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Research Statement

Ideation

Tending to only wear luxury fashion items, I have always had an interest and appreciation for the more exclusive brands. As a consumer, my knowledge is limited, knowing only the reasons why I am attracted to the more expensive fashion garments. When wearing luxury brands, I feel the message I convey is one of style, confidence, status, wealth and exclusivity, but I have never considered how these brands manage to make me feel this way, or how the visual design programme promotes these qualities.

Typography is an area of design I had never thought about before I entered academic study. Although typography is everywhere in society, I was a receiver who paid very little attention to the type and focussed on the message it was communicating. Once introduced to type and fonts I have become fascinated at the variety of design, subtle or harsh, delicate or bold, refined or coarse and the breadth and depth of communication it employs. As my knowledge in graphic design has grown over the past years, I have become engrossed in finding out more about typography and the impact that it has in the world of luxury branding, therefore combining my interest in luxury fashion with my new appreciation for typography.

An initial focus for this research project was to look not at the logo, but the type within luxury fashion garments (Appendix 1). Moncler have used the font ‘Albertus’ in one of their garments, (Appendix 2) and as the font had been used across the city of London for the borough’s street signs (Appendix 3) along with numerous album covers. It was thought to be a trendy, classy typeface that was an image Moncler wanted to depict. Further research of typefaces used in other luxury labels produced very little information. In fact, most fashion houses copyright their type to help minimise forgery and ensure its uniqueness. On reflection I realised that my original idea has to be adapted and changed due to limited information and resources about the subject. After much thought and further research into why some brands fail, I decided to review how type reflects a brand.

This writing might be of interest to new businesses starting off on their branding journey, whose target audience is wealthy luxury buyers, and to existing businesses that are looking to remarket their brand. It will help them develop brand personality and tone so they can communicate their message to the target audience. This research will break down the nuances of branding and help companies convey subliminal messages about their product, as well as projecting more overt communication. It could also help certain luxury brands that suddenly find themselves with a negative connotation in different parts of the country. For example Burberry had to completely change their image because the trademark camel check design had been associated with a ‘chav and thug culture’ instead of indulgence. This research will allow companies to understand how branding communicates, what messages their type conveys to their receivers and help protect the brand from developing a negative image.

Research and Development

This research takes into account a wide field in order to understand why a particular type and logo has been chosen for to reflect a specific luxury brand. It questions if there are subliminal messages being communicated using the selected type to lure the purchaser or is the buyer actively purchasing the exclusive garment for other reasons. This research also looks at the history of type, where it originated, how it developed over the centuries and the social context of the time. It also considers what makes an excellent branding, what messages the typeface portrays in order understand why the luxury designers chose their typefaces, and what effect the typeface has on the subconscious and conscious mind.

The first typefaces were directly modelled on forms of calligraphy (Appendix 4) and since then, according to Lupton (2004:p13), typefaces have become manufactured images designed for infinite repetition. After reviewing the history of typography, it reflects a continual tension between the pure and the manufactured. McNeil (2017: p6) noted that type and typography has been around for over 500 years, with the suggestion that the first person to invent movable type was Gutenberg in 1400s with his creation of blackletter type, (Appendix 5) based on the handwriting of the era. However Fan (2016) attributes the invention of moveable type to Bisheng, during the Northern Song Dynasty much earlier 960-1127BCE. Whilst this is true, the vast array of characters in the Chinese writing was not as well suited as the Latin alphabet, with its small set of marks, to mechanisation. This movable type revolutionised the west and allowed for mass production.

Font continued to develop during the Renaissance peroid and roman fonts (Appendix 6) based on a letterform style from ancient Rome became popular then continued to evolve into the classic serif fonts of today. Many of the most enduring fonts are roman serif fonts- the ubiquitous times roman is one example. Gill (1954: p27) suggests, art and morals are inextricably linked and if true, would be important when crafting a font for a brand. The Roman Empire was thought to be one of rationality and dignity, which could be said for the serif fonts.

By the time of the Industrial Revolution (1800s) typography was being used to meet the needs of commerce. (Appendix 7) In 1900s luxury fashion houses, such as Channel, were becoming more prominent and luxury branding was beginning to develop, as were, according to McNeil (2017:p8), avant –guard creative movements who were creating more innovative forms of type. (Appendix 8) Just fifty years later, graphic design became a specialist profession in its own right and branding was in full swing.

McNeil (2017: p5) suggests that the very nature of type is to be invisible; the reader must never be conscious of it because the primary function of type is to convey language and not detract from the message. Hyndman (2016:p30) looks at the conscious and subconscious mind and suggests that type is designed so people look past the typeface. (Appendix 9) Neuroscientist Dr David Lewis (in Hyndman 2016:p31) explains that type can transmit information supraliminally, which is within the threshold of awareness, or subliminally which is outside a person’s awareness. In luxury branding there needs to be some awareness of the typeface in order to attract the receiver’s attention and for a person to remember the brand. However, as control is with the luxury goods organisation, they are sending the message they want to be received. However, according to Steven Skaggs (2017: p4) consideration should be given to weaken the act of control that the sender has on the reader. Conversely, if this were to happen would the luxury brands become ordinary and not exclusive and can font really send subliminal messages?

