Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Didone: Nearly symmetrical composition with deep top and bottom margins stressing the horizontal
- Type
- Set in Didone's manner (Set large with a touch of tracking, never small enough to lose hairlines), and let Transitional Serif's lettering (Set slightly large and assume paper and press that hold the fine strokes) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Didone's material (Black or one color on white stock, foil or letterpress keeping edges crisp); bring in exactly one thing from Transitional Serif (Smooth white stock and dense black ink so hairlines do not drop out).
- Colour
- Build on #f2efe9, #b3a58c, #141210 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Type Classification, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Didone At text sizes or on coarse screens the hairlines vanish, and what was elegance becomes a headline that is simply hard to read.
- Transitional Serif On rough paper or at small sizes the thin strokes disappear, the letters thin out, and poise gives way to plain illegibility.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Didone (Style, late 18th century–) and its accent from Transitional Serif (Style, 18th century). Structural cues: Extreme contrast; Vertical stress; Hairline serifs; Mathematical construction. Accent cues, used sparingly: Near-vertical axis; Strengthened contrast; Sharp horizontal serifs; Designed with polished paper. Composition: Nearly symmetrical composition with deep top and bottom margins stressing the horizontal. Type and lettering: Set large with a touch of tracking, never small enough to lose hairlines. Let one material quality come from the second style: Smooth white stock and dense black ink so hairlines do not drop out. Mood: Luxury, Calm, Trust. Color: build on #f2efe9, #b3a58c, #141210 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Didone late 18th century– / Style / Type Classification
A constructed roman that pushes the contrast of hairline and thick vertical stem to its limit, standing at once as the terminus of the Age of Reason and as a sign of luxury.
- Transitional Serif 18th century / Style / Type Classification
Raising the axis toward vertical, sharpening the contrast between strokes and designing paper and ink along with the letter moved type past handwriting into an object made in its own right.
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