Unit 2: Visual Thinking - James Marshall

by uced all Prod arsh es M Jam ng hinki AUB :Visual T 2 Unit

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Contents This book will document my learning experience during unit 2 entitled ‘Visual thinking’

“ visual thinking focuses on extending your visual awareness,individual creative language and understanding of contempary practice while examing the fertile and complex semiotic and aesthetic nature of word,image and object.”

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Distinctive Characters

Typography as a semiotic resource

Vernacular letterforms

mapping the landscape-a lexicon of urban typography

p.21

Workshops Risograph Japenese Binding Digital Letterpress

p.38

4 5 6

lectures and seminars

Transmedia Notions of taste The power of persuasion

p.44

Reading resources

Thinking about type Ellen Lupton Typography workbook Timothy Samara

p.64

Building my portfolio / Personal development

My Behance portfolio Evaluating my development

p.74

1 e A rativ o b a l col ct proje with lynn F Etty

ter 1

chap

Tyography as a semiotic resource

Title: P is for Collaberative project with Etty Flynn. The brief was to communicate a word using only only the first letter of the word.Our chosen word was Punch. letter given: P 150 mm

Brainstorm

Research This research served to inspire our project introduced us to various approaches and ways of looking at things.To further suppliment our project we also engaged in basic semiotic theory.I feel the research we partook was relevant.

we also consulted technicians during the design process

extract from Typography; When Who How

all the other pages are from The 3D type book,Jacquillat,A and Vollauschek,T

Reflective critism Although i felt the research i partook was relevant.I feel the quality of the research could be greatly improved.

I need to engage more with Design theory and theorists,looking at semiotics in much greater detail.

Research methods,taking advantage of a greater amount of resources i have acess to. i.e Box of broadcasts

pages taken from: Typography;When Who How

Idea / generation

initial sketches following our brainstorm visualising is an important part of the creative process.

continuation of our idea generation.

We looked to go beyond the brief,designing a poster which linked our P for punch to domestic violence.We wanted to do this because it added context for our design.

Making our letterform

P final 3D model was to be based off Arial

It was crucial to consult the technicians beforehand so we knew what was possible

It was important to us that our 3D work really challenged us, pushing ourselves to trying new techniques and equipment.We deliberatly chose our final design with this in our minds.3D work is something i have very little experience in,this was a brilliant oppertunity for me to learn.

Part of this learning experience is gaining a understanding of the facilitys available to us.it was crucial to consult the technictions beforehand so we knew what was possible.

plan of our production before applying the sand sealer, we firstly created or letterfrom on adobe illustrator before printing it out on the lazer cutter. We then sanded down our design,before then applying the sand sealer

mistakes were made throughout the process,however making these mistakes is an important part of the learning process.

We are aware of where we could of done better and how we would rectify these mistakes in the future.

fin

During the production of our letterform we did encounter some difficulties,however we worked hard together to overcome these difficulties.I feel as a team we were very effcient.One particualr strength was our communication with each other.

Here we were considering how we can use lighting and positioning to add further connotation. We felt having the letterform falling backs adds a sense of vulnerability

Ligting was something that was very important to us.This is because it was important to achieve good tonal defination where the knuckles are.

Throughout the photoshoot we experimented with various light fixtures.

We decided we wanted to progress with this image as we felt it had the best tonel defination around the knuckles.This was really important in relating our letterform back to our word ‘punch’

Evaluation: P is for...

On reflection i feel we should of persued a wider range of ideas early on,creating mock ups and other test visualisations.However being focused on one final concept allowed us to create something of high quality.I think this focus was important considering our time constraints.Our design took us considerable time to produce therefore it would of been difficult to create mock ups of other design concepts.Overall i think our time management was strong.

I feel as a team me and Etty worked really well together, we communicated effectively and worked effciently.This project felt very much like a joint effort.I believe our good teamwork is really reflected on the quality of our final outcome.It was important to us that we really challenged ourselfs,i felt that we achieved this.3D work is something that we both have little experience or prior knowledge of, creating our letterform introduced us to new approaches and methods of working.As a result we both feel more comfortable working in the 3D workshops.