According to Per Mollerup (1999:p17), trademarks have been around for at least 5000 years. A trademark is a sign that senders use to identify themselves to the world. Mollerup suggests, in 1095 crusaders first used heraldic marks so they could recognise each other when in battle. (Appendix 10) Heraldry is a term that means the armorial signs themselves (today they may be know as a Coat of Arms) and study and design of the signs. There are rules to heraldry, which include a specific vocabulary, certain rules pertaining to design, designation of lines of partition and stipulation of basic shapes and colour. These heraldic specifications can be thought provoking for creators of modern trademarks when they are designing.

Mollerup (1999:p27) also discusses the early practise of branding livestock that started about 5000 years ago. (Appendix 11) Similar to heraldry, there were certain rules to follow and when the impact of the cattle brand was good then people recognised it. The owner ranch would be named after the brand or a nickname was given to the owner based on the branding of the cattle, which in today’s world, would be the start of a successful brand.

In the current market, Mollerup (1999:p56) argues a brand is more than just a marking, it includes a company’s trademark, its brand name, a product (or number of products) and most importantly for luxury brands, its reputation. To create a brand everything needs to be working together which usually means streamlining the verbal, visual and intangible. (Appendix 12) A design programme is used to control the visual corporate identity that can communicate, in the case of luxury brands, trust, expensive, timelessness, and exclusivity.

Most logos and typefaces for luxury companies have not changed for decades yet Walker (2018) reported, that Burberry Group PLC recently unveiled a new logo. (Appendix 13) Created by Peter Seville, it has a heavier bold look with elements of sans serif, quiet a contrast to the slender, and delicate letters airily spaced that were previously used. More surprisingly many other companies are following suite or have already changed. Although the typeface is distinguishable to the trained designers eye, you have to ask is the exclusivity, so valued by wealthy consumer, being lost because of similar branding? Reuters (2012) reported, although one of the most financially profitable companies in the world, wealthy Chinese women had stopped buying Louis Vuitton because they found it had become more common place and lost its elusiveness.

Therefore if the design programmes of luxury brands are streamlining the branding, the consumer’s perception could be that brands have merged, so will they be able to keep their individual clientele? How will the new typeface and branding continue to reflect each company’s individuality? (Appendix 14)

Critique and Explanation

This research has shown that branding and typeface have been around for a long time and havedeveloped over many centuries. In order to understand whether typeface reflects a luxury brand a definition of what people of today perceive as luxury fashion is necessary.

Mollerup’s theory of the intricacies of branding and that the many different elements (trademark, brand, product and atmosphere surrounding the brand) all need to be working together is key to understanding whether type can reflect a brand. Common to a successful company is a visual design programme that usually has type at the centre, which suggests that typeface is vital to the identity of the organisation but are there particular characteristics that make a font appear luxurious and wealthy?

Conversely, Sarah Hyndman’s view that people look past the typeface and absorb messages without consciously looking at the typeface implies, rather than the typeface itself, it is how the type is used. Walker (2018) also noted many luxury brands all has similar typefaces which reinforces Hyndman’s thinking because with similar typefaces there would be nothing to distinguish each company and would suggest that type is innocuous. So is type part of the branding which is just a narrative to something that is largely random and people cling to the storytelling of that particular brand? But, if the font was insignificant to the message being sent, then why do luxury brands use classic typefaces rather than typefaces such as comic sans?

Wittgenstein, an early philosopher suggested that a person’s view of the world makes them stuck within their own boundaries. If this is so, how does the branding programmes of luxury fashion reach out to their market or has this luxury market already been developed and over the past 500 years from when the first typeface by Gutenberg was introduced. He developed a typeface based on calligraphy, which, in the 1900s, only the rich, elite people of society were educated and could write.

If, as suggested by Hyndman, humans automatically received the messages through type but they do not question the message, perhaps that is because they find type innocuous or quiet rather than challenging them. Further reading of Skaggs to understand how much control a sender has over the receiver would help to understand if type is able to do this and therefore reflect the luxury brand. You have to ask what makes anyone want to spend thousands of pounds on luxury clothing, which could be, for example, just a black T-shirt but with type on front of it or the coat with a logo on the sleeve? Having critiqued and analysed the reading I have already completed, I realise that an awareness of the form and function and personality of a font is an essential element that needs to be considered and at the moment is a gap in my knowledge as well as the psychology of how people interact with, and receive messages from typefaces.

