Process Book One

PROCESS BOOK ONE ALEXANDRA KENNEDY

CONTEXT

CATALYST ONE

CATALYST ONE ARTISTS SKETCHES FINAL PRODUCT

CATALYST ONE WHILE WALKING DOWNTOWN I WAS LOOKING FOR TYPE THAT CAUGHT MY EYE, PRIMARILY OLD SIGNS, RECORDS AND POSTERS. TRACING THE TYPEFACES THAT I FOUND REALLY HELPED PREPARE ME FOR THIS PROJECT.

ARTISTS

TAYLOR MCKIMENS LOOKING AT TAYLOR MCKIMENS WORK, I WAS ATTRACTED TO HOW MESSY IT LOOKED. ALTHOUGH THE PAINTING WAS MESSY THE ENTIRETY OF THE PIECE WAS VERY SIMPLE. IT WAS ONE OF THE MORE PROMINENT OPTIONS FOR ME UNTIL I FOUND THAT THIS ARTIST HAD ALREADY CREATED THEIR OWN TYPEFACE WITH THE PIECE “THE DRIPS”. I FELT AS THOUGH I NEEDED TO CHALLENGE MYSELF AND NOT HAVE A PAINTING THAT I WAS CONSTANTLY REFERING BACK TO.

KINKE KOOI WITH THIS ARTIST I WAS MORE SO LOOKING AT THE COLOUR THAN ANYTHING. I WAS REALLY INTRIGUED BY THE ORANGES AND PINKS THAT FADED INTO EACH OTHER BUT COVERING A BASIC MINIMALISTIC PICTURE OF A PERSON. I KIND OF HAD A GUT FEELING THAT I WASN’T GOING TO USE THIS ARTIST AS MY MAIN INSPIRATION FOR MY TYPEFACE, I THINK IT WAS JUST SOMETHING I ENJOYED LOOKING AT.

JOHN BALDESSARI JOHN BALDESSARI WAS ALSO ON MY INITIAL LIST OF ARTISTS THAT I COULD BASE MY TYPEFACE OFF OF. I WAS CONSIDERING CREATING A TYPEFACE WITH DOTS PLACED ON THE COUNTERS OF THE TYPEFACE, THAT IS, UNTIL I WAS TOLD THAT I WASN’T ALLOWED TO MAKE MINI BALDESSARI’S.

YUKARI TERAKADO THE COLOURS OF YUKARI TERAKADO’S ILLUSTRATIONS IS WHAT FIRST GRABBED MY ATTENTION. ALSO, THE DELICACY OF THE WORK COUNTERACTED WITH THE INTENSE SKULL’S THAT WERE IN MOST OF THE WORKS. I DECIDED TO GO WITH THIS ARTIST BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A CHALLENGE. IT ENDED UP BEING ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IVE HAD TO DEAL WITH IN A LONG TIME.

SKETCHES

AT THIS POINT, JOHN BALADESSARI WAS THE STARTING POINT FOR MY RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION SINCE I HAD RECENTLY WATCHED A SHORT FILM ON BALDESSARI NARRATED BY TOM WAITS.

AT THIS POINT I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE PROCESS WORK OF TAYLOR AND HOW HE WAS ABLE TO GET THE LOOK THAT HE WAS CREATING WITH THIS PAINTINGS. MAINLY THE TYPES OF MATERIALS HE WAS WORKING WITH. I WAS ALSO LOOKING INTO INTERVIEWS WHERE HE WOULD EXPLAIN HIS INSPIRATIONS FOR HIS WORKS.

HERE I WAS STARTING TO LOOK INTO TAYLOR MCKIMENS WORK MORE. WORKING WITH THE STYLE THAT WAS PRESENT IN HIS WORK. AND PLAYING WITH THE MESSY ELEMENTS IN THE PAINTINGS.

I WAS STARTING TO WORK WITH THE ILLUSTRATIVE QUALITIES OF YUKARI’S WORK AFTER HAVING A CRITIQUE IN CLASS AND GOING WITH THIS ARTIST.

I WAS TRYING TO WORK WITH DIFFERENT STYLES IN ORDER TO COME TO THE CONCLUSION OF WHETHER OR NOT I WANTED TO HAVE A SANS SERIF OR SERIF FONT TO BEST REPRSENT MY ARTIST.

I TRIED TO TEST OUT DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES WHILE STILL USING A SERIF FONT.

AFTER HAVING A REALLY TOUGH TIME WORKING WITH SERIF FONTS I TRIED TO START ILLUSTRATING WITH SCRIPT BECAUSE OF HOW FLOWY IT LOOKED WHICH TIED INTO MY ARTISTS ILLUSTRATIVE QUALITIES.

I FINALLY TOOK TO THE COMPUTER AND STARTED WORKING ON A GEOMETRIC TYPEFACE. I WANTED IT TO LOOK SIMPLISTIC YET HAVE THAT ILLUSTRATIVE QUALITY LIKE YUKARI. I DECIDED TO PLACE DASHED LINES INTO THE COUNTERS OF THE ALPHABET.

AFTER PLAYING AROUND ON ILLUSTRATOR I DECIDED TO GO FOR AN EVEN MORE GEOMETRIC LOOK. I BENT SOME OF THE LETTERS AND LOWERED THE X-HEIGHT OF MOST OF THE LETTER FORMS, WHILE STILL KEEPING THE DASHED ELEMENT TO STILL KEEP THAT ILLUSTRATIVE QUALITY TO IT.

I DECIDED TO GO WITH A BLACK BACKGROUND TO PRESENT MY TYPEFACE. I THOUGHT THAT THE BLACK WORKED WELL WITH MY TYPEFACE SINCE I WANTED TO KEEP THE BLUE AND PINK FROM THE ARTISTS WORK PRESENT.

I CHOSE TO NAME MY TYPEFACE DOKURO AFTER THE JAPANESE WORD MEANING SKULL. SKULLS WERE VERY PROMINENT IN YUKARI’S WORK AND I FELT THAT THE NAME WORKED WELL WITH THE FONT.