You could license the below typeface from The Colour Grey.
What you get is 2 fonts that when combined create an overprint sans.
It's a conceptual fit.

http://www.thecolourgrey.com/sodabudi.html

Nice suggestion.

hhp

It is a nice idea, but a bit too conceptual for the job at hand.
Looks like mis-registration, or Get Drunk Together.

Ah, what about this:

- You make crosses with each pair of words.
- For the first two you use the "e" as a pivot; for the
third and fourth you use the "o". And you can make
the last one special by flipping its directionality.
- You can make free-form crosses by using normally-
proportioned letterforms; or you might actually be
able to pull off traditionally-proportioned crosses
by -very judiciously- distorting the letters.

Would that be awesome, or would that be awesome?

hhp

That overprint font is interesting but not what I'd chose for this project. Reminds me of this conference logo:

What size will the posters be and how will they be printed?

>not a graphic, picture or scene

But even though the type is the focal point, you might consider subdued background images behind the headlines, such as soft focus images that relate to the topic.

...but I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

One approach could be a stained-glass look.

On most church windows I've seen the words are painted on the glass, but if it's just a word or two the words are sometimes constructed from pieces of glass.

These are some really great ideas. I am so grateful for your input. Here are my notes:

tmac: About the typeface The Colour Grey…I love the idea of the combined fonts to create an overprint. I will investigate some thing like that, but as Nick Shinn said, it might be too conceptual. Thanks for your input.

grant: Crosses would seem to work for each pair of words since the same word "together" is used. I am not sure if I want to use crosses though. I would like to avoid stereotypical symbols. The idea of the posters is to inspire, I think through clever letter treatment and arrangements this could be achieved…but you are on the right track. I love the idea of tilting some of the vowels, though. Thanks for your input.

JamesM: Good question about the poster sizes…I did neglect to mention that. I am still researching who will print these, because the church is on a limited budget I was thinking banner sizes maybe from Vistaprint: http://www.vistaprint.com/custom-banners.aspx?txi=154&xnid=LeftNav154_15.... The sizes are: 3' x 1.6', 4' x 2.5', 6' x 2.5', 8' x 2.5'. Poster sizes are too small: http://www.vistaprint.com/posters/product-page.aspx?txi=157&xnid=LeftNav.... About the graphic, picture or scene…I agree something would add interest and support the message. I am not sure yet what to do with regards to non-type options. Stained glass "nod" might be a clever way to tie the poster series together. Thanks for your input.

Nick Shinn: Great suggestions of monogram type stuff…which might work well for this series of posters…but some other ones might not work because there are more words to fit into the design. Now you have given me some great material for researching further, Thanks for your input.

5star: I love that you used together once…and the subtle smile in one circle is clever. I am not sure the splatter paint works, but I can see where you are going. Thanks for your input.

I was thinking quite subtly in terms of crosses.
In fact the crossing of the words could allude
to the word "together".

BTW, I don't get the wording in the second poster.

hhp

hrant: I am not sure what the poster for the second one means either. I think he is trying to convey that how people live outside of the church is reflected inside the church. For example...if one practices kindness outside it will reflect kindness inside. The "kingdom" can be a confusing idea and it simply means "Godly living". About the cross...I get it. I love the idea of words crossing one another..merging together...if they could come up with other words to convey the same idea..this poster has potential.

Cool!
BTW, the choice of font will greatly
determine the effectiveness of this.
Not necessarily something as juicy
as what I used above, but a font with
letters that fit in boxes might work best.
Like: http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/shinn/panoptica/

hhp

Thanks for the additional info. Your layout "A" showing all 4 phrases on one poster is different than I expected; I thought it would be a series of posters and each would contain 1 phrase.

It might be stronger to have one phrase per poster, so one is focused on love, one on service, etc.

Regarding VistaPrint, I've used them for some low-budget projects. They are focused on doing things quickly and cheaply; you aren't going to get top quality. But the things they've printed for me came out okay considering the price. When you're ready I'd suggest having them print just one first so you make make sure the quality is good enough before they print all of them.

hrant: I agree about better font choices...these are here for a visual understanding of the concept. Thanks for your input.

