Aspiration Magazine - Issue 01

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ASPIRATION A Magazine for Creatives

issue 01 / 2016




Š 2016 Lina Than All rights reserved. I worked hard on this publication. No parts may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any way shape or form without the editors’ knowledge. This includes photocopying, PDF-sharing, or any other electronic or mechanical methods that is possible and will become possible. A lot of work went into this publication and to keep people happy, please kindly acknowledge copyright laws. aspirationmag@gmail.com Designed with love and blood for a senior thesis project by Lina Than


AS·PI·RA·TION [as-puh-rey-shuh n] noun 01 a strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition: intellectual aspirations 02 a goal or objective that is strongly desired




EDITOR & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

LET’S CHAT

LINA THAN

aspirationmag@gmail.com

Aspiration Magazine may be a one (wo)man show but it doesn’t have to be. Send in your comments and ideas to help us grow into something even better. I’d like to point out before it starts to get repetitive and “all up in your face,” that content written and created for this magazine was all done so by the editor. With the exception of the designer profiles, where I feature the artists’ work, I give a sincere and grateful “thank you” to those who participated.

FIND US ONLINE twitter/ @aspirationmag insta/ @aspirationmag

SPECIAL THANKS While I spent a lot of time and energy on this publication, I owe a lot to some awesome people who kept the dream alive and going. Their criticism and words of encouragement throughout the creation of this magazine (nay, the four years of college) is what kept me motivated. To the faculty members of York College of Pennsylvania’s Art Department, thank you for giving me a strong understanding of design and fine art and showing me what it takes to be a creative.


EDITOR’S WORDS The beginnings of Aspiration My reason for proposing Aspiration Magazine to my colleagues as a senior thesis was purely selfish. I couldn’t imagine spending months on end working on anything else but this. This idea that had been brewing inside me for ages is finally (going to be) in print and there are no other words but ones that don’t exist that can begin to describe how I’ll forever feel in this moment. Before we get too far into this, I’d like to express my sincerest thanks to those who have helped me work through it all. From my parents, who encouraged me to be the creative I am, to friends who keep the inspiration going, and professors who are just as passionate about this as I am; thank you. Aspiration is defined as a strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition, goal or objective. Growing up I was always the dreamer. I wanted to be good, I wanted to be great in so many different ways, but as I grew up I began to realize how much harder that was. The dreamer changed into a realist before I even hit high school and my life at that point was a mess. I struggled with who I was as a person, who I wanted to be, what I was expected to be, and so much more that eventually I shut down. I know I am not the first to feel this way and I certainly won’t be the last, which is why and how this magazine came to be. The main goal of Aspiration Magazine is to inspire others to not lose sight of their objective. This magazine focuses on the desire to explore the world, appreciate what life has to offer, expand your taste, and just aspire to be greater than you could ever imagine being. We’re not afraid of being irrelevant or even cliché but instead hope to provide some light to the world we are forced to live in. A magazine for the bold, it’s filled with good vibes, thought-provoking ideas, and a whole lot of love. The real goal of Aspiration Magazine is for me to finally fulfill one of mine, and that is to create a magazine that is just damn beautiful.Throughout my (short) life journey I’ve somehow found my way back on a path that feels right. While becoming this “realist,” I never lost sight of my aspirations. I learned a lot about myself; what I like, what I don’t like, my style, personality, what I’m good at, what still needs work. Instead of being clouded with the dreamer mentality, I’ve built a path that I can’t wait to further explore.

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CONTENTS 05 Welcome 09 Introduction

10 EXPLORE

12 Styles of Letters 16 The Science of Type 22 A Study of Your Handwriting 26 A New Take on Letterpress 30 Designer Profiles

24 APPRECIATE

44 EXPAND

Peter Maria Shannon O’Dell Cody Bannon Rebecca Shaffer Gabrielle Sullivan Chelsea Monico

46 Tools of the Trade 50 Abecedary: A Freshman Guide to Fonts 56 How to Overcome Creative Blocks 60 Thank You 64 What’s Next



INTRODUCTION What letters mean Even the most inconspicuous things have the power to inspire us in big ways. We take inspiration from everything we see, whether it’s once in a blue moon or we glance upon it everyday without consciously knowing. We absorb what comes our way (some more than others) and with that – it becomes the driving force to who we are as creators. Family car rides consisted of my dad driving, mother asleep in the backseat with two bickering boys on either side of her, and me – the youngest of the family, in the passenger seat road map in hand in charge of directions. I seemed to be the only one with an attention span large enough to pay attention and quick enough to memorize street names. While everyone else was playing their video games and/or sleeping, I’d be staring out the window not watching the landscape roll by but studying every single letter we passed. From license plates, to billboards, graffiti, store signs, and house numbers – I took it all in. I recognized form, began to realize what looked good and what was ugly. I was immersed in a world with letters all around me, and it felt like I was the only one who could read it for more than what it said. Before we get any further, I have to apologize for taking such a beautiful and wonderful topic – that is so vast and open, that means something different to everyone and anyone, and just lumping it all into one and calling it “letters.” Coming up with a topic for this first issue of Aspiration Magazine I knew I had to focus on an aspect of letters; letters meaning typography, hand lettering, calligraphy, words, letterpress, poetry, etc. Everything my world is made of. Trying to define “letters” to narrow down for this magazine was hard, and whether I’ve done it justice or not, I don’t even know. What I do know is that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if I cover every single topic of letters, dissecting it till I grow sick of it (let’s be honest – I doubt that will ever happen,) letters has so many different meanings and to each person it continues to mean something completely different. It’s how you tell a story. It’s how you evoke emotion. It’s how you express your art. It’s how I make a magazine that I want to make. This first issue of Aspiration Magazine isn’t going to tell you how to letter, or handle type, what style is the best, or what you’re doing is wrong. No. This issue is here to show you what is out there. It’s not extensive by any means but it’s here to start something. For you to come up with a different way to approach things, maybe even a new idea to run with. We’ve learned what letters are once already – I don’t need to tell you again.Taught and reminded of it almost everyday since we were young kids, it’s become ingrained in us. But as designers and artists – creatives, we are able to step back and use what everyone knows and create something more. Aspire to make your own letters everyday.

