Type Specimen Booklet: Bodoni
Type Specimen Booklet: Bodoni is a booklet about the typeface Bodoni, including its unique characteristics and a brief history about the typeface and its designer. The booklet unfolds to reveal an 11x17 poster featuring lyrics from the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana because Nirvana's logo is made with Bodoni. I wanted to juxtapose the classy, elegant look of the typeface with the dark, grungy mood of Nirvana's music by using both a clean, gridular design and some jagged distortions on the text. I chose to only use type as image and a greyscale color scheme in order to accentuate the finer details of the typeface.
booklet interior
front cover
front and back covers
fold-out poster
PROCESS & RESEARCH
To begin the process of creating this booklet, I researched Bodoni, its designer, what makes it unique, and its popular applications. This research informed how I wanted to showcase the unique aspects of Bodoni in the booklet. It also informed my choice of sample text on the poster. I chose lyrics from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana because Nirvana's logo uses Bodoni and the gritty nature of the song countered the polished nature of the typeface interestingly.
Through the development of this booklet, I experimented with how to use the different families and styles of Bodoni in order to create an interesting yet cohesive design. The poster in particular went through many varying iterations until I landed on the gridular structure of the final version. The sketches of the final layout represent a definitive "ah ha" moment when I finally landed on a solid direction for the design.
booklet pages draft #1
booklet pages draft #2
poster sketches
digital poster sketches