Purpose of the project:
For the class Vorm & Interactie ​(translates into Shape & Interaction)​, the final assignment was to show your opinion on the font Akzidenz Grotesk for modern graphic design. Akzidenz Grotesk is seen as the "dad" Helvetica.

Deliverables:
The assignment wasn't just to make something. It had to be a printed object, with no glue marks or uncut edges. Plus, we had to be able to answer these questions:

• What is gonna be your message and to who?
• What can the target group do with your message?
• Why is your message useful to them?
• What'll be your tone of voice?
• What should it at least consist of?

My role:
This was an individual project.

I wanted to give students, who were graduating at CMD, some guides that can help them experiment with different fonts. Because yes, sans-serif fonts and grids are both aesthetically pleasing, but what if you could experiment for fun and get inspired by your own ideas?

To get inspired myself, I looked for styles and images that challenge the way we look at fonts. On the left side of this moodboard, it's about grids and sans-serif fonts. On the right side, it's more colorful and doesn't use particular fonts.

After collecting images for a moodboard, I started sketching to create a language from shapes. In the image below, you can see some of my tiny sketches.

​Eventually I came up with the idea of making two folders. The one is called “The Easy Way Out” ​which 4th year students of my study choose if they use Helvetica or Akzidenz Grotesk and the other folder is called “Try Something New” ​that can help 4th year students to look further than just a sans-serif font.

​In my opinion, Akzidenz Grotesk did influence some parts of modern graphic design (proven by the worldwide use of Helvetica), but I do think you should try out new things. ​Especially as someone who's about to step into the "professional field".
​On the pictures below, you can see the two folders.

The folder “The Easy Way Out”. ​Full of sarcastic tips to make your design super "interesting".

​The folder “Try Something New”. ​There's a fineliner pen attached to it and this way students can experiment with it right away. Wherever they are.