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EX¡PLORE [ik-splawr, -splohr] verb 01 to traverse or range over for the purpose of discovery 02 to look into closely; scrutinize; examine: Let us explore the possibilities for improvement 03 to investigate into


ST YLES OF LETTERS A collection of lettering


I chose the topic of “letters” for the first issue of Aspiration Magazine because I am constantly stunned and amazed at the creative lettering that comes out of people. You have the beautiful calligraphy of Seb Lester, the flourish galore of Louise Fili, the handlettering of Ken Barber, and brush lettering extraordinaire of almost everyone on Instagram. The possibilities of what you can try are endless and there is always room for improvement. Pictured are snapshots of works from Lina Thans’, (a.k.a me, a hand lettering wannabe) sketchbook. Someone who just wants to try it all.

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Noon like a naked sword lies on the grass, Heavy with gold, and Time itself doth drowse; The little stream, too indolent to pass, Loiters below the cloudy willow boughs, That build amid the glare a shadowy house, And with a Paradisal freshness brims Amid cool-rooted reeds with glossy blade; The antic water-fly above it skims, And cows stand shadow-like in the green shade, Or knee-deep in the grassy glimmer wade.


The earth in golden slumber dreaming lies, Idly abloom, and nothing sings or moves, Nor bird, nor bee; and even the butterflies, Languid with noon, forget their painted loves, Nor hath the woodland any talk of doves. Only at times a little breeze will stir, And send a ripple o’er the sleeping stream, Or run its fingers through the willows’ hair, And sway the rushes momently agleam Then all fall back again into a dream.



THE SCIENCE OF T YPE How do people respond to words?

How do you go about picking a font to use? You go with your gut instincts, right? You know what looks good, the emotion you want to evoke, you create pages of typestudies with slight variations to compare and contrast, you’ve read through multiple articles on which font is the best, and somehow we were all born with varying degrees of hatred towards comic sans. But why does something look good vs. bad? There’s an element of science behind why we feel a certain way toward type and observation and studies have been done to show us that it’s not just about what “feels” right, but what is scientifically proven to “be” right.

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HOW WE READ// The science of type starts with understanding how we read. There are three theories on how we recognize words that have been popularized throughout time. What is currently the most popular theory, and what we follow today has been known for over a 100 years and that is, that when we read, our eyes don’t move smoothly across the page but rather jumps from one word to another. This pattern our eyes follow is called a Scan Path. A Scan Path is made up of scans (saccades) and pauses (fixations). During each jump your eye makes, everything is blurred. Each jump then ends in a small pause that gives the brain the time to process the letters, arranging them into words and then determining their meaning. All of this happens in and around a quarter of a second. As you are scanning a sentence, there is nothing useful being processed in the brain. During this, you are just waiting for that pause moment where you then begin to gather the information from the scan.Your eyes typically move across a page for 7 to 9 letters before needing to pause to process the reading, but your eyes are able to scan roughly 15 letters at all times. Within the three zones of visual identification, this is how you are able to be constantly scanning and pausing while being able to predict what comes next along with following patterns. When someone is telling you to design for legibility and readability, what you are really designing for is saccades and fixations.This is designing copy to make it easier for people’s brain to extract meaning, to understand more in a less amount of time.You do this by using a font with good contrast, picking out the optimal size, understanding space and structure, and only interrupting the reader deliberately and when necessary.This is why it’s important to understand the way we read when we are designing how words look. You can directly impact someone’s connection to your writing just by choosing the right font, line length, character spacing, etc.


WORDS HOLD POWER What’s science without proven results? A study done by psychologist Kevin Larson of Microsoft and Rosalind Picard of MIT has found how font and layout effect our emotions. In their research titled “The Aesthetics of Reading,” there were two groups that were given a one-page document to read. Group one was given a poorly designed document while group two was given a well-designed document. The study showed that readers reading the poorly designed article felt bad while reading the layout, sometimes even expressing their emotion with a physical frown. The muscle that produces frown is actually linked to the amygdala, which is a part of your brain that is responsible for processing emotion. Group two was found to have a higher cognitive focus and a stronger sense of clarity. While the study concluded that the well-designed reading environment doesn’t necessarily help you understand the content any better than the poorly designed layout, it does have a positive effect on your emotions. Good typography doesn’t help people comprehend better, or much in variation in speed, there still is a strong correlation in mood. The people who read the version of the well-designed layout thought that it took them less time to read and were then so induced into a good mood by thinking so. Another experiment done by university student Phil Renaud does a good job at showcasing the correlation between type and emotion. Over the course of six semesters, Renaud wrote 52 essays for his class earning him an overall grade of an A-. The catch: towards the end of his last semester, Renaud’s average essay score began climbing. He stated that there was no change in amount of effort put into the writings, if anything he spent less time with them than he did at the beginning of his study.What did change though, was his essay font. Three times to be precise. Taking a look back at his essay scores and the different typefaces he used when he submitted his work, his papers were handed to his professors in three different fonts; Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, and Georgia. Times New Roman got him an average score of A-, Trebuchet MS got him an average of B-, and Georgia an average grade of A. So why did Georgia perform better than the others? Renaud concluded that professors review multiple essays at a time and Times New Roman seems to be the norm in formatting. Almost like they’re expecting it, it doesn’t set off any subconscious triggers. Georgia is similar enough to Times New Roman to retain its academic feel, but yet is different enough to offer some sort of relief to the professor whose drowning in Times New Roman. Trebuchet is a negative trigger to the professors, based on the fact that it’s not as easy to read and comes off as more of a blog type choice rather than an academic journal. These observations go hand in hand with the study done at

