shrimp typeface

Originally I was going to work with this design in photoshop as I wanted to maintain the line quality, but after some experimentation with the trace settings in Illustrator I managed to get the desired effect eventually.

I then decided to work with the design in photoshop as I find the flexibility to which you can add colour and gradients better with this program.

I think that a limited colour palette would work best - just simple coral/pink - shrimp colours would help to convey the theme of the type. I actually think that simply changing the background works well to create the desired effect, however I want to explore all the possibilities before making any decisions. Unlike this brief before where I had to produce 3 ideas in just one week, I have more time to experiment before having to make decisions.

Removing the black creates an interesting cut-out effect which I really like, although some of the line quality is lost on the antenna of the shrimps. This is something that could easily be rectified should I choose this design.

I think this simple pink outline makes the design loose its impact. It starts to look like a faint pink drawing rather than a type face.

I am starting to experiment with gradients. I think that this is a simple way of adding tone to illustrate the idea of the curvature of the shrimp's exoskeleton without adding any extra lines or any colour. Considering the purpose and context of the design - ultimately to be read and understood - I think that the design shouldn't be over complicated anymore than it is. At the moment I think it has good readability as well as being clear that the letter forms are formed out of shrimp sections, but any more detail could make it too confusing.

I experimented with transforming the black outline into a gradient as well. I think that this slightly compromises readability, but creates a really attractive smooth, silky effect.

I experimented with using a coral colour against the pink colour across the gradient instead of the white which I think doesn't actually work as well as I thought it would. I think that the white creates the effect of a shine and reflects the translucent nature of a shrimps shell better.

Here is the effect of the gradient over all of the lettters :

I think that this works really well and a lot better than flat colour.

Removal of the outline create a really interesting effect :

It does lose readability but I think it has more visual impact. I thin that changing the background colour could improve this.

Experimentation with background colour :

I dont want to use too many colours, but I think that grey works really well with this particular shade of pink.

Removal of the outline in this case works a lot better. It is still slightly less readable than the one with the outline, but I think considering the scale in which I plan to produce this, I think that it may improve legibility and readability as it gets bigger.

Changing the outline to white really makes the type jump out and gives it more of a shiny luxurious feel. I'm not sure whether this suits the word and the theme but it could look really good for something more appropriate.