This project was developed and completed in January and February 2021 as part of the Typography I module for a course in Digital Media Design BA.
The Brief: Students were to select a favourite quote or saying and express it typographically through the use of basic design principles. Students were to change the font, size, thickness, spacing, etc. of letterforms enhance the overall meaning of the quote. Students had the option to use colour, however the focus was to specifically be on the lettering style/design and how it could evoke emotion and meaning; the colour was to be secondary and the words were to be able to stand alone when in black and white as well. No images, icons or pictures were to be used.
The Response: I choose to use a quote from Nicki Minaj during one of her first ‘Queen Radio’ episodes in the autumn of 2018. I decided to use a comedic quote because I wanted something that was funny and had a internet cultural impact. For the quote itself, I wanted to have a mix of both serif and san serif fonts. Specifically, I wanted the serif font to invoke a feeling of luxury, similar to Bodoni and Didot, whilst still having a bit of playfulness, which can be seen in the terminal of the ‘f’. For the sans serif font, I wanted it to be both tall and bold, similar to the ‘Big Noodle Titling’ typeface which was used on the single cover for ‘Anaconda’. I also added a cursive typeface to make the appropriate sections of the quote lighthearted and in stark contrast with the big sans serif font. For the use of colour, I wanted to use a scheme that encompassed all four of her studio albums: ‘Pink Friday’, ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’, ‘The Pinkprint’, and ‘Queen’. The light pink/purple represents Pink Friday, the yellow represents Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, the indigo represents The Pinkprint, and the blood orange represents Queen. Additionally, the magenta represents the colour for the Queen Radio show. I decided not to use an asterisk as a censor because Nicki herself rarely ever holds her tongue; she always speaks her mind and asserts herself.
