Motion Branding

Transforming Type examines kinetic, or moving type, in a range of fields including film, television, typographic animation, and motion graphics, with examples including film and television title sequences, television idents, advertising, interactive poetry and experimental animation. Barbara Brownie addresses different kinds of kineticism and the issues that arise when type transforms itself, challenging the boundaries between type and image. She explores the extent to which existing typography theory can be applied to kinetic media, and attempts to provide a new typology of kinetic typography, enabling readers to define and describe contemporary practice.

"This remarkable book illuminates the rapidly evolving ecosystem of typography. On the pages of this carefully researched study, letterforms come alive as creatures with deep histories and unexpected behaviors." -- Ellen Lupton, Curator, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, USA

"Barbara Brownie's Transforming Type is an exciting and thoughtful look at typography that has been liberated from the printed page. Its range - including historical and contemporary references - is truly impressive. This book will fascinate anyone interested in the power of type and how it can be applied in new and cutting edge ways." -- Andrew Byrom, California State University, USA

Motion branding, in the form of television idents, is frequently described as containing 'motion typography', but this and related terminology is vague or misleading - and reduces all forms of kineticism to simple motion. Onscreen branding often operates more complex temporal behaviours, particularly transformation. Letterforms in logos distort, break apart, or otherwise change until they lose their identity, and adopt a new, alternative identity which may be verbal, pictorial or abstract. Lack of sufficient vocabulary to describe such transformations has forced practitioners to describe their work in terms of previously existing work, thereby limiting the perceived scope of their ideas and the possibility of innovation.

This paper will propose that, within the practice of motion branding, transforming type has been largely neglected by existing theorists and its importance to wider marketing trends overlooked. It will discuss how branding has adapted to incorporate the features of the medium of television, and propose new methods of classification for the associated processes of metamorphosis, construction, parallax and revelation. It will be observed that previous texts on transitional letterforms have tended to focus on changes in global arrangement and in doing so have neglected to recognise the significance of changes that occur at a local level, within individual letterforms. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, with examples including idents and bumpers from Channel 4, Sky, FOX, Five and MTV. New methods of understanding these artefacts will be introduced, with emphasis on how they affect the relationship between broadcaster’s identities and the medium of television.

Part 1: Mapping the Field: Categories of Kineticism Chapter 1: What is Kineticism?Chapter 2: Global v. Local Perception, and the problem with Global BiasChapter 3: Local Kineticism and Fluctuating Identity Part 2: Issues in Transforming Typography Chapter 4: Illusory Space: The Page and Screen as a Virtual EnvironmentChapter 5: Legibility and Asemisis in Fluid Typography Part 3: Case Studies Chapter 6: Fluid Branding: Channel 4 and its imitators Chapter 7: Telling Titles: The credit sequences of Kyle Cooper and his peersChapter 8: Visual Poetry Conclusion Bibliography Appendix

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that, within the practice of motion branding, transforming type has been largely neglected by existing theorists and its importance to wider marketing trends overlooked. It will be observed that previous texts on transitional letterforms have tended to focus on changes in global arrangement and in doing so have neglected to recognise the significance of changes that occur at a local level, within individual letterforms. Design/methodology/approach – Taking an interdisciplinary approach, with examples including idents and bumpers from Channel 4, Sky, FOX, Five and MTV. New methods of understanding these artefacts will be introduced, with emphasis on how they affect the relationship between broadcaster’s identities and the medium of television. Modes of definition and understanding that have previously been applied to holographic poetry will be applied to the field of on-screen artefacts. Findings – The paper will discuss how branding ...