Patience was something that really tested us during the production,the process took considerable time.Therefore there was a temptation of taking shortcuts to speed up the production.Early on the process we both took small shortcuts to speed up the production however it soon became apparent to us that we couldnt compromise on quality therefore we had to redo certain elements i think this has taught both of us an important lesson.

“we communicated effectively and worked effciently�

Designing our postcard The next part of the brief asked us to produce an A6 postcard with our images.The poster had to contain a short description,linking our word back to graphic terminology.To create a link between a graphic term and our chosen word punh we started looking at the process of punch cutting.From this we created the following sentence.

(left) developmental working showing considered changes to our letterform after it was produced.i believe this highlights our continual reflection. thumbnail drawings also highlights our consideration for our layout.

“A punch was a tool traditionally used in the process of making moveable type.The punch was used to create the moulds from which the type was cast�

Final postcard design

A punch was a tool traditionally used in the process of making movable type.The punch was used to create the moulds from which the type was cast.

mapping the landscape a lexicon of urban typography

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This project was a collaboration between myself,Etty Flynn,Adam Hassen and Alexandros Kosmidis.

Our final outcome was a book titled ‘Looking Twice’

Looking twice is a complete alphabet collected from around the town of Poole, Dorset. Our Brief, initially entitled ‘Vernacular Letterforms: Mapping the landscape – a lexicon of urban typography’ encouraged us to collate an alphabet from the local environment. Our letterforms could either be abstract or literal, using signage from around the town.

Trip to Poole

Our group collectively decided to focus on abstract letterforms found within the environment. These abstract letterforms are drawn from found objects, architectural forms and obscure typographic structures.Collectivily we were focused on creating an aesthetically gritty alphabet, this focus concentrated our focus to more urban environments within Poole. Working in a group was very beneficial for this project as it allowed multiple creative inputs this is evident in the broad range of abstract typography that we collated for this project. Working collaboratively also introduced each other to different perspectives and ways of working which I believe is an important part of the learning experience. The brief has challenged our perception of our surrounding environment forcing us scrutinise it in greater detail. Typography is embedded everywhere in our environment. Our photographs were post produced on adobe photoshop with minimal editing as it was important for us to retain the authenticity of the original image. Our book was then produced on adobe indesign. The project has introduced us to new methods and processes. One of these processes is the binding method of French folding which was used to create our book.

Working collaboratively is very benificial as i we can really learn from each other.

photo credit: Etty Flynn

working collaboratively brought together our own individual approaches / ideas

photos The following contact sheets highlight a the selection process we undertook.This process was done collectively as a team.Discussion and open honest conversations were a important part of this process.I feel as a group we communicated effectively.

As a team we communicated effectively during both the photoshot and selection process, we collectively debated which photos we thought were most appropriate together.

left page. photos by Alex Kosmidis this page. photos by Adam Hassen

Photos by Etty Flynn

learning Adobe Indesign Before the starting the production of our book we completed several sessions aimed at improving our skills on adobe indesign.These sessions introduced basic tools and commands.

Notes from one of the sessions I participated in.The session was all about setting up a digital file correctly.The session also introduced the ‘package’ control,which allows designers to provide instructions for the printers.I found these sessions particulary helpful as i am almost completely new to the software.Despite still having much to learn I feel over this term i have made significant progress using this software.

Research

We sought exsisting photography magazines/publications for inspiration.The intention was to see how publications present lots of images.This research was useful,however I feel we dident fully uterlise our research In the end we decided to go with a simplistic pattern,contrasting a large image wiith a much smaller one.One critism is that this is perhaps an over simplification.On reflection perhaps we needed greater variety and contrast..

Foam magazine - a contempary photography magazine that was of particualr interest to me.The British journal of photography was another publication we looked at.