Carnegie Mellon, which placed Times New Roman against Georgia. Participates in the study preferred Georgia over Times New Roman, saying Georgia to be “sharper, more pleasing and easier to read.” Multiple studies have been tested, and they’ve all concluded with no definite answer to what is better than what. Type is subjective, but what we do understand enough of is the patterns in readers to help make better choices when it comes to choosing type. DESIGN BETTER CONTENT Now it’s time to take what we know and make something better out of it. Paul Claudel, a French poet once said, “The secret of type is that it speaks.” Not in the words it is saying but in the emotion and feeling it evokes. Fonts have a deep link in culture. Designed by humans, there tends to always be some meaning attached to fonts that have been assigned by humans. You want to make sure you choose fonts that don’t stray to far from the culture you want to express. Understand the typographic commandments that have been put out there and use them. They are there for a reason. Understand how we read to be most effective in helping readers move through their Scan Path. If a line length is too short, the rhythm breaks because their eyes have to travel back to the left of the page to often. If it’s too long, it makes it hard to find where lines start and end. Believe it or not, your subconscious mind gets a boost of energy when you jump to a new line. Just as long as it doesn’t happen to often and it’s important to remember that this energy diminishes over the duration of the line. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to try new things. Accept that while there are rules you have to follow – you make the final judgment on whether it should be followed through and to what degree. Things change as technology grows and advances. What once was a cultural norm can change to adapt to the future. Don’t be afraid to go bigger in font size. 10pt is optimal for print and 16pt optional in digital. Research has shown that it may be time to go bigger. Some websites have hit the 20pt mark for their body copy, because the technology allows for it. We’ve come a long way in understanding the application of type. With every tap on the keyboard, hundred of years of history have been in the making. Starting with pictographs and illuminated manuscripts, to Gutenberg’s press, typewriters, computers, and cellphones. Type has always evolved in a way to benefit humans so it’s about time to understand how humans respond to words. It’s a science, really.

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A STUDY OF YOUR

HAND-

We were taught to write a specific way when we were youngins’, but it’s clear that no one continues to write that exact same way anymore. Everyone’s handwriting looks different. Our own personalities affect the way our handwriting develops after we were taught to write.This is because handwriting is the pattern of our psychology expressed in symbols on the page and these symbols are as unique as our very own DNA. As soon as someone can write, he or she gradually alters the shapes and sizes of letters in accordance with their own individual likes, dislikes, and general preferences. The study of handwriting is called graphology, the practice of analyzing handwriting to reveal certain personality traits in the writer. What kind of traits you may wonder? Graphology can tell you about how you organize your life, how you feel about yourself, even what motivates you. Handwriting leaves visual cues that indicate your mood and temperament. To figure it out, you can study the spacing of your words, pressure, slant, and even how letters are formed. Handwritings can encompass multiple traits at a time, because we as human beings are complicated people. Just like how your personality changes, your handwriting can evolve along with it. Before diving into the study of your handwriting, it’s important to take into consideration that Graphology has its limitations and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Graphology gives you a snapshot of your mood and mental disposition for only that day and moment of pen to paper. Not to mention it is considered a pseudoscience. At best, correlations found are just informed guesses. It’s just fun to find, don’t use them to judge job applicants or alter friendships, unless of course you’re in Europe. They often tend to have a persons writing analyzed as a hiring tactic. While this is the case, you should never trust anyone who claims they can tell a criminal from their handwriting because, newsflash, it’s not possible. These accusations can cause unjustified harm to the victims. With that being said, graphology is valid in that we can imagine what “energetic” looks like or even “careless.” We know that no single handwriting feature proves anything absolute by itself; a single feature can only identify a trend. It is the combination of features and interaction between them that enables a more full and clear interpretation.


WRITING IF YOUR HANDWRITING SLANTS... TO THE RIGHT: This indicates a person who is outgoing, friendly, and emotionally open.You like to socialize with other people and can be seen as impulsive. TO THE LEFT: You show introspection and reserve - a lot of emotional control.You generally like to work alone or behind the scene. NOT AT ALL: Upright handwriting indicates independence.You tend to be logical and practical. Someone who is ruled by the head not the heart.

