DYAD T YPOGRAPHY & TEXTURE
Published & Distributed by DYAD PUBLICATIONS Dyad-publications ltd. Unit c. 7/F. Seabright plaza. 9-23 Shell Street. North Point. Hong Kong dyadpublications@dyad.com Edited and Produced by Dyad Publications Concepts & Art Direction by Gemma Cotter Book Design by Gemma Cotter Copyright Š
DYAD
FROM THE EDITOR Taste the dew on leaves with your tongue Savor the lushness of grass beneath your feet Inhale the redolence of fresh morning air Touch the textures with tender fingers
Time to forget when your body failed And your emotions were dragged under That heavy mantle of darkness When only your mind escaped depth And you turned cartwheels on the lawn
Time to move forward with face turned to the wind To hear the music in the trees To feel the warmth of sun upon your skin And leave behind those nagging doubts The residue of a battered self-esteem It’s time... The texture of life is found deep within
Chanti
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THE
CONTENTS
PAGE
FROM THE EDITOR 01
FOOD FOR THOUGHT 24
A Poem
Typography & food enough said!
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE
TYPOGRAPHY AS ART
06
26
Most people have a very hard time
A typography wall mural can brighten
quantifying what exactly makes
up almost any space, whilst providing
something beautiful.
some of the best typography.
FEELOLOGY 10
FEEL THE TYPE 29
Emotions influence the way we
Paper typography has been making
make decisions, evaluate risks, solve
waves in the graphic design industry
problems and categorize information.
cementing its place as one of the most
So how do you communicate them
dominant and popular trends for this
through Typography?
year.
TEXTURE ARSENAL 16
WHY DOES IT MATTER 33
While I believe there are many
Affordable hosted web font services
techniques to achieve this one of the
and ready-made kits, typography is
best items in my arsenal is textures.
reclaiming its title as design queen.
RATIONALE 19
BACK TO DESIGN SCHOOL 35
What does this all mean?
Do you even know the elements?
MASTER 3D TEXTURING AND RENDERING 21
LAST WORDS FROM DYAD PUBLICATIONS 39
The new version of makes importing
Everything else to do with typography
and handling 3D files a snap. Justin
and texture and how you can use them
Maller shows you how to go about
to further develop your skills as a
texturing and integrating 3D with your
graphic designer. Also a sneak peak at
composition.
our next must have issue!
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE? Most people know when something is beautiful because there is an inherent sense of order and design that is hard wired into us. Yet those same people have a very hard time quantifying what exactly makes something beautiful. One reason is that it takes many parts combined in a specific way to make something unique and beautiful. And typically those many parts will not be readily visible because a good design will combine them in a way to create one cohesive work of art. While I believe there are many techniques to achieve this one of the best items in my arsenal is textures. The proper and subtle use of a texture takes a design from being flat and dead to noticeable and alive.
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AND WHO CARES? In the visual arts, texture is the perceived surface quality of a work of art. It is an element of two-dimensional and three-dimensional designs and is distinguished by its perceived visual and physical properties. Physical texture, also known as actual texture or tactile
Visual texture is the illusion of having physical texture.
texture, are the actual variations upon a surface. This
Every material and every support surface has its own
can include, but is not limited to, fur, wood grain, sand,
visual texture and needs to be taken into a composition.
smooth surface of canvas or metal, glass, and leather.
As such, materials such as canvas and watercolour
It differentiates itself from visual texture by having a
paper are considerably rougher than and may not be
physical quality that can be felt by touch.
uited for a flat, smooth texture.
Specific use of a texture can affect the smoothness that
This can include, but is not limited to, fur, wood grain,
an artwork conveys. For instance, use of rough surfaces
sand, smooth surface of canvas or metal, glass, and
can be visually active, whilst smooth surfaces can be
leather. It differentiates itself from visual texture
visually restful. The use of both can give a sense of
by having a physical quality that can be felt by touch.
personality to a design, or utilized to create emphasis,
Specific use of a texture can affect the smoothness that
rhythm, contrast, etc.
an artwork conveys.
