Robert Brownjohn 'Street Level Series'

Robert Brownjohn

ROBERT BROWNJOHN. FROM THE STREET LEVEL SERIES, 1961.

Robert Brownjohn was an American graphic designer best known for his film title sequences, especially From Russia with Love and Goldfinger.

Robert Brownjohn’s photographs of London street typography, published in Typographica new series no. 4 in December 1961, have become the stuff of design legend. Brownjohn claims in his introduction to “Street Level,” a 32-page visual essay, that the pictures were gathered on a single trip around the city.

Here i gave a full analysis on Robert Brownjohns Street Level Seris photography to halp gain inspiration for my idea development and final design.

 Here is one piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a street sign. The photograph of the signage hasn’t been taken in the center. Having it on the left hand side gives a great effect as you can see the real texture and detail of the wall its on. Here it looks as though the photograph of the signage has be taken from a distance also as it looks small in the image with lots of empty space around it. I feel this looks creative as it draws your eyes straight to the sign because of the amount of empty space around. The lettering used for this street sign is all uppercase, it looks plain and simple which makes it clear. 

When taking my pictures i could think about not just taking photographs of my signage from the middle but in a different angle like this photograph to get a better effect.

Here is a second piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like signage off some shops. This photograph of the signage hasn’t been taken in the center either. Its on the right hand side looking up, I feel that this is a great idea as 4 signs were able to be captured in the photograph at once. Some are easy to see and read and some are small which makes it very hard to read. The ‘Rolls-Royce’ signage looks as though a letter hasn’t been captured in the image. I feel that it’s a creative idea as it helped include many signs in the photograph. The lettering on the ‘Rolls-Royce’ sign is all uppercase, it has serifs which I feel gives it a old but regal look. The ‘Rock’ sign is all uppercase also, it looks like its been scaled from ‘OCK’ which stands out in the photograph.

When taking my photographs of signage i could think about adding more than one signage in the shot so there is more to look at which will give a better effect and make the photograph stand out. 

Here is a third piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a warning signage that was captured on the floor. This photograph has been taken in the center looking down at the signage. Having it in the center makes it great for grabbing attention; it also gives a great effect as what’s going on around the signage as it looks like a border. Its also quite close up which i feel is a great idea as every lettering is clear and easy to read. The dirty surrounding’s around the signage in this photograph adds a better effect as its different, it also fits with the stone looking sign. The lettering is all uppercase, its also straight and spaced out which makes it look bold and clear and spaced out which is clear to read. The lettering looks like it has been engraved in the stone. I feel that this is a creative way to display signage as digital type is used a lot on warning signs.

When taking my photographs i could place items near the signage I'm capturing to give a better look to the photograph.

Here is a fourth piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a sign for machinery that was captured on a brick wall. This photograph of the signage has been taken in the center. Having it in the center makes you focused more on the image as its right in front of you. The photograph of the sign has been taken close, this makes the lettering really clear to read and see. The brick wall surrounding the sign looks great. It has amazing detail with a rough look which makes this signage in the photograph look even better. I’ve noticed that at the bottom the brick layout stops an instead there’s a plain wall which looks creative in this photograph as there is two different types of background displayed. The lettering is uppercase, its quite slim and small which fits well as its also close together.

When taking my photograph of my signage, like this image i could add two different types of backing to make it look creative and different.

Here is a fifth piece of Robert Brownjohn’s work. This looks like a shop sign. This photograph has been captured in the center which but looks like the camera has been tilted up where you can see the window and wall on top of the signage. Having it in the center you get the full effect of the signage as its clear and easy to see. Having the camera tilted up at the wall draws you in as the wall it quite bright which lightens up the photograph. The signage is not to far but not too close which makes it stand out because of the detail it gives. Two parts of the lettering is lower case, while the lettering in the center is uppercase. The ‘The’ is lowercase, it has flicks and curls off the end of the lettering which looks great as its fancy. Its also in italic which adds to the fancy effect it gives. The ‘Vinter’ lettering is uppercase, it has little serifs which add a posh look to the signage as well as fancy. The letter ‘E’ looks like its falling off which i feel looks creative and different as it draws your attention straight to the photograph. The ‘Liqueurs’ lettering is lowercase, its the same fancy lettering used for the ‘The’. Having different lettering for parts of the signage gives it a creative look.

When taking my photographs, instead of taking it head on i could move the camera in certain angles to capture other things that would look effective like this photograph.