JamesM: I very well might consider a local printer for this where I can feel and touch the paper. I used one in Providence for class poster designs. I loved how they came out. I am hoping the church will allow a good budget for this. They trust my judgement here on resources and paper quality. Containing one phrase might make it interesting...and more focused. I will consider that, too. Thanks for your input.

I will post the development here, if you'd like to watch....it is where I will show them to get their input as well: http://www.dightondesign.com/PosterSeries.htm

Do you know Sister Corita Kent? She is one of my favourite artists. There’s so much life in her works -- as opposed to the polished corporate stuff that churches normally try to emulate.

Those are beautiful, Nick.

frode frank: Like it!!!

Sister Corita is by far the most influential graphic artist on my stuff.

Fran, don't go lame. If there's one thing to learn from Sister Corita and that is to keep it fresh, lively, work with no boundaries! Don't be afraid to take chances.

Posters for the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine by Pentagram

I'm sorry, but: Jeezus.
And I bet they got paid $200K for that.

hhp

I’m with Hrant on the last one.

Jesus H. Christ on a sailboard! That poster is so slick and lifeless that Hrant just gotta be right about the pay grade!

Off the top of my head:
1. Make 'together' into a sun disc with the other words as rays.
2. Make 'together' multicoloured or rainbowy. Cluster the other words around with 'learn'in blue, 'serve' in green, 'love' in yellow and 'pray' in red. Bonus points if you can locate the inspiration.
3. Put 'learn/love' and 'serve/pray' together as eyes with 'together' as the mouth of a smiley.
4. Clarendon exists for a reason.

Good lord (pun intended). Seriously folks, if you were a teacher, and a student asked for help without at least showing you a few thumbnails, would you go ahead and do their literature review for them, and then hand them half a dozen mockups to work with?

In pedagogy, we refer to this as the “spoon-feeding” method of teaching, which ultimately cripples the student’s ability for independent thought.

Just go to http://typophile.com/tracker and see this pattern for yourself.

Perhaps we should change the name of this site to www.ifyouareatypographystudentjustcomehereandabunchoftypographerswilldoy...

http://bit.ly/wbH6lJ

*sigh*

I love teaching, but it's not everything.

hhp

Ahh... Mister Dean. Welcome to The Machine.
Let us listen to your neigh while we brainstorm away.

5star: I'd like to keep it fresh, lively, and with no boundaries. I am just exploring right now and really appreciating the input. I volunteered to do this for the church and was hoping for some good ideas to consider. Thanks for your input.

Té Rowan: Thanks for the suggestions. The'together sun disc with the other words as rays could be interesting. The 'together' multicolour with a cluster of other words around it could be interesting, too. Even though I like a smiley face, I am afraid that might be overdone. Clarendon could be a good font to use. Thanks for your input.

Christopher Dean: I see these concepts as the beginning of ideas. I am interested where they will go if I take them further. This truly is a brainstorming session for me...no idea is wrong and could lead in surprising directions. What I am aiming for is a funnel of ideas that I can build on. I would welcome your ideas, too.

You might be interested in this piece in the New Yorker: Brainstorming Doesn’t Really Work, by Joshua Lehrer.

frode frank: Great article. Thanks for sharing.

My aim is that by us brainstorming yet knowing that debating or criticizing the concepts presented is a part of this process. I promise, by asking for input does not mean that I shut my brain off and cease to think creatively.

I am a freelance designer that often is paid to do business collateral material… however with this project I embraced the opportunity (for no charge to the church for the design) with the hopes that other fellow designers could help me. I found once I graduated, the open criticism of work went away... unless they were signing the check...Ha! I really missed that. I had the benefit of local, fellow collaborators.

I see this forum as the first layer of predictability, ie. green for grass and blue for ocean. Errant answers are okay with me if they get me to think outside the box…to be "fresh, lively, work with no boundaries!" I am willing to offer criticism and we, here, should accept it.