Light is an important factor for physical artwork,
The use of both can give a sense of personality to a
because it can affect how a surface is viewed. Strong
design, or utilized to create emphasis, rhythm, contrast,
lights on a smooth surface can obscure the readability
etc. Light is an important factor for physical artwork,
of a drawing or photograph, whilst they can create
because it can affect how a surface is viewed. Whilst
strong contrasts in a highly textural surface such
they can create strong contrasts in a highly textural
as river rocks and sand. Texture is one of the most
surface such as river rocks and sand. There is a long
fundamental elements of three dimensional art.
history of research in the study of visual texture.
It is an element that needs to be carefully considered
Most researchers agree that an image of visual texture
by sculptors. Texture is related to the material used-
should be spatially homogeneous, and typically contains
-marble, wood, clay, bronze, brass, iron. steel, or
repeated structures, often with some random variation
plaster, for example as well as the process: casting or
(e.g. random positions, orientations or colors). This
welding. In addition to the material and the process,
loose definition suggests that textures might best be
the final surface treatment offers even more textural
synthesized by laying down texture elements at periodic
possibilities.
or random locations within an image.
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FEELOLOGY We all know about emotions because we experience them every day. Emotions influence the way we make decisions, evaluate risks, solve problems and categorize information. In advertising and product design, emotions are a really well-known subject. In web design, emotional design has just recently made its way to usability. Design is still useful and usable but when we design for emotion we intentionally trigger emotional responses in our users, keeping them motivated and helping them perceive a personality.
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EMOTIVE DESIGN FE EL Research has demonstrated
Emotion dominates decision making We experience emotion every day and through emotion we actually screen the world around us while making decisions.
that people without the capacity for emotional response are unable to make simple cognitive decisions, like what dress to wear today or what to eat for lunch. So emotions are important
Emotion increases motivation Emotion, as we saw, commands attention and helps us to focus, it actually makes information memorable, resonant and eventually, actionable. If we trigger the right emotion, people are motivated and chances are high that they will perform the desired action or complete a task. Emotion affects memories and creates personalities We memorize things through association and emotion is the way we create negative/positive associations. Once we have defined the emotion, we give a personality to that product and we interact with it according to that personality.
in everyday life, but why in design? Here are 3 reasons why we should go for emotional design:
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OLO GY
THROUGH EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY Two researchers from Microsoft, Kevin Larson and Rosalind Picard, conducted a study called the Aesthetics of Reading, to demonstrate the benefits of good typography. They found that good typography induces a good mood. In this study, participants were asked to read text with either good or poor typography. The participants who received the good typography performed better on relative subjective duration and on certain cognitive tasks. This should make us think that typography is a design element that needs our attention not only on the web, but in all design that employs the use of typefaces.
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Typography is the real, almost invisible protagonist of any website. When we work with typography, we inevitably have to consider different fundamental aspects that can influence a reader’s mood. In the end, if we want our users’ experience to be engaging and exciting, we should definitely consider adding emotion to our website. When we do so, we have to keep in mind that emotion, personality and tone of voice are consistent throughout the site and communicate the brand’s values in a correct way. Only if we have given emotion and typography the right consideration, will we be able to communicate in a way that appeals to and amuses our audience.
TEXTURE ARSENAL We all know about emotions because we experience them every day. Emotions influence the way we make decisions, evaluate risks, solve problems and categorize information. In advertising and product design, emotions are a really well-known subject. In web design, emotional design has just recently made its way to usability. Design is still useful and usable but when we design for emotion we intentionally trigger emotional responses in our users, keeping them motivated and helping them perceive a personality.
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BEST METHODS FOR USING TEXTURE IN YOUR DESIGNS
While I believe there are many techniques to achieve this one of the best items in my arsenal is textures. The proper & subtle use of a texture takes a design from being flat & dead to noticeable & alive. From the examples above, it’s easy to see how texture in any medium can enhance design. However, what are the best methods for incorporating it? Texture can add a lot of interest to a design which means it can also go too far as well.
