I was challenged to create an editorial with imagery relying mainly on typography, upon starting my search I was very intrigued by Chinese calligraphy and how many different scripts the language entails, each character has meaning and the variations in width and format (horizontal or vertical) give each character their own personality. now that I know my passion I had to look for an article regarding this chosen topic. Once finding one I have to design my own grid and create imagery to fit the theme of my chosen article.

After foraging through the internet I have selected an article based on Chinese calligraphy and culture. it tells us about how calligraphy is such a highly praised art form it was a requirement to even be considered for a government position! This article explains the different scripts used in Chinese calligraphy and the rich history which dates back centuries. It isn't just writing it has deeper meaning and emotion portrayed by it, it is a beautiful way of communicating even if you understand the language one can gather the emotion, or intent of the calligrapher by the weight, thickness, etc. of the brush strokes

I tried a variety of different calligraphy techniques including a calligraphy pen, brush, and sticks. the most authentic was the brush with minor touch-ups and using a fine-tipped calligraphy pen. 

I have also done a lot of research regarding the 6 different scripts of Chinese calligraphy (oracle-bone, seal, clerical, cursive, semi-cursive, and standard) I found what worked best for my design layout was the thick heavier strokes so I primarily used clerical and standard script.

After handwriting all of my letter forms and words/phrases I took my work into Illustrator where I image-traced it and cleaned it up a bit. I decided to stick more to traditional Chinese calligraphy as the article speaks about how it links to their rich culture and past.

For the grid I used a 5-column grid with 6 rows. I wanted the layout to have space to breathe and didn't want to pack too much information too close to each other. by using this grid I was able to achieve a good harmony between the imagery and type so they could live together on a page. the pages are a5 but the spreads to be printed on is an a4. the margins are 10 mm on all sides to give it the feeling of being encapsulated in a symmetrical box as the article preserves Chinese history I wanted to preserve the type used. the bleed is 10 mm as I wanted some of the imagery to bleed out of the page while others lived perfectly in the grid.

For the colour palette, I stuck to basic black and white to let the illustrations be bold and stand out on their own. I also used a deep red as it is cohesive with black and white. it is also considered to bring good luck and fortune in Chinese culture.

Thank you for viewing my Type Editorial !