Fast Company Award winning editorial type design

Fast Company is a leading business publication with an editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics, leadership, and design. They commissioned Manchester design agency Superfried to create an opening typographic spread for their feature on World Changing Design.

As the very first of many design projects, Superfried has developed for Fast Company – FCLA . MCP . WCI . Grill – it was slightly daunting. However, the pressure was increased when I discovered the title – World Changing Design – which would immediately be asking for judgment. In addition to this, the composition for the typographic design would be challenging since the lettering would need to work across the gutter of a double-page spread. No pressure then.

In the design brief, the client referenced a visual created for the Superfried typeface Twist and the poster design for Superfried's 6th birthday, both featuring geometric typographic designs constructed from multiple concentric paths. With this in mind, potential design iterations inspired by these typography projects were explored.

After extensive design experimentation, the final creative solution was found by simply combining both references. With the bespoke typography based on simple geometric shapes, they were relatively quick to develop, whereas the detailed styling was rather more time-consuming to perfect. Further design experimentation with offsetting the concentric keylines led to a striking, pseudo-3D / op-art effect. The bespoke typography now had a unique style of its own, completely distinct from the original graphic design references.

With the typographic design for the lettering resolved, it was time to address the composition. Very quickly it became apparent that arranging the letters in a conventional arrangement was not going to work. This approach either led to awkward negative space or characters stranded in the gutter. Variation of the baseline throughout each word altered the aspect ratio of the design enabling the composition to work within the space. The offset nature also created a bouncy, fun effect that related to the round form of the experimental design.