Of course, depending on what artistic venue you’re working in, texture should be used differently. For example, logo design should keep texture to a minimum, while web or graphic design can use a lot more. Despite the differences for each type of design, let’s look into some general rules, or guidelines. 1. DON’T DISTRACT FROM THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS There are different levels of texture and different types that can be used in better situations that others. If texture is distracting from the needed content or other imagery, then it is being used incorrectly. Try to think about this consciously and get other people’s opinions before using too much texture. Also, try not to use heavy textures on backgrounds, unless it is meant to be part of the focus of the design.
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2. FOLLOW A TEXTURE THEME Use similar texture styles to create repetition, in a seemingly random design. This can also be used to cause unity in the design. In certain types of design that use texture, the design can seem disorganized and messy, while design should always seem put together to an extent. A designer should use texture for visual interest, either to break a pattern or add variety to a repeating pattern, but texture should not be used to create such chaos that the design looks disorganized. Similar textures will help combat this. 3. ADD TEXTURE TO REPEATING PATTERNS Most of the examples above are seemingly random textures used for visual interest. However, there are many designers that add texture in a much more organized way, via patterns. An example of this practice would be straight wooden planks used as a background, or dust/noise added to a pattern. 4. GRADIENTS AND/OR FADING TEXTURE Sometimes an extreme texture can be made more subtle by simply not covering the entire design with it. Try fading a texture into a solid color, or to a darker and less noticeable version of the texture. Be sure to put the lightest part of the gradient (where the texture will be most noticeable) in an area of the design where it’s needed — highlighting a main feature, or adding visual interest.
5. TRY PUTTING TEXTURE AS THE MAIN FOCUS While most designs succeed with adding texture but making it as subtle as possible, other designs excel by making texture the primary focus. A well-textured large background along with interesting shapes and themes can be the main focus of the design, and therefore not be too distracting. This technique is also used often in graphic design with varying textures are clashed to create a design in itself. WRAPPING UP Texture is an important part of any style of design, and many forms of design or art aren’t visually appealing enough without it. While there are many examples of texture-less design still used today, many viewers see textured designs as more appealing and are more emotionally responsive. Even when knowing this, many designers are afraid of using texture in the wrong way to an extent that they avoid using it, or avoid using too much of it. Our advice to any designer or artist: always feel free to experiment with texture!
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RATIONALE DYAD is a bimonthly magazine that combines to design elements and explores their use within graphic design and photography. For edition one i chose Typography and Texture as the two elements. The dictionary definition of the word DYAD is something that consists of two elements or parts. I wanted my magazine to be clean with a focus on the photography of textures and subtle neat type. The focus of the magazine was to provide photographers and designers with a source of inspiration and a few articles to improve their knowledge on the two design elements. My main competitors in terms of other magazines are IDN Magazine and the next closest would be Desktop Magazine. IDN has quite an artistic approach but its very cluttered. Where as Desktop has a more of a professional appearance with more text. I wanted something that struck a balance between the both of these and that was clean fresh and modern. This project made me explore photo editing and digital collage. I really did enjoying creating the double page photo collage, although i don’t think the technique and standard is exceptional, it was the first time i attempted something like this. To me the composition has meaning, every texture has a significance to a time in my life, as well as the colors and typography. Some are obvious and some are hidden behind editing. I used a photographer to help me take some of the textures we shot a total of 5 and then the rest i went around my suburb and in the city to take some more. Overall im pleased with how my magazine turned out and im glad i stuck with my orgional idea in the end.
By Gemma Cotter
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Europe 16 / UK 12.50 / Canada 19.90 / Hong Kong 99 Australia 19.95 / New Zealand 24 / Singapore 18
Most people know when something is beautiful because there is an inherent sense of order and design that is hard wired into us. Yet those same people have a very hard time quantifying what exactly makes something beautiful. One reason is that it takes many parts combined in a specific way to make something unique and beautiful. And typically those many parts will not be readily visible because a good design will combine them in a way to create one cohesive work of art. While I believe there are many techniques to achieve this one of the best items in my arsenal is textures. The proper and subtle use of a texture takes a design from being flat and dead to noticeable and alive.
ENGLISH EDITION