On reflection perhaps we needed greater variety with our layouts

print pages

French fold method print the pages on a single side,before using a lightbox and a bone crease to fold the pages in half

place pages into a lumbeck press tighten press release the upper section of the press Press the pages against the released sides of the lumbeck press.This is expose the pages to more glue.

apply archival PVA glue repeat this on the other side tighten press glue a strip of mull to the spine and leave to dry Apply the glue librally using at least 3 coats in total

cut the cover add a crease using archival PVA bind the pages and cover use a clamp to hold the pages whilst drying finally trim the book to the required size

Photo by Etty Flynn

Using archival pva glue,we then glued a piece of ‘mull’ (otherwise refered to as a cheesecloth) to the spine of our book.

Mistakes: what can we learn

Again we showed impatience trimming our book before we should of done.As a result our book is not finished to the highest standard.

We must learn from this mistake.Throughout the book we have since noticed smalls however these errors should not of been allowed in the final printed version.We need to take our time to ensure the highest quality finish.

Evaluation

Overal I believe this has been a very successful project.However mistakes were made throughout the process.Its important that I recognize these mistakes in order to prevent them in the future.

Working collaboratively was a particular strength of this project,during the Poole trip we communicated effectively agreeing on the same focus to look for abstracted letterforms within the environment.Having this focus allowed us to work more efficiently.Another area where we communicated effectively was during the production of the book.We all sat together during its design,we felt this was vital as we need to consult each others opinions.Disagreements were generally resolved through a vote.I think this really highlights the way in which we operated as a team.Visually i am very pleased with the images and the overal presentation of our book.However on reflection i would of liked to have much greater variety with our layouts.

The binding process was particulary problematic for us.We did not listen well enough to the instructions that led us to make a fundamental error,as a result our progress was put significantly back.We tried to catch up on lost time but cutting a corner,however this led us to make another significant error.

Its important in future that we follow the correct procedures,paying greater attention to the little details

The mistakes we made were easily avoidable

Still images from our planned stop motion animation of our book.

I feel reshoot our book in a studio environment on a white background.The final images with have could be improved further.

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workshops attended:

s att end Digit ed: a Riso l Letterp ress g Jape raph nese Bind ing

During this term we had the opportunity to attend 3 different workshops. It was important to me that

I picked workshops that interested me and could relate to my future practise.

Digital letterpress workshop

One day session experimenting using the computer programme known as LetterMPress,this software is free to download.

This free software has several advantages over traditional letterpress.The primary advantage is its accessability and ease of use.The software also create high resolution images ready to be further minipulated.

How will this inform my future work?

Now that i understand the basics of the software.My intention is to incourperate the software in my future projects.

One of my final outcomes from the session,this piece was created using several layers. scan of my original piece,as i couldnt find my original file.

Risograph printing

The brief was to create a response to a musical artist band.The imagery we used could not be already associated with the artist.

The process of risograph allows for only one colour to be printed at a time.The process also only allows for a limited colour palette.The image could be process digitally before being printed out.Its important to seperate your image into the varous colours.The machine burns the image onto a thermal plate before an ink drum is rolled over to give the image its color.

Japenese book binding

Fukuro toji Japanese Stab Binding The FUKURO TOJI is considered by many as the classic form of Japanese Bookbinding Below photograph - the finished book cover

The session introduced me to a new method of binding that i would seriously be interested in exploring in the future.The process is very accessable requiring little specialist equipment.Unlike the process of perfect binding which takes several hours to dry,Japense binding is a very fast process.

Mistakes How can i improve in the future?

I didnt retain enough tension in the binding,therefore there was some slack in the binding.Its critical that when i complete this process in the future,i must retain alot of tension.

Photo by Etty Flynn

I feel I engaged sufficiently with these workshops Its now my responsability to continue to pursue these skills in the future.

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lectures and seminars attended

lectu re atten s and sem ded: inars trans m notio edia n the p s of taste ower of pe rsuas ion

Transmedia

Monday 13th January 2014

This lecture explored the concept of transmedia and its application to various media and visual practises the lecture examined the ways in which transmedia could be appleid to enhance audience interaction and storytelling elements.

k

y 20th

Monda

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ry 201

Janua

Notions of taste,aesthetic judgement and consumer culture

This session explored how we respond to design giving value to certain things and not to others.

