Typography Rich

Typography is one of my favorite things, and an important element in design. While using type in conjunction with with other elements is great, sometimes it's nice to see designs that are almost all typography or "typography rich," as I'll call it. I thought I'd share some of those designs with you all today.

This stationery and print design for a recruiting company called October is interesting. The color combination is unusual, but nice and cheery. And of course, typography takes center stage:

via Lovely Stationery

I like the use of white space - it draws attention to the type even more. The underlining is a bit unusual, too. I think that, generally, underlining type is just weird, but here it provides a different kind of effect that's another attention-getter. The way "October" is highlighted in yellow is a good way to make it stick out without doing anything odd with type size.

This packaging for Falcon Enamelware is also very typography rich. It also has a mid-century, retro feel to it which I really like.

Via Lovely Package

I love how the blue and white color scheme of the bakeware is carried into the design of the packaging. It really ties things together! The typeface that the designer chose also mimics the blue border of the dishes quite nicely, and the shape on the top of the box is the same as the shape of the cookware. I love the consistency throughout this design, and the focus on shapes and type.

Scores of typography rich design inspiration can be found over at Typographic Verses, a website for verse and quote posters curated by Jonathan Ogden. Focus on typography is actually one of the main purposes of the site. I'll show you one recent poster, but I invite you to see some more. I really like this poster designed by Matt Scribner. Similar to the t-shirt above and also the bakeware packaging, the focus is on typography and shapes.

Typographic Verse by Matt Scribner

The typography is central because there aren't a lot of competing elements, and also because there's a high degree of contrast between the type and the background, especially for the verse itself, which is white on red. I like how this design is simple but has a bit of retro looking texture to it. A nice combination.

But typography rich design doesn't have to be simple and minimalistic like these first two designs are. They're wonderfully simple and minimalistic, but other styles can be great too, which is why I want to show you a less minimal design, a t-shirt by Zadok Fourty Four, a graphic design business I found through Typographic Verses.

I like how the words on this t-shirt come from a hymn. The focus is definitely on the typography, but the design is funky and a little retro.

From Zadok Fourty Four

This design has a couple different typefaces going on, so it's certainly not boring. However, the colors and especially the "typographic richness" of the design makes it interesting without being overwhelming. Only two colors are used, and the other design elements (a banner and stars) are minimal and really serve to support the type.

No matter what the style, typography can be highlighted as the star element in any piece of design. And while I love images and illustrations, I also really love to see typography on center stage. I'd love to know what you think of these typography rich designs!