scale versions of the same words in with ink, it was then easy to see the difference in ink used by different typefaces:

Much Kudos to Matt (and Tom Wigglesworth collaboration) to this visual display.

Richardson, M (2009) Measuring Typefaces, available at: http://www.matthewrobinson.co.uk/Measuring-Type, viewed on: 22/11/2013.


With Matt's findings, its clear that Serif typefaces such as Garamond, Currier, Times new Roman all are the top and use much less than sans serif counterparts Comic Sans, Cooper Black and Impact.


Notes:

Although not an exhaustive list, an indicator that the even lines of a sans serif use more ink to clearly define each letter, over the leading bottom serifs of a serif type that lead the eye up.

Helvetica, simular to arial, sits in the middle.  So although EcoFont arial saves on its brother regular arial, will it only save as much as using garamond in the first place?

Ecofonts typefaces are heavier set than regular set fonts, according  to Lee Mathews at Download Squad.

Mathews, L (2008) Does SPRANQ's Ecofont really use 20% less ink?, available : http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/12/22/can-spranqs-ecofont-use-20-less-ink/, viewed on: 22/11/2013.

The Big Issue Foundation, support services.

The Big Issue Foundation

Unique relationship with vendors as they are not clients, as in some charities, but customers, as they buy the magazines from them and sell them on.

100% reliant on donations.

Mission: Connect vendors with the support they importantly need, giving personal solutions where can to aid them in finding their own way away from homelessness.


The Peoples Network

Provide Vendor with free sim card.  Allows free calls between Vendors, supporting a safer community.  Doubles the credit on topped up amounts.

Those in working situations, e.g. non homeless, can switch network provider to The Peoples Network and find that they are supporting vendors by giving 10% of their monthly contract to The Big Issue Foundation, and therefore vendors.  Network is called The Peoples Operator.


Create and Craft TV

Knitathon on novemeber the 8th.  Was televised by Create and Craft TV. Objective was to knit a square 6 inches by 6 inches.  National event and call up.  Could buy knitting packs from Create and Craft, £5 of which went to The Big Issue Foundation.

The Big Health

To provide vendors with information about nutrition, mental health, keeping warm in winter, sexual health, stopping smoking, first aid etc.  Supporting practitioners in this field provide free care and information.

British Red Cross: providing first aid advice and tips for helping on the pitch.


Events, Services and such, that The Big Issue Foundation supply:

Aspirations Week: Provides vendors with a week away from selling and helps to give them focus for long term goals.
Sales and money Week: maths support, Credit Union talk,
London to Paris cycle: fund raising.
Shelter Housing: support to vendors in housing set ups.
QCF qualification in customer care - Bournemouth Uni provided opportunity for vendor to learn and qualify in this.

Sam Spungold - particularly inspiring story shared of her journey to date from homelessness in her teens.  Gained such personal strength, knows what helps her stay on right path and how to plug on and keep progressing forward.  Gained various qualifications: LAMDA silver (?) and masters in creative writing in therapy, level 3 radio qualification and other acting qualificaitons.  Now written her own book and working on a screen play.  Message is of working hard, even if dont see results for a while - they will come. even if they dont, you go out fighting. such strength!


Strong themes coming through stories, how ever different:

HOPE, OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE/BETTER LIFE, PURPOSE.


http://cs.mypbiz.com/the-big-issue/default.aspx

INSP - digital ventures

INSP worked on the technology and logistics of providing vendors with a piece of paper that was bought, that contained a QR code for the user to log onto the digital copy of the big issue magazine!

more info is listed here.

a video is also here

http://www.street-papers.org/insp-digital/

The Big Issue...

International Network of Street Papers (INSP) supports The Big Issue in the UK.

The Big Issue is a community and entertainment based magazine that vendors can sell to make a profit.
They buy the magazine from the suppliers for £1.25 and sell the magazine for £2.50
The magazine sales support the vendors who are vulnerable housed or homeless, giving them experience in money handling and management, sales and customer interaction.

History:

The magazine began sales in 1991 to support young people sleeping rough in london, by Gordon Riddick and John Bird.  The aim of the enterprise was to allow those trapped in homelessness to be able to earn a legitimate income.
The vendors have to provide a case for homelessness or vulnerabilty and are then enrolled as a vendor - they being with a few free copies on a fixed pitch and then must sell them in order to earn some more money to buy more magazines for sale.


The Big Issue Foundation:

This foundation also provides services and support to the vendors.


The Big Issue content:

has become intrinsically linked with independent journalism and challenging issues and topics, has achieved exclusive interviews with celebrities that usually avoid interviews.
The solution it provided to aid homeless in helping themselves became only part of what the magazine has become.  It is recognised as a powerful brand and "a powerful blueprint for social change" (available at: http://www.bigissue.com/about-us, viewed on: 20/11/2013)


The Big Issue website:

Has sections called "My Pitch" that allow local vendors to share a little about their story, looking briefly at their background, their current situation, how they work on their pitch.

Paun Efdenoiu: pitch is in birmingham, Paradise Forum.  Has worked with selling the Big Issue for 1 and a half years.  Came from Craoiva in Romania 2 years ago. Was sleeping rough now shares a house.  Goes to two hours of language education a week, put on by the Big Issue Foundation.

Kris Dove: pitch is in Birmingham, New Street.  selling Big Issue in newcastle (home), then london for 3 years, now birmingham for 5 months.  Still trying to sort housing but its close.  Linked up previously with The Princes Trust, get chances to do experiences couldnt otherwise afford, the course aims to focuses on confidence and attitude.  Princes Trust also give funding for starting up own business.

Steve Dunn: pitch is in birmingham, Navigation Road.  Used to be drug addict, family friends and job all blew up just before he became homeless, and hed given up drugs before.  Used to also work part time in a local pub but it closed.  Likes hospitality work, gets on well with people.   Wants to take Landlord exam to become landlord in future.  Comment underneath by someone mentioned Vendor Support, in order to loan money?


All notes taken from Big Issue Website-

The Big Issue (2013) Our Vendors: My Pitch, available at: http://www.bigissue.com/our-vendors/my-pitch, viewed on: 20/11/2013.

Dandad Agency - New Blood Awards: Monotype

D&AD are an organisation that is a creative community that allow connections with other creatives, a place to share and absorb other's creative works, or to grow your own profile work, and to influence changes.

D&AD welcomes people to join and become members of the community, those passionate about design and advertising and being part of the future of creative design.

New Bloods Awards - allow immerging artists to submit work for various projects awards for judging.  Recently qualified or training students are only those allowed to submit brief solutions to these awards.

New Bloods Awards - Monotype : This award is looking for a typography based solution to the urban street papers (Through INSP) in their transitional stage of print and digital magazines, whilst incorporating the personal side of the vendor and their community they are selling in.  It is about researching a location, discovering its tone, stories, ways etc and then taking on board the issue/difference of print and digital media, as INSP incorporates working towards the digital future.  This change is potentially unsettling for the vendors or the communities the paper represents, it is about sensitively (both through background research awareness and design solutions) presenting solutions that are inclusive, and also highly telling of a location.

Feel this brief would suit my theme of exploring the rise of hand lettering in the arena of digital design.  I may have to alter my question a little to focus it more astutely to this brief.  But research i have already done on various forms of hand lettering ( letter press, calligraphy, etc) or on hand rendered letter sketches or contemporary artists i have looked into who are hand letterers or typographers - will all be highly applicable research base to build upon.

Birmingham Museum - typography and hand lettering