IF THE SIZE OF YOUR LETTER IS... LARGE: You have a big personality.You are most likely an extrovert with an outgoing personality. SMALL: The hallmark of quiet, introspective types. They are generally detail-orientated with good concentration. AVERAGE: You are well adjusted and adaptable

IF YOUR LOOPS ARE... CLOSED: You might be a little tense. This means you are restricting yourself in some way.You tend to be skeptical and unswayed by emotional arguments. FULL: Spontaneous and relaxed, you find it easy to express yourself.You have a vivid imagination and a tendency to exaggerate your stories.You spend a lot of time coming up with contingency plans for the upcoming apocalypse, and you find yourself almost never bored.

IF YOUR S’S ARE... ROUND: You are a people pleaser and seek compromise over confrontation.You’d make an excellent diplomat and you’re great in relationships. POINTY: Intellectually probing, you like to study new things. The higher and pointer the peaks, the more ambitious you are.You’re the sort of person that thinks abandoned houses and mysterious waterfalls are “interesting” and “fun.” Also known as the person who dies first in horror movies. COMBINATION OF PRINT & CURSIVE: Flexible, efficient, and adaptable when you were a kid and people asked what you wanted to be, you were never quite sure.

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AP·PRE·CI·ATE [uh-pree-shee-eyt] verb 01 to be grateful or thankful for 02 to value or regard highly; place a high estimate on 03 to be fully conscious of; be aware of; detect 04 to raise in value



A NEW TAKE ON LETTERPRESS Is letterpress the new hand lettering? What’s old will always find its way to being new again. It’s a cycle of recycling ideas and tradition – building upon what was there before. Making it new and interesting for the “millennials” and generations beyond that to understand and comprehend, hoping they continue to spread the ideas, putting in their own creative input. You see it with fashion, literature, video games, etc. Nothing stays gone for too long. Is it time for letterpress to shine? All photographs taken at Catch and Release Press. Located in Marketview Arts, York College student galleries, studios, and letterpress shop.


What even is letterpress? Asking around, those who work in the creative field will say, “it’s a process of printing from a hard, raised image under pressure, using ink. It was the beginning of mass communication and what jumpstarted, whether you know it or not, a lot of what we have today.” Asking someone who isn’t in the field, I got an answer similar to “it presses letters into paper? By a machine, I think.” People know what letterpress is, people know what the traditional format of what letterpress is but what is letterpress now? It’s an art. We no longer have to worry about mass production of bibles, posters, and signs because it can all be done digitally. But what can’t be done digitally is what letterpress has to offer. Still fairly recently we’ve been bombarded with hand lettering. From crazy funky one of a kind to carefully thought out calligraphy. Penmanship is back on the rise. What’s the appeal of this? You can create fonts out of your handwriting and mass production – boom! The appeal is in the hand. We’ve come so far in the world of technology where we have a collection of fonts in our pockets, that people in this day and age can say they’ve gone weeks without ever picking up a pencil. Digital type, while still ever growing, doesn’t translate what the hand has to offer the same way. This goes the same with letterpress. It’s fascinating watching kids, both young and old, come into Catch and Release Press, located in York, PA. Run by Troy Patterson, a graphic design professor at York College of Pennsylvania, he started this studio


to not only work on his own skill but to share it with the public. Here they stand, 8 years old, 10 years old barely the size of the machines and they’re pulling levers and checking proofs. They’re asking questions and they look kind of weary. “What’s the point of this?” Every once in awhile we’ll get asked. We tell them to pull the lever and wait and see, they pick the paper up and their eyes light up. “How did it do that?” We briefly explain how we set up the type, the process it takes to get all these letters in and once it’s set, it’s set. It’s good to be printed however many times you want. You aren’t ever sure if they get it or not, the real impact letterpress had on the world but just for a minute they were apart of the history. Kids aren’t thinking of how you can make money off this stuff, profit means nothing to them (yet). They are just amazed at the outcome and that’s enough for them. It’s the adults that always ask, “So what do you do with this stuff when you’re done?” I can see the little light in their eyes like they know the secret. This is where the money is. Greeting cards, wedding invitations, business cards – all these print mediums that will pay a lot for something “handmade.” Technology may be moving fast and sooner or later 3D printers will be readily available everywhere. What makes letterpress stand out, and continue to last this long is the sincerity behind it. Someone punched those letters, they were designed and casted with time and energy. The imperfection of the ink on paper shows you that while you can mass-produce something, there’s still going to be personality behind it.



DESIGNER PROFILES Students of York College of Pennsylvania There are many talented people who share different values, ideas, and perspectives that surround us. “Designer Profiles” is a series meant to shine a light on some of these ideas from creatives alike. Illustrators, printmakers, digital artists, etc., when asked the same questions, how do answers compare? Told to answer however they please; long answers, short answers, funny ones, go deep with it, or not. The varying degrees of these artists personality start to show through within a few questions. The talented artists featured in this issue are all on the brink of graduating from York College of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design. By the time this issue is published, these “students” will be out in the real world disguising themselves as adults. Continue on to read what they have to say about what “inspiration” means to them, where they find it, and how they want to be remembered. Interviewed by Lina Than. Artwork by Featured Artist. Quote and name designed by Lina Than. The quote and name is not meant to interfere, change, or modify the original artwork by the artist. It is just an aesthetically pleasing way to lay the information out. I highly suggest you go and check out the artists work.