Here is a sixth piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a street sign captured high on a house. The photograph of the signage looks like it has been captured roughly in the center from quite a distance. Having it in this position you can see what’s on the other side of the house such as the windows, this makes the photograph more interesting as other things such as the main aspect gets captured. The signage looks like it has been painted on, its quite worn and old on the brick surface however the square shape and white colour helps it to stand out and look interesting. Here the lettering is hard to read, it looks like it has been painted on just like the signage which I feel is the reason it cant be read. 

When taking my photographs i should think about taking pictures on things wearing off, this gives a unique effect to the photograph.

Here is a seventh piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like chalk that was drawn on a door, its not clear on what the purpose is. This chalk lettering fills the whole page as it was captured close. I feel this gives a it a much better effect as you can see all the detail of the rough lettering and the scabbed surface the lettering is on. This image is different to most of Robert Brownjohns other images as he normally includes more than just the lettering from signage he is photographing by positioning the camera in a different angle or distance. Here he only photographs the main aspect and the main aspect only. However in the top left corner it looks like a door number and further below that there is a door handle that has been captured in the photograph. This gives a great effect to the photo and adds to the rough look. The lettering look like it has been hand written, this i feel is different however it’s not neat so it makes it a little hard to read.

When taking my photographs i need to remember that its not just printed signage i should look out for and capture, handwriting could be photographed like this piece which looks really interesting.

Here is an eighth piece of Robert Brownjohn’s work.  This looks like a finger has ran through some cement, its not clear what the purpose is. This photograph of the lettering is in the center, it has been captured close at a great angle. The camera looks like it was tilted up at an angle which i feel is different as its not just at a simple angle which would look original. The surface the lettering on looks like concrete. This looks great in the picture as the black and white really helps bring out all the details. The lettering is uppercase and looks like it has been written with a finger or object. Its different and unique as it can be read clear however it doesn’t look professional.

When taking my photographs of signage i could capture some that have been impressed in materials such as cement or brick.

Here is a ninth piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a shops open and close sign. This photograph of the signage has been captured quite far in a much different way. Robert Brownjohn captured some of the surroundings around the signage, even the door that the signage sits on. This is great because instead of going close, you can see many interesting aspects in this photograph. There are many door locks which surround the signage. I feel this gives the image a very alluring looks as it’s a creative way to capture signage. The lettering of the signage is uppercase, its quite thick and close together which stands out in this photograph.

When taking my photographs i could stand at a distance like this photo and capture whats around which gives the photograph a much better outlook.

Here is a tenth piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like the buildings information. This photograph of the signage has been captured at a distance. This helped get a couple of unneeded but effective aspects from the photo such as the interesting surroundings around the signage; just like most of Robert Brownjohns Street Level work. The surroundings around the signage looks really dirty, chapped and decayed which really gives a great effect as the lettering of the sign looks to be wearing off like its surroundings. Including the thick black pipes in this photograph really helps get that maximum effect of old. The lettering is uppercase, its quite spaced and bold which looks neat. The end looks like it has been peeled off which adds a great effect to the whole photograph as the surroundings are the same.

When taking my photographs i could look to get old looking signage and buildings that look like their falling apart which will add great effect to my photograph.

Here is an eleventh piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a patio umbrella. This photograph has been taken from the center which gives a great effect as the sinage on the patio umbrella is clear. The photograph has been taken at a reasonable distance where once again you can see interesting surroundings throughout the photograph such as chairs, metal railings and plant pots which gives this photograph ad interesting and unique look . The lettering once again is uppercase, its simple but bold which makes it clear and really easy to read. 

When taking my photographs i could have the signage as the main focus with great surroundings like the photograph. This will add a creative effect that makes you look straight away.

Here is a twelth piece of Robert Brownjohns work. This looks like a shop sign written on paper. The signage is in the center of this photograph, it looks like it was taken quite close with all surroundings cropped out. I feel that this was a great idea for the signage he captured as it makes it the only thing to look at in the photograph. The helpful and creative thing about this close up photograph is the reflection that shows around the signage in the window. You can see another signage in the same image without the camera actually focusing on it. 'Post Office' and Robert Brownjohns shows faintly around the signage in the window which adds a really great effect that looks like it has been digitally designed. The lettering is all uppercase, its skinny and faint but close together which makes it looks whole. The surface the lettering is on looks like part of it has been torn and placed on top which makes the photograph and signage look unique.

When taking my photographs i could think about using reflection to cature two types of signage in one picture. This gives an effect that looks like it has been digitally design which adds a fascinating look.

http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/robert-brownjohn-photos-at-street-level/37348/

http://www.artofthetitle.com/designer/robert-brownjohn/

http://francishodgson.com/2013/02/27/robert-brownjohns-street-level-series/brownjohn-va2/