The Living Seas

Welcome back to Designerland and our first case study of 2013. This year we'll be looking at the amazing fonts found throughout Epcot Center, with our first stop in Future World. Unlike the Magic Kingdom, when my family arrives at Epcot, we always begin our journey counter clockwise, so it only feels natural to dive in to the fonts of The Living Seas. I'll only cover the typography from the pre-Nemo era since this is the Living Seas we all remember and love.

One thing I appreciate about Epcot and especially Future World is the symbiotic branding of each pavilion, so we’ll see many of the same display fonts and classic typefaces over and over again. That's called hierarchy of design, but over time, we see that hierarchy broken as wackier, overly-themed display fonts sneak their way in.

In particular, when looking at the Living Seas, sans serifs fonts are the most prominent, which is fitting because sans serifs are generally used to convey a modern, futuristic feel. There are a few extremely futuristic display fonts scattered throughout Sea Base Alpha, but not too many. As I mentioned before, Disney fans weren't all too keen on photographing signage back in the heyday of the Living Seas, so tracking down fonts was somewhat difficult. Over time a few serif fonts such as that classic but overused Times New Roman made an appearance within the pavilion. In my research I found only one place this typeface was used—while I suspect this was just a quick fix type of situation, it still makes me cringe. 

The Living Seas was my all-time favorite pavilion within Future World, partly because of the powerful preshow with its amazing narration and partly because I have a fondness for water. This week, in addition to the type case study, I'm also showcasing a t-shirt concept honoring my favorite pavilion. 

The design is based on the vintage graphic illustration used on an early letterhead that promoted this new pavilion. The design is a simple three color gradient in shades of blue taken from the front facade of the building. This is set in front of a simple back print medallion with the Seas icon, typeset name and original Epcot Center logo.

Well that does it for this week’s case study. I hope you all have a great week and see you back here real soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Spaceship Earth

Welcome back to a new year here at Designerland. I hope all of you had an amazing holiday season and are ready for what 2013 has in store for all of us!

As you all know, this year we will focus on the typography used throughout Epcot Center, starting in Future World then making our way around the World Showcase. I've spent the last few weeks hunting for display fonts and various typefaces. So far in my research, I have noticed two things: 1. Disney fans just don't take as many pictures of signage/environmental graphics in Epcot as they do in the Magic Kingdom and 2. The typography in general is lighter in terms of usage when looking at Future World.

If you have photos of any Epcot signage or if you're out and about with your smart phone handy, do me a kindness and start snapping away photos to share!  Living in Indiana really limits my access to the parks in order to conduct my research. Before I even started Designerland, I had spent about two years hunting down and cataloguing the materials I’ve covered thus far in our typography case studies.

Next week I'll look at the fonts used throughout the (pre-Nemo) Living Seas. I've tracked down a few fonts but could always use more.

Now onto this week’s post. Since we're celebrating the kick off of Epcot typography here at Designerland, I thought it be fitting to release a new Retro '71 shirt concept based on Epcot...one from the Designerland vaults as they say.

This week’s concept is based on the mural painted by Claudio Mazzoli at the entrance of Spaceship Earth. The entire mural design is framed in a rounded-corner rectangle with the Epcot Center and Future World typeset logos. Lastly, some light distressing gives the overall design a not-so-perfect printed look.

Well that does it for this week’s post. Tune in next week as we release our first Epcot Center Typography Case Study. Until then, have a great week and see ya real soon.

Future World

Welcome back to another edition of our Retro '71 apparel line. This week’s concept is based on art from a vintage Epcot Center Future World button.

Back in the early days of the Walt Disney World Resort, Disney designers created a series of montage collage-based illustrations that really captured the feel of the parks. These collage illustrations were used on paper bags, tin trays, buttons and various print materials. I've already created designs based on a few of these collages and this Epcot Future World button was the last in the series. I had meant to present it a few months back when a few people were discussing it on Twitter, but find myself just now getting around to it.

I created the design in a three color, off-set print look in the early branding color palette of Future World, as seen in the Epcot Center maps of the time. The design would be printed in water-based inks or plastisol ink run through a high mesh count so the ink would be soft to the touch. Finishing out the illustration is a distressed texture to set the vintage look and feel of the design.

Well that does it for this week’s concept. Tune in next week for part 2 of the Designerland's Typography Main Street U.S.A. Case Study. Hope you all have a wonderful week and see you soon. Thanks for stopping by!