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“Digital Vector Illustration made for DC band Stand Off ” be.net/peterxmariaart


WHO ARE YOU? Hello, My name is Peter Anthony Maria. I’m 21 years old. WHAT DO YOU DO? To put it as technically as possible, I design graphic images to be used for various reasons, by means of analogous illustration and digital software. WHEN DID YOU START DOING WHAT YOU DO? I’ve definitely been drawing ever since I was a kid. I was introduced to visual image software around 2011 and it really went off from there. After spending the rest of high school learning/goofing off with the “art” I was making, it came to me about halfway through my 3rd semester that College is most definitely not high school. It isn’t something you should just run through and get over with without taking anything away but memories of annoying things you had to do. I realized that I should get a lot more serious about this field of work, and started to really develop a personal style and solid method of working. WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? I got into this career because I really liked making art growing up and really found no area of expertise worth devoting my very short lifespan to. This field is extremely vast and doesn’t seem to have an end to how interesting it can get. A huge benefit from being in this field is having a bridge of communication between other people who you may not really relate to otherwise. I’ve unintentionally used this tool to meet dozens of new people over the past two years, some of which I can call close friends, so I’m really happy to have made it this far. WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? If I could design and fill a building with everything that inspires me, it’d have a decent size picture book/comic library, a home theater full of movies, a recreation room full of video games, a massive art gallery, and lastly, a massive room of vinyl records and cassette tapes. An inspiration that I wouldn’t be able to keep in a building is people. Almost everyone I have interactions with is an inspiration, some have qualities that I strive to be more like, and others are an example of mistakes I should avoid. WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION? I usually find what I’m looking for by either using the internet or going to libraries, but sometimes I just get an idea, seemingly out of nowhere and its perfect for what I’m trying to do. I am blessed/cursed with a very fast train of thought. It’s a long complicated chain of association that almost always works in my favor for the work I do. WHAT DO YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR ART? I really just wanna meet more people with similar interests to mine and get the opportunity to travel somehow, making money does not hurt a single bit though. I find true personal enjoyment in making art I think is cool, but making art for people that can use it to make some kind of difference is a whole other level of satisfaction. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FONT AND WHY? I’m going to admit that I haven’t been into typography for very long. To this day I just don’t feel the same way about it as I do with illustration work. When I see a drawing, an assessment of quality and interest is almost immediately made. With type and letters, that assessment doesn’t really necessarily take place as easily, if at all. I can recognize fonts now when I see

them, and a lot of them do interest me, but not as much as any drawing. So I guess all I have to say is that my favorite font is the “right font” for whatever I am working on at the time. I will tell you to put on 2001 Space Odyssey and fast forward to 1:24:09 for some very cool use of Futura Bold though. BIGGEST OPPOSING FORCE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY SO FAR? I have yet to come across a real block I would call that significant. I guess a force that will be a nuisance in the future is the drive to go out and get work with people I don’t know after school is over. The reverse of someone contacting me for work is somewhat daunting, and will most definitely be a challenge. WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK? I try and take on all the work I get offered to do, I still don’t have a narrowed down and specific look to the artwork I make, so making a multitude of different styles helps to keep ideas fresh as often as possible. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? I just finished the demo artwork for a friends band called “Killing Machine”. They sound like a mixture of the CroMags and Raw Deal, so the real classic stuff that gets you moshing and grooving all over the room. I drew this large sabertooth cat stalking towards the viewer after slaying a human adversary on a mountain. IF YOU HAD TO START OVER, WOULD YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH IN YOUR CAREER? If I had to start over I would immediately start learning how to play guitar, its a major regret of mine that I didn’t learn how to play an instrument really well as a teenager or start any bands at all. I don’t know how successful this hypothetical band would be but everyone knows that if you’re a successful musician that becomes an artist, whatever you make is automatically gonna have a cool aspect associated with it from the start. Just look at Daniel Johnston. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? DOES THIS COLOR DESCRIBE YOU AS A PERSON? My favorite colors probably black, it tends to look nice with basically anything. I’ve never thought about how a single color could describe me, but if you asked me I can think of colors to describe other people, if that makes any sense at all. HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? To be remembered in a culture or community I have devoted my time to would be the most I could ask for, but its not exactly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. A cool idea is to be one of many artists in someone’s reference folder on their computer. An artist that had a decent size body of work that someone like me would save and look at from time to time, or let it inspire my work on some scale. An example being Kevin Crowley, the singer of the band The Abused. A lyrical genius and stipple-shading master, he made almost every show flyer for his band and definitely spent way more time than he should on have on each one. To be remembered in a way similar to that would be really great, but it’s not exactly up to me in the end.

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“Self Promo Book Cover” be.net/ShannonJODell


