So remember that your first expressive type project is due on Monday. You should have three boards, each with one of your words/phrases displayed in both black and white (top) and color (bottom). Make your type do most of the heavy lifting...you can use illustrative elements, but they should be kept to a minimum.
Board sizes: 10.75" x 16.75"...at Sam Flax they have the superblack boards cut down to size; you just need to ask for them.
Good luck!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Out sick today
Just in case you don't get the email, I will be out today. We'll have a critique on Monday of your expressive type sketches so far, so have several options for each word/phrase ready to post up on the board. Have a good/productive day, and I'll see you next week!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Kinetic type is fun!
Of course the animation helps make these expressive too, but at times they are using fonts and composition to illustrate their point.
OK, so I like Fight Club...
American Beauty
Typolution
Requiem for a Dream
More to come!
OK, so I like Fight Club...
American Beauty
Typolution
Requiem for a Dream
More to come!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Choices for Project 01: Word Semantics
Melanie: Labyrinth, melodic, "Better late than never."
Shivani: Bubblegum, lachrymose, "Dead men tell no tales."
Saif: Magnetism, unstable, "Look before you leap."
Allen: Explosion, fierce, "Love is blind."
Christine: Filigree, gentle, "When it rains, it pours."
Tres: Shadow, distorted, "Time flies when you're having fun" or "There is safety in numbers."
William: Prism, mysterious, "Laughter is the best medicine".
Tasha: Insane, hallucination, "Great minds think alike".
Shivani: Bubblegum, lachrymose, "Dead men tell no tales."
Saif: Magnetism, unstable, "Look before you leap."
Allen: Explosion, fierce, "Love is blind."
Christine: Filigree, gentle, "When it rains, it pours."
Tres: Shadow, distorted, "Time flies when you're having fun" or "There is safety in numbers."
William: Prism, mysterious, "Laughter is the best medicine".
Tasha: Insane, hallucination, "Great minds think alike".
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Project 01: Word Semantics
DUE DATE: Wednesday, 01/28/09
Overview:
Fonts are not just symbolic tools that spell out our words, but they also possess the expressive ability to further describe the word or phrase that it represents. Your first project is going to have you explore and exploit this facet of type.
Objectives: To explore and interpret typographic form to express meaning.
Assignment:
Each one of you will pick one option out of the following lists, giving you three designs that you must complete. Visually interpret each of your chosen words/phrases using only letterforms, punctuation and vector graphics. The resulting pictorial representation should parallel the common verbal meaning. Some words will inspire their own visual solution, while others need more thought to bring about the ideas inherent in their meaning.
Adjectives:
Distorted, hyperactive, glamorous, unstable, insecure, buoyant, fragrant, exuberant, arrogant, lachrymose, crystalline, fanciful, moody, balanced, meticulous, mysterious, sonorous, insane, gentle, organized, organic, curvaceous, mercurial, introverted, grandiose, turbulent, jocose, fierce, melodic, reckless, ethereal
Nouns:
Explosion, metamorphosis, migration, evolution, vacuum, filigree, magnetism, electricity, magic, prism, feathers, levitation, gravity, charisma, technology, epicurean, glacier, popcorn, comedy, blueprint, labyrinth, bubblegum, bliss,vegetation, terror, narcissism, shadow, hallucination
Phrases:
Time flies when you're having fun.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Better late than never.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Dead men tell no tales.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Great minds think alike.
Love is blind.
Home is where the heart is.
When it rains it pours.
Don't cry over spilled milk.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Look before you leap.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Pride comes before a fall.
Snug as a bug in a rug
There is safety in numbers.
Presentation:
You will mount the finished designs on the same board size/color you have chosen for your portfolio. Boards should be presented in a vertical format. Each choice will include both its b/w and color versions on a single board, so you will show three boards on the due date.
Overview:
Fonts are not just symbolic tools that spell out our words, but they also possess the expressive ability to further describe the word or phrase that it represents. Your first project is going to have you explore and exploit this facet of type.
Objectives: To explore and interpret typographic form to express meaning.
Assignment:
Each one of you will pick one option out of the following lists, giving you three designs that you must complete. Visually interpret each of your chosen words/phrases using only letterforms, punctuation and vector graphics. The resulting pictorial representation should parallel the common verbal meaning. Some words will inspire their own visual solution, while others need more thought to bring about the ideas inherent in their meaning.
