Studio Brief 1: ALPHABET SOUP - further development

I've decided to use the bold version of Garamond because it will give me more area to work with and manipulate. I also prefer how it looks; it seems more sturdy and stronger than the original which is below:

I decided to print out all 26 letters of the alphabet in both lowercase and uppercase, just so I could trace them and get a feel for them by drawing some ideas using them as templates. When tracing the lowercase letters, I realised I didn't want to use them for this brief. I thought sticking with uppercase letters would suit the theme of nobility, as they are sturdy and large and more important looking than lowercase. UPPERcase is upper, LOWERcase is lower, which reflects the hierarchy that is involved in nobility in a certain sense. The royal family are noble and are UPPER class.

I also think that the upper case is more consistent and aesthetically pleasing when creating a set.

• O - I am thinking about adding the England flag to the O, as nobility is linked to royalty and the upperclass, and I live in England so it is linked to our royal family and overall Britishness (although England has more power than Wales or Scotland, thus why I would choose the English flag.)
• P - I added lines coming out of the P, to show power, as the lines are like light shining through, or the sun. To make it part of the actual letter, I have made the lines part of the actual shape instead of just being attached to it. Nobility has a lot to do with power in society, and more powerful people have higher levels of nobility and status.
• Q - I thought that the queen's face on a coin would reflect money in society and how the upper classes own a great deal of it, including royalty. They are so highly contrasted with the lower realms of society. Also, Q is for Queen.
• R - I added a symbol of a dazzle that comes from jewels, to signify royal wealth.
• Y - I experimented with adding pearls to the letter as the women in the royal family are known to wear pearls throughout history.
• X - I won't be using this letter, but I tried to experiment with the size of the bottom half of the letter to show the top is bigger and better like the hierarchy. I don't think it works or portrays what I was thinking of.
• W - With this letter I thought I could represent the hierarchy of social class. It shows different levels of the system. I like this because it is subtle and easy to read.

These are the ten letters that I've picked, however they aren't set in stone at this point. I chose them while I was coming up with ideas which seemed to fit well around them. I may experiment with other letters also.

I did some further research into the word "nobility" that I have been given for this project. I found it is associated with the British Aristocracy which was one of the most successful power elites in the world, and comes from a greek word. British nobility shaped the history of the country, and 'noble' titles include Duke, Earl, Baron, Lord, Lady, Master, Sir.
To sum up, nobility reflects royalty, hierarchy, and privileged people. From this, I wanted to create letters that reflect these types of nobility.