Twin Atlantic - An InfoGraphic

The band that i have chosen to base my info graphic on is Twin Atlantic. I chose this band as their music appealed to me and I knew a bit about them before starting this project. This made the research stage a lot more interesting as I was keen to find out more and listen to more than just their main songs.

I quickly realised that one of Twin Atlantic's major focal points, is the tours that they play throughout the whole year. Having started touring as main headliners in 2009, I decided to research all the places that they have played between then and the present day. I then thought about the sound that Twin Atlantic produce, which is very energetic and hence decided that I should be using bright colours to communicate the type of music that they play.

In the design, I wanted to get across the relation between Twin Atlantic and the ocean which was an inspiration for their name. I therefore decided to add the ripple effect in the background. The ripple centre is placed on Glasgow as this is where the band are originally from and in a sense their music started there.

When I was placing the places that Twin Atlantic have played onto the maps, I decided that the names of the places were not the thing I wanted the viewer to focus on, it was the vast area that the band has covered in just a couple of years. For this reason I decided to only put on a few of the places that the band have played the most.

I think the simplicity of the design communicates well as it shows the main points that I feel relate to Twin Atlantic. The ocean related music which is energetic and irregular and also the amount of effort that the band put into touring and playing to a wide range of audience all over the world.

Rip it Up and Start Again

The Info Graphic that was to be deconstructed was Death and Gravestone Symbolism.

          The Info graphic is quite easy to understand as an overall concept but the symbols are not clear unless you know what they are meant to mean. The symbol require you to go up close and read the small print underneath to fully grasp what they all mean. I also believe that there is a lot of information in it that may not be necessary. I would say that there is a clear focus on death and symbols on gravestones, but at the bottom you discover it is do with a LIfe Insurance company which is not perfectly clear. 

I learnt that there are a lot of symbols that can be put on a gravestone / to do with death, each having its own unique meaning.The small text underneath the symbol was the main area of learning as this is what we had to read in order to understand what was going on in each symbol.

The designer uses a consistent theme throughout the design which makes it visually interesting. Although due to the length of it would probably put most people off reading the full thing. We believe the target user would not be any group in particular, due to the content being very negative. Some people would like it and some people wouldn't. 

The design is set out over 5 A4 pages in a vertical layout. The graphic uses very little white space which means there is information in every area of the design. The viewers eye is led down the page by the fact that it is set out like a long list. The lack of white space means that it is very hard to focus on a specific part of the design. 

Title conveys something gruesome which relates to the topic of the graphic. The hand drawn quality is quite messy and uneven which relates to death. 

Title of Info Graphic

The subheadings are set out in Gill Sans which conveys no meaning but provides a clear subheading and divides it into sections. The symbol text is set out in courier which looks very much like a typewriter. This fits well as the background looks quite old and rough. 

Title - Hand Drawn

Sub Heading - Gill Sans

Symbol text - Courier

The non rough quality of the gill sans, in comparison to the other text, makes it clearly stand out and provides a definite start to a new section. 

The images are all hand drawn or have a hand drawn quality to them. At first glance, the title does convey death but the rest of the images you have to look into the text to understand what they mean. Therefore without the text, I do not get the meaning of death. The designer uses images that have been decided over years to mean certain things. Although some are symbolic, the design is being factual by using these images as they were not chosen by him. These images mean that I need to look into the text to fully understand what each of them mean.

The designer uses colour mainly for a background although it does loosely separate each section. I wouldn't say that the colours he is using convey any sort of meaning or add to the overall meaning of the design.

The images and text are very closely connected, as without the text, the symbols would not make sense and vice versa, without the symbols the text would not make sense. This means that the research done is both on the visuals and the text.

Symbol and Information

The style used is very rough and sketchy which conveys the idea that these would be seen on a grave stone but without the title text and the border, I would say that the symbols alone do not scream out death to me. I would say that this info graphic does not reference any particular style or movement as the symbols are set out in a list format. I would say that this lack of reference to a specific movement is appropriate because the design is more factual than aesthetically pleasing. The design technically gets the information across to the user but, from a design view, the information is not easily visible.

The designer would start by looking into the different symbols used in history to describe certain things. This would be done through books, visiting ancient graves and also browsing the internet. He would then take these symbols and create a common design style for each symbol. In this case he has made them all look quite sketchy. He would then play around with different layouts and try to create something that will convey the content in a visual way. The layout in this design is meant to look like a gravestone which is symbolic of the content. He would then fill in the layout with the information researched and complete the graphic by adding in background colour and choosing appropriate fonts.

