Black Orchid

This typographic illustration was found in a July/August 2005 copy of Tokion, which was called the Do It Yourself issue. The typeface is seen throughout the issue but in this case appears to be customized. There is no information given about the font or its designer, and to my knowledge it was only used in this issue. The title "Black Orchid" is given to the fashion spread that proceeds it, which is made up of b&w photographs of a model wearing black and white clothing. The connotation is obviously goth. The type is very ornamental complete with flourishes and repeating loops. It has an embroidery feel but is much too clean and mechanical to be akin to the Arts & Crafts movement. It is placed at the centre of the page which gives a feeling that it speaks for itself and doesn't need to be part of an over-designed composition. Probably because it is over-designed itself, anything added to it would ruin it's delicateness. The uses of crosses are abundant in this typeface, even the lowercase "i" is dotted with one, so I assume it has religious undertones. Perhaps its intricacies mirrors the way monks used to devote themselves to penning handmade books, and so the designer, a devout typographer, came up with their own version of this.

-Colin