Action Plan

To help understand whether type can reflect a luxury brand further reading is needed into the psychology of how people receive messages. Humans have their limitations, they bring to a situation all their biases, prejudices and their flaws; humans see the world not as it is, but as they are. Communication theory of the 1950s and 1960s shows that placing the attention somewhere different provides a different perspective. Is this what luxury branding does? Further reading of Skaggs is required, as is a lot of reading around the form of fonts and an understanding of how people perceive different fonts. Further secondary research regarding branding would also help develop my knowledge and close the gaps in my understanding. Finding out about Ellen Lupton and J.Abbot Miller’s research, which suggested there is a ‘new genetic code’, which has occurred since the 1980s may help me understand why companies have decided to opt for similar fonts.

The research methods will mainly take the form further reading, which is secondary research. However, I would like to replicate Sarah Hyndman’s investigation where she was testing associations between typography and luxury. After asking hundreds of people in surveys to respond to fonts as “cheap,” “expensive,” or somewhere in between, she found that most consumers tend to view high-contrast fonts with thin hairlines, such as the old Burberry logo, as more high-end. Further in depth reading of Hyndman’s ‘Why Fonts Matter’ will further develop my understanding of various aspects of font, particularly about fonts turning words into stories and fonts having a personality, which will help me reflect on how type reflects luxury brands.

As the data I will collect for my research will be anonymous there will be no ethical issues to consider.

Over the summer my plan is to ensure I complete further reading into the various areas I have mentioned above. I will devise an experiment /questionnaire to investigate what people’s views are of different typefaces. I will decide which luxury fashion brands to focus on and drill down into their branding and design programme, which will include investigating their choice of font, how they use it and find out what the font says about their brand. I will define what people of today perceive as high- end luxury and begin to write an introduction to my essay. Most importantly I will reflect, analyse and evaluate my reading when considering in a world of luxury branding, how does type reflect the brand?

Bibliography

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Gill, Eric. An Essay on Typography (1954). Print. Godfrey, Jeanne. Writing for University (2016). Print. Hyndman, Sarah. Why Fonts Matter (2016). Print.

Fan, F. (2019). Bisheng: Chinese Inventor of Movable Type. [ONLINE] The Museum of Public Relations. Available at: http://www.prmuseum.org/blog/2017/3/2/bisheng-chinese-inventor-of-movable-type [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].

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Walker, R. (2018). Why Fashion Brands All Seem to Be Using The Same Font.[ONLINE] Bloomberg. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-20/why- fashion-brands-all-use-the-same-style-font-in-their-logos [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Bibliography Image References

Appendix 1: Coleman, D. (2019). Moncler Logo on Clothing. [IMAGE].

Appendix 2: McNeil, P. (2019). The Visual History of Type. 7th ed. London: Laurence King, p.288.

Appendix 3: Dawson, P (2013), Albertus [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2013/aug/29/typography-wild-urban- fonts-pictures [Accessed 23 April 2019].

Appendix 4: Myers, B (2011), King James Bible: 400th Anniversary [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.faith-theology.com/2011/02/king-james-bible-400th-anniversary.html [Accessed 23 April 2019].

Appendix 5: McNeil, P. (2019). The Visual History of Type. 7th ed. London: Laurence King, p.12 Appendix 6: McNeil, P. (2019). The Visual History of Type. 7th ed. London: Laurence King, p.105

Appendix 6: McNeil, P. (2019). The Visual History of Type. 7th ed. London: Laurence King, p.105

Appendix 7: McNeil, P. (2019). The Visual History of Type. 7th ed. London: Laurence King, p.116

Appendix 8: McNeil, P. (2019). The Visual History of Type. 7th ed. London: Laurence King, p.198 Appendix 9: Hyndman, S. (2016). Why Fonts Matter.. 2nd ed. London: Ebury, p.30.

Appendix 9: Hyndman, S. (2016). Why Fonts Matter.. 2nd ed. London: Ebury, p.30.

Appendix 10: Mollerup, P. (2019). Marks of Excellence: The History and Taxonomy of Trademarks. 7th ed. London: Phaidon Press, p.20.

Appendix 11: Mollerup, P. (2019). Marks of Excellence: The History and Taxonomy of Trademarks. 7th ed. London: Phaidon Press, p.28

Appendix 12: Coleman, D. (2019). Chanel logo. [IMAGE].

Appendix 13: Notorious Editor (2018). Burberry: first logo redesign in 20 years.[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.notorious-mag.com/gallery/burberry-first-logo-redesign-20-years [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Appendix 14: Business of Fashion, (2019). The Revolution Will Not Be Serifised: Why EveryLuxury Brand’s Logo Looks the Same. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/opinion/the-revolution-will-not-be-serifised-why-every-luxury-brands-logo-looks-the-same-burberry-balmain-balenciaga [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

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