WHO ARE YOU? I am Gertrude’s granddaughter, Teri’s daughter, and Sharla’s sister… I am Shannon. I make things. I especially like to make things to give to other people. I like books, paper, pens, and a lot of them. Good pens. It has taken me awhile to accept and allow myself to be a creative person, stepping out of my comfort zone and being who I have always wanted to be. I like words and have always enjoyed drawing letters and fine-tuning my handwriting. I am an artist, a designer - a designer with a good sense of humor. WHAT DO YOU DO? I like to draw words. I make books and I have found in the book making process that I really enjoy the process of cutting paper just right to fit into the books. I like inky stuff like letterpress. WHEN DID YOU START DOING WHAT YOU DO? Hmmm I have always had an affinity towards writing letters. I’d sit and write my name over and over and over. Pens and paper were my thing. I went into the Navy and spent 20 years working with logistics and accounting.YUCK. I started taking college classes for art history back in about 2003 in Portsmouth,Virginia. The Tidewater Community College has their own art school, which is located in Portsmouth; they even have their own glass blowing studio! I took as many classes as I was able, that did not conflict with my work schedule. Eventually I got to the point that I wasn’t able to go anymore because the classes I needed were only offered during the day while I was at work. The dream had to be put on a shelf for a while until I finished my time in the Navy. When I retired, through happenstance I found myself back in York, Pa and applying to the Graphic Design program. In 2013 I was accepted and feel like I have finally found “my people.” WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? Because I have to. Because I know what I don’t want to do anymore in life. Because I have waited so long to be able to do it. WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? My inspiration throughout my whole life has never changed; it is and always will be the love of my family. WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION? My family, my fiancé Brent, my dog Weezie I especially like to talk my ideas out with them… even Weezie! I have been so lucky to have found some very talented and inspiring friends throughout my life. Especially my core group of creative friends right now. I ask them a lot of questions and I value their opinion. It takes a village to raise a graphic designer. WHAT DO YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR ART? I just want to make things that make people laugh. Things that make people happy.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FONT AND WHY? Oh I love Archer. It’s “ma boo”. I like slabby serifs and I probably fell in love with it (unknowingly) with the Martha Stewart Living magazine. So if I were to set type based on my taste I would go to Archer first because I like serifs on my set type. Also I like the slightly vintage look of it and to me it doesn’t feel as modern as a sans serif. I also admire the use in some of the letters of the ball serif; to me it’s a subtle artistic touch to an otherwise very geometric typeface. There are also no drastic thick and thins, the consistency of the typeface appeals to me. :) BIGGEST OPPOSING FORCE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY SO FAR? Working for 21 years in a very anti creative force. WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK? I am a big collector of ephemera; I look to the past on a big level to influence my creativity. Collaborations with other artists and stepping outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis tend to keep me on my toes. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? Wellllll I am currently working on my Senior Design Project, a manifesto of sorts. I am working on Publication design and trying not to lose my crap over web design. Thank goodness I have friends who are gracious enough to help. Personally I have tabled a few projects for now but I am anxious to get back into the Letterpress studio to get my fingers inky again. IF YOU HAD TO START OVER, WOULD YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH IN YOUR CAREER? This is a tricky question. If I had it to do over again with the knowledge that I have now I would have made a few different choices. But for me at the time I chose the military it was what I needed. I needed the structure desperately. I needed to be taken away from home to be able to find myself as an independent woman. I had to be shown what I didn’t want out of life to really be able pursue passionately what I wanted. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? DOES THIS COLOR DESCRIBE YOU AS A PERSON? I like colors that reflect different hues of the ocean. I think it does a fairly good job of describing me in that although I may change my shade, I am still made up of the same material. HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? As someone who loved her family and friends fiercely, did her best to make others laugh, and didn’t take a lot of shit. Thankful to God for giving me second chances.


“3 Hole File” - Senior Project Print behance.net/cnbannon


WHO ARE YOU? An experimenter; I like to jump right into trying new things. WHAT DO YOU DO? My biggest interests are printmaking and letterpress, as well as well-handled typography. WHEN DID YOU START DOING WHAT YOU DO? In high school I carved my first linoleum block and I’ve had an itch to print ever since. Therefore, my senior project reflects my love for experimenting and printmaking together. WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? I like the idea of printing with found objects and I wanted to incorporate my hobby of working on cars with my artwork. WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? Photography and other printmakers’ work WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION? Behance, Instagram, Pinterest WHAT DO YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR ART? To give an audience a view of things they may not otherwise see that lies within the engine of their own car. Showing the beautiful forms that make up intricate parts that I got to see hands on from working on cars. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FONT AND WHY? It’s a tough decision, but I currently favor the typeface Intro because its variety of 26 weights to choose from and the broad spectrum it entails is pretty clutch for a number of tones you might use it for. BIGGEST OPPOSING FORCE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY SO FAR? Convincing my mom that I did not want to go into the medical field just because “people will always be sick or need medical care.” (Side note: nurses/practitioners are some of the most miserable people and I did not want to be one of them). WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK? Keep questioning myself if my work can go further, what else can I do, how else can I put my ideas out there? WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? The senior design project of creating a book based on my interest with printing car parts. I am layering translucent vellum and opaque paper with cropped prints on them to showcase the parts interacting with each other. IF YOU HAD TO START OVER, WOULD YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH IN YOUR CAREER? If it meant that I could go through my day without criticizing design work, yes- wait who am I kidding, no that is the best part. However, I would have liked to add a minor in marketing if I could start over. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? DOES THIS COLOR DESCRIBE YOU AS A PERSON? If I had to choose, maroon would be my favorite color because it is the right amount of bold and classiness all wrapped into one. HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? I want to be remembered for making/giving a new outlook on things that may not otherwise be seen for their beauty and more for their industrial purpose.