The session considered aesthetic judgement and how this judgement is influenced by consumer culture.

The session also disccused the relationship between luxury and style.

kitsch seminar

k The lecture also introduced the idea of kitsch design.The seminar introduced us to a collection of kitsch iteams from the MoDIP collection.This hands on session encouraged us to analyse the pieces,catorgorising them into various function ie novelty.The sessions aim was to get us to see beyond the superficial understanding why people appreciate kitsch design.

what is kitsch?

“art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way�

Propaganda lecture & seminar

Monday 27th January

This lecture investigated propaganda,looking at what it is and its purpose within society; persuasion,control,spin and minipulation.The lecture explored both contempary and historical examples.

The following seminar got us to further consider propaganda particulary getting us to think about the different kinds of propaganda in our society thinking about the purposes it fufills within our society.This session also got us to think about the different methods in which propaganda is created,making us present our concept for a piece of in front of the class.

Public speaking is something I need to engage more in order to improve my confidence.

Berlin Berlin independent study trip 2nd - 6th of February

Jewish memorial Berlin A place of cultural importance. The following photos were taken on a Cannon AV 1 on 35mm film

Here are the main locations we visited during our time in Berlin.

Hamburger Bahnhoff Kunsthaus Tacheles East Side Gallery Topography Of Terror

Several small independant art gallerys and bookshops Checkpoint Charlie Reischstag Brandenburg Gate Jewish Memorial Museum Island

Photographs taken at the Hamburger Bahnhoff.

Exploring Berlins backstreets was particualry rewarding.We found several backstreets full of the kind graffti that helps give Berlin so much character.Off these side streets we found several small independant art gallerys and book shops.

Berlin has a vibrant and eccentric edge

repressed history I believe has contributed to its flourishing modern culture.This vibrancy is perhaps part of a rejection against Berlin’s repressed past.

Hamburger Bahnhoff

A large contempary Art gallery in a former train station.The gallery used host to huge collection.This collection was vast and covered an extensive variety of mediums.This is this second time i have now attended this gallery.

The main hall - host to Susan Philipsz fantastic ‘ part file score’ exhibition.This show immersed the audience in sound.The hall contained 24 speakers each of them omitting a different instrumental sound,when listened to collectively these sounds made a song.What was most engaging with this piece is the complete change in atmosphere when you move around the space.

Topography of terror

One of the most significant places of rememberance in Berlin,Topography of Terror is a museum located at the former headquarters of the SS during the Third Reich.The museum documents the atrocaties of the Nazi party.

Significance to the trip?

History is immensely significant to every culture.Understanding Berlins past is essentially in order to fully understand Berlin today.

ers y fl f o n o i t c e A sel from Berlin

East side gallery

for the love of graphics A one day exibition that aimed to explore our love of graphics through a spectacular display of graphic artefacts.The collection was collated and curated by first year Graphic design students.

The exibition aimed to investigate and explore what we love and cherish about Graphic design.

Review of the exhibiton

Overal my peers who organised the exhibition did a good job with organising everything.However we didnt publicise the event enough, resulting in a limited audience throughout the day.

Items I contributed for the exhibition

Collection of unusual matchstick boxes (2014) These boxes would generally be considered bad taste by many (kitschtacky) I really like how unusual and quirky these box designs are,to me they represent how bizarre design can be.

Typography:When Who How (first published in 1998) by Friedl,F . Ott,N. Stein,B A comprehensive visual history of Typography- my favourite area within graphic design.The book contains over 2000 illustrations from over 700 influential designers and design movements.

Evaluation of my involvement Overal i feel i offered very little to the overal exhibition.I believe i should of been far more forthcoming in offering my support for the exhibition,perhaps offering with the overal promotion of the event.

In hindsight i feel there should of been much more empathasis on the promotion of the event.I believe having a cross media strategy would of helped.In future i need to show less reluctance in getting involved with the rest of the class,pushing myself out of my friendship groups.

