Typography Portrait – Robin Williams
The Prompt
create a typography portrait of a celebrity using words from movies, shows, songs, and quotes related to the celebrity
This piece challenged my knowledge of typography in new and exciting ways. Using Adobe Illustrator as the main program for this project, I chose a typeface suitable for the subject, manipulated kerning and leading as well as the shape of text, and worked with different shades and values to create a dynamic portrait.
To start this project, I was tasked with picking a typeface that captured the essence of the celebrity chosen. I initially narrowed it down to three typefaces. In an effort to depict Robin Williams’ odd mix of manic energy and calming presence, I chose to continue with Chicle Regular by Sudtipos. The typeface’s rounded oblique terminals and serifs give the typeface a handwritten feel, lending itself to have a looser feel than other serifed typefaces. Although the typeface has a low contrast with a thick stroke weight and a narrow set width, this font is more suited for the Humanist type family category rather than the more serious and harsh Blackletter type family category.
The message I chose to convey in my poster was one of celebratory memoriam, since we tragically lost this great comedian to suicide in 2014. I wished to convey a message to encourage the audience to remember the happiness Robin Williams brought into the world instead of the sadness of his death. I believe the combination of movies and television Robin Williams was in and inspirational quotes by him allow for the audience to remember his work and be inspired to continue on.
Not only do the words chosen in this portrait remember the works of Robin Williams, but they also capture his hilarious and optimistic outlook on life. Some quotes capture his inspirational nature, such as “There is no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot.” Others remind us of his oddball sense of humor, such as “I don’t do well with snakes, and I can’t dance.” Ultimately, no matter where you look in this portrait, you will see Robin Williams.
With careful consideration of feedback of my peers, I was able to put forth my best effort to make this portrait as accurate as possible to the image of Robin Williams I used as the foundation for the portrait. While reworking this piece, I found that I didn’t need to work outside the original guidelines of this project. The final design implements a further step than necessary by including a background with a lighter value than the text in the portrait. This background is a design created from the letters in Robin Williams’ name that fits together in a repeating pattern.