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“The Gold-Rich King” be.net/Rebecca_S


WHO ARE YOU? Currently, in the start of my professional career I would have to say that I’m a creative that uses the means of art to communicate story telling to my audience. WHAT DO YOU DO? I’m both a graphic designer and illustrator. WHEN DID YOU START DOING WHAT YOU DO? I believe everyone starts out at a young age having the urge to create it’s just whether they grow out of it. I started out when I was a young kid and I never grew out of it, was even encouraged by people around me to continue. WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? I think like many artists or creators, they start to become agitated if they’re unable to create, it’s this natural drive that influences us. Another reason why is that I love what I do, I get to design beautiful things for the rest of the world to observe or use and I’m able to do it in a way that expressive on my part. WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? Inspiration comes from all things in life but for me the major factors would be history, science, art, and most importantly my life. WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION? People are excellent sources of inspiration, whether to just look at physically or in deep conversation, and especially older people since they have the best stories. And who could forget our trusty Internet! Also going to a library is a must, LOOK AT BOOKS, there is nothing that beats the physical form of a book. WHAT DO YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR ART? I guess right now in my life I don’t have any long term goals besides being able to get paid for what I love to do but I think that is attributed to the fact that I’ll be graduating in the spring. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FONT AND WHY? I don’t have a particular favorite typeface; I tend to go through phases of liking a specific one for a duration of time. Right now I’m using a lot of Archer and it’s sort of grown on me since I tend to not like slab serifs that much. BIGGEST OPPOSING FORCE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY SO FAR? Everyone in my life has for the most part been very supportive but the one opposing force was a previous ex. This person shall remain anonymous was very unsupportive and even demanding at times that I shouldn’t further my education in taking anatomy classes because he felt it was something sexual rather than educational. WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK? Find the things that interest you and center your work around themes that correlate with that. Never push things off to do later or else you’ll never start so just do it and don’t stop. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? Currently, I’m working on my senior thesis project and an illustration independent study which both center on my fascination with telling stories and my German heritage. IF YOU HAD TO START OVER, WOULD YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH IN YOUR CAREER? Not a chance! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? DOES THIS COLOR DESCRIBE YOU AS A PERSON? I’m one of those people that don’t have a favorite color, as I tend to like specific ones for a duration of time. HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? This answer is going to change over the rest of my life but for right now in my life I want to be remembered as a graphic designer and illustrator as well as a wife, mother, friend, teacher, and inspiration.

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“The Army Kid Chronicles” Sample be.net/ GabrielleSullivan


WHO ARE YOU? I can only really be classified as a goofball. My creations are often silly. WHAT DO YOU DO? I’m an illustrator. I love to draw and vector things. WHEN DID YOU START DOING WHAT YOU DO? I’ve always been interested in art, but I didn’t start taking it seriously until high school. I started as a fine artist but began working digitally in college. WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? I can’t imagine a world in which I’m not doing this. Numbers drive me crazy, teaching seems exhausting, and science barely makes sense to me. This is what I understand. WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? *much shrugs* WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION? Tumblr and Pinterest! Sometimes all it takes is a simple picture to spark an idea. I also go to my friends. Some of my best ideas have come from conversations that I’ve had with my peers. WHAT DO YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR ART? *much shrugs again* WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FONT AND WHY? Right now I’m a huge fan of Avenir. It’s just the perfect sans serif. It goes with everything and looks great. BIGGEST OPPOSING FORCE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY SO FAR? Myself. Nothing holds me back more than my own thoughts. It doesn’t matter if someone says my work sucks; the only reason it will carry weight, is if I believe it. It’s hard to create a protective wall, and remember that I’m still learning. I know it’s okay to not be the best, but there are days when I forget. I get stuck in a rut of self-doubt, and find it hard to climb out of that hole. WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK? What is motivation? I have to be perfectly honest; I’m not a highly motivated person. I have to be really passionate about the project I’m working on. I often find that my best work happens when I’m procrastinating on other projects. There’s nothing more motivating than an approaching deadline and my overwhelming desire to ignore it. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? Currently working on my senior project and a few personal side projects. (Again, I lack focus and need something fun to distract myself with.) IF YOU HAD TO START OVER, WOULD YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH IN YOUR CAREER? I don’t think so. I started off college as a business major and it really felt like I wasted a year of my life. I have to say as I’ve grown and really taken the time to think about it, I don’t regret it. This path led me to my amazing friends and let me learn at my own pace.Yes, I’ve had to take a lot of classes out of order but I think that made me better. I had to push myself in a lot of ways to keep up with the curriculum. It’s not the first path I would have chosen for myself, but I think I really needed it. Starting off in the wrong major really helped me focus my efforts. I knew that I wasn’t going to be happy unless I was pursuing art. That was pretty eye opening for me. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? DOES THIS COLOR DESCRIBE YOU AS A PERSON? My favorite color is Turquoise. I think it describes me pretty well. It can be perceived as bright and fun, but sometimes it can also be a sad color. It all depends. HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? I want to be remembered for making people smile. A lot of people I know, including myself has seen a lot of sadness. I want to be a part of making them smile. There’s nothing better than telling a funny joke or drawing a cute picture and hearing people say that it made their day. Even if I never become rich or well known, knowing that I touched a few people even in a small way will make this all worth it

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“The Phrenology of Chelsea Monico� be.net/chelseamonico


