1. CLARENDON
TYPEFACE
Clarendon Typeface
SPECIMENBook
Specimen BOOK
By Zoe Todd
By Zoe Todd

2. IDEAS
Out of all of the typefaces we were given, I was really drawn
to Clarendon and Rockwell. They’re both very similar and I
love chunky slab serif typefaces.
I chose to work with Clarendon because the research was a
lot easier to carry out and I thought of a very nice concept
along the way, whereas with Rockwell, research and finding in
depth information was a bit harder and I wanted to gain
enough information for my book.
Clarendon is also used in a lot of business and companies
today compared to Rockwell.

3. MY RESEARCH
When starting my research I turned to the internet to see what I could
find and I found a lot of background information about how Clarendon
was created and extended over the years.
I also checked out what was written about slab serif fonts and
Clarendon in Just My Type and Thinking With Type.
I started off with the history behind slab serif types and their
alternative name, Egyptian typefaces.
Slab serif typefaces got their Egyptian name from a cultural fascination
with everything to do with Egyptians. This was started by elaborate
furnishings and paintings.
Even though slab serif typefaces are nothing like Egyptian writings
there was a confusion between this cultural fascination and our
typefaces and this then lead to our slab serif typefaces being named
Egyptian or Egyptienne.

4. MY RESEARCH
The term “Egyptian” came from a craze In the 19 th century, about
Egyptian artifacts throughout Europe. Thus inspiring type founders
creating slab serif typefaces and calling their typeface designs,
Egyptian.
The Clarendon family does have bracketing within the typeface, which
most other Slab Serifs don ’t. T he sizing of the serifs are also different
compared with most other slab serif typefaces.
When looking at what companies had used
Clarendon, the most famous was Starbucks
Chocolate and that ’s when my ideas really kicked in. I
started thinking of concepts and colour themes quite
quickly.

5. MY RESEARCH
The other companies that Clarendon was used for, I was particularl y
familiar with as they were all American companies.
I have also been looking at previous type specimen books of not just
clarendon but other typefac es and seen some very good concepts and
formats , which I have written all about on my blog.
Clarendon is an English slab serif typeface that was created in England by
Robert Besley for Thorowood and Co.
Thorowood and Co were a type company, but Clarendon wasn’t officially
published until 1845 when Besley became a partner in the business.
Designs for wood type were also made for Clarendon in the mid 1840’s.
Clarendon was used mostly by the government and the Germans in the first
world war but was also seen in a lot of American West WANTED posters .

6. EXPERIMENTATION
Here is some of my
mood board that I
have collected for
research/experime
ntation. The full
version is on my
blog.
I found lots of
different specimen
books and will take
note of each to
generate further
ideas for my own
book.

7. EXPERIMENTATION
Here is my first sketch for a front page.
I just wanted to jot down any ideas I had so I
could experiment.
By using the sharp edge boarder and other
aspects of Starbucks design, it already looks like
Starbucks menu style.
I also sketched out the Clarendon typeface just to
get to know the letters and their serifs so that
when it comes to my book, I know the most I can
about my chosen typeface.

8. EXPERIMENTATION
Here is my sketch book with
layout designs and plans.
I have yet to do research on
layouts and grids, but from my
research so far on existing
specimen books and their layouts,
this is the kind of thing I’d like to
come up with.
Now I have these designs, I can
work around them and research
grids and layouts further to get
more ideas for my book.

9. AESTHETICS/TECHNICAL
I've come up with the idea of making my type specimen book
with the Starbucks colours (Green, white/cream and black)
and formatting the book to look like a typical Starbucks menu.
So by writing in columns and taking ideas from the Starbucks
menu, it will give the book a different twist and hopefully make
it stand out from the ordinary layout that most books will have.

10. OUTCOME
I would like to make a conceptually strong book, which
includes the right content and explains Clarendon and its
history, as it should. To do this I need to process my ideas
further and establish a workable and successful plan to work
forwards with.
I believe I have a strong concept and ideas which will help my
specimen book to be different from most others.
From here, I will continue to develop my ideas and progress
my sketches in order to start making the book. I will also have
to consider what type of print method and binding I want to
work with before I start making my book.