We usually critique signs that are on billboards or handouts that a lot of people see on their spacing and how horrible it was done. Well, I usually expect better out of things that were 'professionally' done because their professionals. So, I am a huge Eminem fan and was excited to find out that Eminem was coming out with a new song and when I looked it up I cam across this image:
For those of you who are not familiar with this, Eminem made a collaboration with another rapper named Royce da 5'9. As a result this image was developed to show their unity. They worked together in his The Slim Shady LP in 1999 and were featured in other works. "Bad Meets Evil" is their duo name. They have recently reconciled and will be putting out their EP "Hell: The Sequel" this June. So on to the design part. I'm sure many of you have noticed the bad kerning. I really liked the way they made the B look like 5'9 (obviously hinting at Royce da 5'9), and the way they hinted at Eminem was with the backwards E. But I really felt that they could have done a better job. Instead of trying to fit the words in this box they are trying to create, they should have made space between the E and V and bringing in closer the I and L. The same can be said in making space between the T and S and fixing the kerning between the M and both E's. But alas this is seen by a ton of people and anyone who has taken Typography could have fixed their kerning. Those are my two cents.
For those of you who are not familiar with this, Eminem made a collaboration with another rapper named Royce da 5'9. As a result this image was developed to show their unity. They worked together in his The Slim Shady LP in 1999 and were featured in other works. "Bad Meets Evil" is their duo name. They have recently reconciled and will be putting out their EP "Hell: The Sequel" this June. So on to the design part. I'm sure many of you have noticed the bad kerning. I really liked the way they made the B look like 5'9 (obviously hinting at Royce da 5'9), and the way they hinted at Eminem was with the backwards E. But I really felt that they could have done a better job. Instead of trying to fit the words in this box they are trying to create, they should have made space between the E and V and bringing in closer the I and L. The same can be said in making space between the T and S and fixing the kerning between the M and both E's. But alas this is seen by a ton of people and anyone who has taken Typography could have fixed their kerning. Those are my two cents.
I could not agree with you more. Overall, the design/logo shows an awesome depiction using type, letting people know that this was a collaboration.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Eminem didn't collaborations with Royce. This is definitely a clever way to represent this, but kerning is key, they should know better.
ReplyDeleteOh design school...Making us unable to look at anything without analyzing it. Good, yet purely evil because we just can't get away from it!
ReplyDeleteit's not horrible, and I don't think many people would notice. Fortunately we have had the training to point these things out.
ReplyDeleteAs Katie said, we exchange blissful ignorance for knowledge and in doing so are unable to see things quite the same.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm just reminded of every time I see little design mistakes and comment on them to my roommate. She loves it, but I'm sure others would think I'm a huge nerd. Even when I see little things I like--for example, at Artropolis, I mentioned to my friend Devin (who Dolores knows!) that their navigation signs had one of my favorite typefaces on them (Futura) and he looked at me like I was nuts. It's funny that you just start to notice EVERYTHING once you've taken one typography class.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Katie- I think kerning is one of my biggest pet peeves. I'm surprised they made some mistakes above, funny how we tend to think that professional design is without flaws.
ReplyDeletei agree, however for situations like this, it doesn't bother me. the music is more important than the logo to these artists, and it's really good.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. It funny that most of us catch these things when we look at designs that we see everywhere. We are almost crazed about the kerning of letters and other design stuff and I think it is a good thing. It makes us good designers. Its these little things that will set our designs apart from the others. We all know that just a tiny bit of kerning makes a difference whether or not the viewer knows what kerning is or not they will notice that there is something about your design that they love more than others...they just can't put their finger on it. On the inside we will be jumping in glee that our professors drilled kerning, en and em dashing, and aligning things on a baseline grid so as to not run ascenders into descenders (ahh! so many things I can refer back to) into our brains for a reason and it wasn't all craziness!
ReplyDeleteGreat use of type in this!
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't think this is a terrible type treatment. Kerning would have definitely improved it though. I'm also wondering about the font choice for "meets" and "evil". They look like the same font, and I'm wondering whether more contrast in the "evil" font should have been introduced. Or does the backwards E make up for the lack of typeface contrast?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a metaphor for bad meeting evil? But yes, I agree that album is in need of some kerning adjustments.
ReplyDeleteHaha! The E and V really bother me!
ReplyDeleteNot so much a fan of their music, but the cover is successful at getting its unifying point across. I could even see someone doing this type of thing as a tattoo.
ReplyDeleteI think that the design is great! Very clever use of the 5 and the backward E. I didn’t know about their collaboration, but now I can see that it defines them and their music very well. However, I did notice those few mistakes as well. Gosh, they make me want to go in and fix it myself! Some small tweaks can make a huge difference in design. It just makes me appreciate DePaul a bit more when I realize how far I've come with all the training from my great professors. I thought it was funny that you brought this up because I do the same thing when I'm on the train! Staring at the ads above my seat...while people stare at me and wonder what I could possibly be so interested in after 5 minutes (at least).
ReplyDeleteBut when I think of the many designers out there that have not had the training I have had, I applaud and admire them. You have to start somewhere! They create what they feel without thinking about any rules or issues that may compromise their thinking. It reminds me of the time, long ago, when I became so in gulped in the design world; when I made things based on my own feelings and inspirations. Now I feel that my eyes have been opened to a larger world of Design that will actually benefit me in the industry. However, I do miss those instances in which I didn’t think of the rules first, or design as a job/project’s final state; but as something free that I LOVE to do.
I'm not really feeling the 5/B thing - maybe it's just that I don't like the typeface being used, but it sort of does this Magic Eye thing to me when I look at it.
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