My Journey to University

Helvetica - The Film

Recently, we watched the film “Helvetica” which explored designer’s, from all over the world, views on the widely used typeface ‘Helvetica’. The film itself was very interesting and gave an insight into the way in which we use a typeface so often, yet it can be portrayed in so many different ways.

The film taught me quite a few things that I didn’t know or realise about the use and origins of the ‘Helvetica’ font. Firstly, I learnt that the type was created by the HAAS Type Foundry in Switzerland, which was linked with Stempel that was in turn owned by Linotype in Germany. Today, Linotype owns ‘Helvetica’ and the original designs are kept at their headquarters. The name ‘Helvetica’ came from the Latin word 'Helvetia' which means ‘Switzerland’. Initially it was to be called Helvetia but this was changed as it was agreed that the name shouldn’t be a country.

One main point that I picked up from watching the film was that a type could be most successful when it is clear, readable and straightforward. This point is something that I agree with, but in the film some of the designers use fonts that may not necessarily follow this rule, but still look good when used in certain media’s.

I was quite surprised when one of the Designers, Matthew Carter, explained his process for designing a typeface. He explained how he started with the lowercase letter ‘h’ as and then moved to the letter ‘o’ and then to the letter ‘p’. It became clear why he did this, as these letters could then be us in the design of other similar letters. For example, the ‘h’ could be transformed to create the letters ‘n’ and ‘u’ and the letter ‘p’ could be used for letters ‘q’ and ‘d’.

The film was quite humorous at times, which made it more enjoyable to view. The links between Helvetica being like a McDonalds that people just went to as it was on every corner, made the idea that it was over used seem more powerful. On the other hand another designer described Helvetica Designs as clear icy water, which contrasted with the mucky ‘desert’ designs that used handwritten typefaces and unneeded imagery.

There was a clear link with the designers that created humour to the ones that I would enjoy researching and finding out more about. For example, Erik Spiekermann was very animated and amusing, which made me connect with him and want to know more about his work.  Another designer that inspires me to look into his designs more is Michael C Place as he takes every day objects and creates design without going into the technical side.

The designers that were on the film, talked about the typefaces in a very passionate way and all had very different views. These views were all backed up with valid reason from each designer. Although the technical side was explored, this was in no way the main focus which made the film more enjoyable.

This made me think about the way in which I talk about design and that when designing, a chosen font can be looked at in different ways but the most important thing is that you can back up your choice with a valid argument which details why you have chosen it.

After watching the film, I see how Helvetica is a font that is overused but still remains one of the most clean and clear ones available to date. Therefore I would say that if Helvetica fits the subject, why not use it?

The film has opened my eyes to a new way of looking at design with regards to type as Helvetica was something that I only really discovered when I started university. I will definitely consider the typeface more now that I have an insight into its history and how good it looks when used properly.

Thats a saucy Type

Here is my negative headline, taken from the 'Daily Record' newspaper. I have tried to make this horrible headline seem a lot more positive until you have actually read it. I used a serif font as this makes it look more innocent than the story actually is. I have also created a calming background to distract from the sheer awfulness of the story in front of it.

Transport Service - Typography

The media that I have chosen to analyse is the National Rail Ticket from Glasgow to Whitecraigs, a commute that I make every day I go to Uni.

Font Choice: The font used on the rail ticket is a Sans Serif font with Serifs only visible in the numbers. I believe the font used on the rail tickets is 'Rail Alphabet' which was designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert in 1965. It was used in most of British Rail's signage and tickets from that date on. It is very similar to that of Helvetica Medium. Their are slight differences in the peaks of the A and the roundness of the O. 


I believe it was chosen because it was easily read and also easy to print which was essential as conductors would have to print it from a small machine and also read it quickly.


Although the font is quite clear, it is also quite dated and a more modern typeface could be used, which would still have the same effect as the one currently in use.


Hierarchy: There is no clear hierarchy in this ticket as the information is all the same size and weight, except the Class and '2 Part Return'. Even though these are heavier, the hierarchy still isn't clearly visible due to the fact that the alignment and position are not specifically placed.


Usability: These tickets are used every day in the masses by all types of commuters. Although the user doesn't really need to take in the information in detail, the key information for distinguishing the ticket from that day to one from the last should be clearly visible. Also the information should be larger as elderly people also use this service and therefore must be able to see the information they need to also.


Below is my updated version. I have also changed the colour to relate to the colours now being used in the stations signs.

Alignment - The Crystal Goblet