A great example of how criticism improves art is Stephen Sondheim's criticism of this student: http://youtu.be/8-VXXZLh2a0 or these students: http://youtu.be/DBCVaFqGJwg. I love his subtle suggestions and the difference it makes in the end result.

Let's make this forum "Seeking creative ideas for a typographic poster series" a creative space string; the Building 20 of Typophile where we mix and mingle ideas. I am hoping that here you all can extract the best from me for this project. You have already been helpful.

Frode, thanks a lot for the link to that very interesting article. It strongly supports group interaction, and gives very interesting conditions under which they work.

I think the article's criticism of the original 'Brainstorming' idea is somewhat off the mark, though. That is because, contrary to what he says, it doesn't prevent criticism. It just separates the brainstorming and criticism phases. So the tests he cites don't really critique the original idea, at least as he reports them.

The specific test he reports in which separated individuals did better is what I would call a 'puzzle' rather than a problem. It has very limited, well defined boundaries and solution. To me brainstorming is most important when the situation is more unclear and fluid and needs conceptual definition.

I think it is also possible that in art, having an individual's vision guiding the process, with others' critical input in many cases is better than a strictly group process. The whole question what group process is best for what kind of problem is really interesting, to me at any rate.

On Fran's brief, the main thing I would urge is to look for a custom lettering solution rather than a type solution. The Rudolph Koch work has a totally different feel from the Sister Corita work, but what they have in common is that they are custom lettering—and wonderful.

@dightondesign: I would begin by complementing you on your use of visual rhetoric in your first attempt (grey & sans) ie: many different things coming together to make a whole, unity &c. I would then ask you you explain your reasoning behind:

a) the choice of colour
b) the choice of font
c) the choice of dimensions

Lastly, I say “OK, that’s one idea, now put it aside and do a 180°.” Too often I see students get stuck on a single concept and push it around for days. You’re done with this one. Stop, and come up with another. Do this 100 times. In one day. On paper.

William Berkson: Custom lettering solution is an excellent choice and will require some thought. Thanks for your input.

Christopher Dean: Excellent questions. The grey and sans are only visual aids for demonstrating my desire for ideas. Not even near the final result. The choice of dimensions is simply because the auditorium they will be in has some long narrow blank walls they wish to fill with some simple, yet thought-provoking posters. I will think on this and present some more visuals...maybe even hand sketches. Thanks for your input.

Oh, do not think of these as church posters, think of them as art...letter art...that will just happen to be in a church building. They could be scaled down to a small frame or blown up on a billboard. The words will convey the message but so must the design. This is my challenge. More explanation to come.

Fran, I should have added that an alternative is to go with one or more of the recent script fonts that have succeeded in getting the feeling of the hand in them. That won't be as ideal as a custom job, but it can still be very good.

William Berkson: Will do...thanks.

Brainstorming rules... as long as it's not 100% free-form.
You need a very soft-touch manager in charge. I'll always
fondly remember a particular three-day highly immersive
brainstorming at Microsoft (we were working towards a
developer's kit for Surface); I was moved to spill out so
many killer ideas, partly in response to those of others,
many of which can surely be used in future endeavors.

hhp

Posted some more concepts: http://www.dightondesign.com/PosterSeries.htm. Still have 90 more to go!! Ha!

My input: please don't use "impact" as a(n intransitive) verb!

eliason: Thanks, "impact" is just a filler word...maybe "effect" would be better.

That would be "affect".

hhp

hrant: Either could work, effect “to create” (become effective) or affect “have an influence on”. Thanks for the input.

Dwight Yoakam - Let's Work Together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSVWWwaq-Gc&feature=related

...might as well add some tunes.

This is just a quicky, but I think it could really be slammin'. The line/rays should be done gestural almost finger paint, and the letter shapes could be done more expressively too. I'll revisit it later on forsure.

...I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

...just finished some ruffs with vertical text in the rays, lookin' good too.

Another groove would be white text on sky blue, cut that out with scissors and spread the piece out on a yellow paper to form the rays in negative space to excite the whole thing - or something like that - shoot it, print it.