Inspiration for Typography - Jessica Hische

In graphical design typography is often overlooked however, it is essential and often can be a major selling point. Throughout the first half of the 20th century font faces were often very technical and intricate. They were all serif fonts with vast amounts of detail and shading and intricate patterns coming off the edges. This was seen as common place for many years and often the more intricate the better. In the 1950's however, swiss style came to fruition. This focussed on accuracy, control and precision. It did away with the ultra complex and intricate serif fonts of the past for a uniform sans serif font with mathematically sound spacing and positioning. This became the new standard and suddenly every shop and poster had a sans serif type face and as little text as possible.

It is only really in recent years we are starting to break away from this style trend and revert back to a more nostalgic style of typeface. One of the better examples I have found of this is the artist Jessica Hische's work. I was introduced to her by a university lecturer and her work is absolutely outstanding. She takes the old typographical elements of yesteryear and combines them with modern artistic styles. Her work has a very elegant, sophisticated, nostalgic feel yet still manages to look modern and vibrant.

Here are some examples of her work:

SOURCE: http://jessicahische.is/nerdingoutfornpr/ 

This poster combines a very grand old font that you might expect to see in a 1920's circus with a very modern style of composition and art style. The colours are reminiscent of older posters with a washed out blue and slightly off white text. The typeface in the bottom right also harks back to older poster designs. There is a great contrast though with the art style. Although the typeface is very complicated and sophisticated the background is sparse and simplistic. The positioning of everything is geometric and modern and the thin typeface in the top right coupled with the lines surrounding the main words really do help to emphasise the two contrasting periods of design. It is a very successful poster.

SOURCE: http://jessicahische.is/winningthelotteryforhermom/

This poster is very, very aesthetically pleasing. It combines very bright, vibrant colours, artwork and composition with a very regal, British font family and decorative aspects. This poster is really successful at conveying the message it is supposed to. The colouring and changing font faces really help to emphasise each word giving them strength and meaning. It works really well and is immediately eye grabbing yet still holds your interest.

Jessica Hische's style is very iconic and successful. One of the major components to the success of this project is typography and I think that Jessica is a great artist to get inspiration from. I also thing this style of combining the old with the new and creating very interesting contrast works fantastically well and is something I shall delve into.