Orientation around an ecological farm with several buildings, fields and livestock in different locations can be difficult, so we determined that the objective of this thesis would be to develop our own custom typography and use it on a network of sign boards. In the theoretical part, we explored the history of sign boards and the important properties of the elements we wanted to use on them. We researched the elements of brand identities and the process of map design. To help with our designs, we analysed existing sign boards found on other farms. We looked at font characteristics and their effects on legibility. We applied the knowledge we had gained to create a font suitable for use on sign boards and wayfinding boards. We used Adobe Illustrator and FontLab to produce these. During the process, we tested the legibility of the font with a survey. The results were used to make improvements and adjustments. We confirmed that texts with letters that have smaller letterspacings and have darker letters on a lighter background, appear to be more legible. A typographic logo was also created for use on the sign boards and other materials, and a colour scheme for the overall branding of the farm was defined. We confirmed that the most common colour associated with farming was green and that respondents preferred a more dynamic logo with more complex elements to a minimalistic one. To make it easier to navigate between the signs on the farm, we additionally designed wayfinding signs and produced a map detailing the various locations. For the map, we utilized the same symbols initially drawn to denote the locations on the sign boards.
|