Adjectives:
Distorted, hyperactive, glamorous, unstable, insecure, buoyant, fragrant, exuberant, arrogant, lachrymose, crystalline, fanciful, moody, balanced, meticulous, mysterious, sonorous, insane, gentle, organized, organic, curvaceous, mercurial, introverted, grandiose, turbulent, jocose, fierce, melodic, reckless, ethereal
Nouns:
Explosion, metamorphosis, migration, evolution, vacuum, filigree, magnetism, electricity, magic, prism, feathers, levitation, gravity, charisma, technology, epicurean, glacier, popcorn, comedy, blueprint, labyrinth, bubblegum, bliss,vegetation, terror, narcissism, shadow, hallucination
Phrases:
Time flies when you're having fun.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Better late than never.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Dead men tell no tales.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Great minds think alike.
Love is blind.
Home is where the heart is.
When it rains it pours.
Don't cry over spilled milk.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Look before you leap.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Pride comes before a fall.
Snug as a bug in a rug
There is safety in numbers.
Presentation:
You will mount the finished designs on the same board size/color you have chosen for your portfolio. Boards should be presented in a vertical format. Each choice will include both its b/w and color versions on a single board, so you will show three boards on the due date.
Monday's class: 01.12.09
Hi all! I just wanted to post a few notes before class tomorrow.
Our agenda:
1. Intro Typography lecture (hopefully I will figure out the projector this time!)
2. Discussion of TWT pp. 2-34 (I thought this might be a better stopping point)- be ready to answer questions!
3. Go over your homework exercise
4. Give out your first major project
5. Assign Wednesday's homework assignment, which is...
A. Take 2 sheets of graph paper
B. Divide them into 2" squares
C. Take any letter of the alphabet, upper or lowercase, and write/draw it in as many different fonts as possible; your goal should be to fill both sheets. They can be based on other typefaces, but each should be your own hand drawn creation. Make them as different as as you can. Name your five favorites. Be sure they are neatly drawn, even if the line character is rough.
Our agenda:
1. Intro Typography lecture (hopefully I will figure out the projector this time!)
2. Discussion of TWT pp. 2-34 (I thought this might be a better stopping point)- be ready to answer questions!
3. Go over your homework exercise
4. Give out your first major project
5. Assign Wednesday's homework assignment, which is...
A. Take 2 sheets of graph paper
B. Divide them into 2" squares
C. Take any letter of the alphabet, upper or lowercase, and write/draw it in as many different fonts as possible; your goal should be to fill both sheets. They can be based on other typefaces, but each should be your own hand drawn creation. Make them as different as as you can. Name your five favorites. Be sure they are neatly drawn, even if the line character is rough.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Just a reminder...
I just wanted to remind you that our class will start at 5:45PM, unless I mention otherwise. I teach three classes back to back on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I'll be a better teacher if I can get a quick bite to eat before we start class. :)
Also, just in case there is any confusion, the entry dated 1.12.09 is just giving you a preview of the exercise due next Monday. Tomorrow, we will go over your two homework assignments, I will talk about the History of Typography to kick everything off, and then we will have some class time to work on your next assignment. I will give you your first major project next Monday (1.12.09). I'll see you tomorrow at 5:45PM!
Also, just in case there is any confusion, the entry dated 1.12.09 is just giving you a preview of the exercise due next Monday. Tomorrow, we will go over your two homework assignments, I will talk about the History of Typography to kick everything off, and then we will have some class time to work on your next assignment. I will give you your first major project next Monday (1.12.09). I'll see you tomorrow at 5:45PM!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Exercise 02: Due 01.12.09
Comparing and contrasting font size and shapes of different serif fonts:
1. Choose 4 serif fonts that you find appealing.
2. In the 6" square format, show the four fonts in black at 200 pt representing the following letters: lowercase a, uppercase A, lowercase f, lowercase g, uppercase S. Each letter should have its own 6" square (see JPG for example of how to set this up).
3. Print each of the squares out. On graph paper, carefully trace each of the letters in the four fonts you chose. Have a graph page for each of the letters, and show them side by side, all using the same baseline. Notice the different curves and angles in each font, as well as the different heights (even though they are the same point size). Your graph layouts should be in landscape format, so you can show the four fonts all side by side. Neatly write the name of the font under each.