*

I should of been more forthcoming with offering my support

5 chapter

Reading resources / Learning about type

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Resources covered: Thinking with type Ellen Lupton

Typography workbook Timothy Samara

Thinking with type: a critical guide for editors and students

Anatomy of type /

please also refer to the notes on the previous page

sans serif

serif font

Distinguishable because the typeface does not have the small projecting features refered to as ‘serifs’

cap height x height

baseline

Right:Adobe Garamond Pro Left:Gill Sans MT Pro

This typeface features serifs (more noticable in the its uppercase form)

Ra stem

bowl

changing type

Humanist letterforms are more organic-resembling calligraphy closer.Transitional and modern typefaces are less organic and more mechanised,one distinct feature is their more exagerated and and abstracted serifs - greater contrast between the thick and thin strokes.

Aa Gill Sans

Humanist sans serif

(protruding lower section of the a)

Type classification further notes from; Thinking with type:a critical guide for editors and students

Aa Aa Baskerville old face Transitional

Bodoni Modern

This is considered bad design because it breaks up the visual flow of the text,by taking the opening chunk out.

6 “5

Bad practise

Good practise: hanging quotation marks

“creates a clean edge by pushing the quotation marks into the margin”

Notes from: Typography workbook

serif structures

Further notes regarding the classification of typography.Other important considerations i.e the weight and posture of typography

leading and kerning

The spacing of letters in words,sentences and paragraphs is vital to create good visual flow and rhythm for the reader.

a p s Key Terms: Leading

verticle space between the lines of text

Kerning

the horizontal space between opposite letters

Developing hierarchy

s e c what is hierarchy?

One of a designers fundamental roles is helping a viewer understand content in a way that makes sense and is effcient.

Achieving hieracy is vital for making the information clear and easily accessable.

a system in which members of an organization or society are ranked according to relative status or authority.

space and scale are important factors for establishing hierachy

Irregular spacing can still be used to produce rythem.Irregular spacing can also be used to add semiotic context.

methods for achieving hieracy captions tabular hierarchies lists categorisation

“The benefits of working with a grid are simple: clarity efficency,economy and continuity.Before anything else a grid introduces systematic order to a layout.A grid helps distinguish specific types of information and eases a user’s navigation through them.”

The typographic grid

* Opposite page: p.66.Typography workbookk

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Building my portfolio / Personal development

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my behance portfolio evaluation of my term

*

Visit my blog here: https://www.behance.net/JamesRMarshall

Behance portfolio

Throughout this term i have been continuing to upload my work onto my behance account.Behance has provided me with a platform where i can receive feedback.The site has also enabled me to begin networking.

Above screenshot: My behance main page showing all of my projects.I have not only uploaded briefs from the university.I have also uploaded self initiated briefs as well as other creative interests.

*

I need to be less passive / more active I need to begin to take a less passive approach to networking,its important that I actively seek to get my work viewed by people outside of the classroom. Entering competition briefs is just one way i can achieve this.

self initiated brief over Easter Over the Easter break i intend to create a digital zine from my time in Berlin.The zine will blend the pictures with text of my experiences there.I will look to create this zine on Indesign before uploading the file onto ISSUU. By using Indesign i am hoping to continue to become more confident on the software.

Evaluation

Overal I am very pleased about how this term has progressed for me.I have really enjoyed working collaboratively on these projects.I feel i communicated well within the group the greater test will be when im working with people outside of my friendship group.Its important that I look to work with people I dont know.

Research is one area I must engage more with,in particualr it’s documentation.The essay has helped with my academic study skills significantly.I now feel more comfortable accessing the library resources.I feel I am more competent searching the library for relevant material.One area I feel I have made significant progress in is my confidence within the class, as this increases I am becoming less reluctant to fully engage with lectures and tutorials.

Its vital that next term I engage fully with the public speaking element,i need to develop my ability to articulate a message confidently.

Over this term I believe I have made significant progress

Making this book Optimal line length is considered to be 50-60 characters long.

The above diagrams highlight some of the design considerations made whilst making this book.

2: g Unit l thinkin a by Visu uced rshall Prod a es M Jam king Thin AUB :Visual 2 Unit