4. Be prepared to talk about your favorite of the four: why you like it, aspects of the forms, and some historical aspects of it (creator, year designed, etc.).
1. Choose 4 serif fonts that you find appealing.
2. In the 6" square format, show the four fonts in black at 200 pt representing the following letters: lowercase a, uppercase A, lowercase f, lowercase g, uppercase S. Each letter should have its own 6" square (see JPG for example of how to set this up).
3. Print each of the squares out. On graph paper, carefully trace each of the letters in the four fonts you chose. Have a graph page for each of the letters, and show them side by side, all using the same baseline. Notice the different curves and angles in each font, as well as the different heights (even though they are the same point size). Your graph layouts should be in landscape format, so you can show the four fonts all side by side. Neatly write the name of the font under each.
4. Be prepared to talk about your favorite of the four: why you like it, aspects of the forms, and some historical aspects of it (creator, year designed, etc.).
First Day of Class!
Welcome to the Introduction to Typography course. In this course, I hope that you will not only learn more about using typography in your graphic design, but also that you'll learn to enjoy and appreciate fonts and type. Typography is an integral part of Graphic Design, and masterful use of type separates the really good designers from those who are just so-so...it does make a difference!
You will have numerous projects over the course of this semester in addition to your major projects. You should put these projects in your class sketchbook as they are graded and completed, as they will be a nice reference to which you can refer later.
So drumroll, please...here is your first typographical exercise.
EXERCISE 01: DUE WED, 01.07.09
1. Font Journal Week 01: You will create a font composition in your sketchbook. Collect several samples of typography that you find appealing. You may sketch, photograph, cut items from magazines, find scraps of paper on the street, or cut out bits of packaging. Create a 6" square sample of the specimens that you find. Create your own composition with letter forms, through repetition and spatial relationships.
2. "If I were a font, I would be..." Sketchbook Exercise 01:
Research different font styles. Find a font that you think reflects your personality. Bring in a printed sample(s) of the font, and be prepared to discuss why the font reflects your personal style. Create a composition with the font in a 6" square that represents you stylistically and compositionally.
Have both exercises printed out to put up on Wednesday. Have them ready when class starts.
These are a few websites you can search
www.adobe.com/type
www.houseind.com
www.emigre.com
www.dafont.com
For class, you will need the book THINKING WITH TYPE by Ellen Lupton. Copies can be found in the school bookstore. It really is a great reference book on type, and is utilized in many different design programs.
Another great book that is not required, but is recommended, is STOP STEALING SHEEP (AND FIND OUT HOW TYPE WORKS) by Erik Spiekermann. Definitely check it out if you get the chance. See you Wednesday!
You will have numerous projects over the course of this semester in addition to your major projects. You should put these projects in your class sketchbook as they are graded and completed, as they will be a nice reference to which you can refer later.
So drumroll, please...here is your first typographical exercise.
EXERCISE 01: DUE WED, 01.07.09
1. Font Journal Week 01: You will create a font composition in your sketchbook. Collect several samples of typography that you find appealing. You may sketch, photograph, cut items from magazines, find scraps of paper on the street, or cut out bits of packaging. Create a 6" square sample of the specimens that you find. Create your own composition with letter forms, through repetition and spatial relationships.
2. "If I were a font, I would be..." Sketchbook Exercise 01:
Research different font styles. Find a font that you think reflects your personality. Bring in a printed sample(s) of the font, and be prepared to discuss why the font reflects your personal style. Create a composition with the font in a 6" square that represents you stylistically and compositionally.
Have both exercises printed out to put up on Wednesday. Have them ready when class starts.
These are a few websites you can search
www.adobe.com/type
www.houseind.com
www.emigre.com
www.dafont.com
For class, you will need the book THINKING WITH TYPE by Ellen Lupton. Copies can be found in the school bookstore. It really is a great reference book on type, and is utilized in many different design programs.
Another great book that is not required, but is recommended, is STOP STEALING SHEEP (AND FIND OUT HOW TYPE WORKS) by Erik Spiekermann. Definitely check it out if you get the chance. See you Wednesday!
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