WHO ARE YOU? Creatively, I would define myself as an illustrator. Even when I’m doing a project that is not illustration related; I am always trying to infuse whatever I’m working on with that quality. WHAT DO YOU DO? I am a maker. I like to draw with pen and ink, paint with watercolor, acrylic and oil. I also like finding strange new mediums to work with such as butterfly wings. Overall, I like to make things beautiful, whether that be through words on a page or a combination of hand lettering and illustration. WHEN DID YOU START DOING WHAT YOU DO? The cliché answer, but my true answer is that I’ve always been doing what I do. I’ve always wanted to be an artist ever since I was little, but I never saw myself as being a designer. I started thinking of myself as a designer about 2 years ago, but I feel like it’s been a part of me my whole life. I feel as though it was always what I was supposed to be doing. WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? I do what I do because I have this constant need to create. It is a part of who I am and more or less, essential to my survival. WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? The world around me is my inspiration and more specifically whatever is going on my life at that current moment in time. WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION? Whenever I want to be inspired I go online; I look on Pinterest, Tumblr, or Behance. Another thing that inspires me is immersing myself in the things I love. If you surround yourself with things you love, I believe it can inspire your work. If I ever need to come up with a good idea, I take a long shower, and usually something good comes to me. WHAT DO YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR ART? I want people to feel and understand why I have created something and my feelings towards whatever the subject matter is. I want people to think my work is beautiful and learn a little bit about who I am as a person through looking at it. Art is an extension of ourselves, a portrait so to speak. I want people to learn something about who I am, and leave them wanting to see more. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FONT AND WHY? My favorite font is Avant Garde Gothic, and I have no idea why. I think I like how clean and perfect it looks. It has nice circular forms. My second favorite font is Didot because of those beautiful thick and thins. It is so full of contrast. (I had to pick a serif and san serif). BIGGEST OPPOSING FORCE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY SO FAR? When I was about to graduate with just a Fine Art degree I felt lost, like I had accomplished nothing and after all that hard work I had put into my education, I had almost noth-

ing to show for it. I knew I needed to make a change, to do something that I knew I would be happy doing every day of my life and that wouldn’t drain me. So in 2013, I decided to double major and get my degree in Graphic Design as well, and suddenly I felt like I was on the right track. The second biggest opposing force that I encountered was the death of my grandfather. It set me back, made me feel exhausted, and I almost felt like I lost a little of my “go getter” attitude. WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK? I am only happy when I am working on something creative. If I don’t have something assigned to me, I am always inventing new projects. Usually if I come up with a new idea and I don’t act on it, I feel as though I am going to explode until I start working on it. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? I am currently working on my senior project as well as projects that I have been assigned at my internship at York Wallcoverings. My senior project is about my grandfather who passed away in April. He lived with me my whole life and was a huge part of my home and who I am as a person. This project is a compilation of all the letters he had written to my grandmother, that other people had written him, and includes double exposure images to act as a portrait of his loss. IF YOU HAD TO START OVER, WOULD YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH IN YOUR CAREER? I would not choose a different career path. Art and design is a part of my every fiber. Often, I’ve wished that I had done graphic design first and fine art as minor, but I wouldn’t really want that. I would not have met the people I have met throughout my educational career without doing things in the order I did them. Every person I have met has taught me and enabled my art, as well as myself, to grow. I used to feel as though I was behind, because I am graduating a year and a half after I was “supposed to,” but I don’t think you can be behind in life. Just right on track with wherever you’re supposed to be. Doing fine art as my first major also made me a better graphic designer, and plays a huge role in my work. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? DOES THIS COLOR DESCRIBE YOU AS A PERSON? My favorite color is actually a metallic; it is metallic gold. I would say this color does describe me as a person. I think it is an edgier color than yellow, but of the same family. Metallic gold is a color that is bright, happy, and gleams. I hope that others see me that way, as a bright gold light, which partially brings me to the answer of the next question. HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? I would like to be remembered as a bright warm light that brings happiness to the people I love and the people I come in contact with on a day-to-day basis. I heard a quote one time that describes this perfectly, “I really just want to be a warm yellow light that pours over everyone I love.”

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EX¡PAND [ik-spand] verb 01 to increase in extent, size, volume, scope, etc. 02 to spread or stretch out; unfold 03 to express in fuller form or greater detail; develop


TOOLS OF THE TRADE Tools do not make an artist There’s nothing stopping you from creating good work or becoming a great artist without any of the following tools. As long as you can make marks happen on paper, you’re all set to go. Remember that the best pen is the one you are most comfortable with. With that being said, there is nothing more exciting than playing around with new “goodies” and the idea of streamlining your process to fit your personality and needs is tempting nonetheless. As someone who is stationary crazy with a horrible online shopping habit, who also surrounds themselves around others with the same charming quality, I’d say I’ve done my fair share of researching, experimenting, and gushing over supplies that are out there. From ballpoint pens to gel ink to brush pens and felt tip ones. From soft lead, balanced lead, and firm lead. There is so much to go over that one single lonely article in a creative magazine isn’t enough to begin to explain the joys of the world.Yet here it is. This article is meant to be an introduction to the analog tools of letters, something to help you get started with sketching and creating. You will get a little insight into the crazy world of stationary where you can then branch off and explore on your own. The information found in this article is based on the writer’s personal experience. She is aware that not everyone works in the same way and/or prefers the same thing. Take the information with a grain salt and use it to fuel your own stationary adventure.


Pencils You have your wooden pencils, you have your drafting pencils, you have your mechanical pencils, and you have your lead holders. You might prefer one over another but certain projects might call for certain pencils. Mechanical pencils might be the be-all end-all of pencils. Any mechanical pencil really, we all know what really matters is what’s inside. My favorite kind of refillable lead is the Uni NanoDia Low-Wear Pencil Lead. These leads are infused with nano-diamond pieces that create an unusually strong and high-quality lead. Since it hardly ever breaks it takes forever to go through (which is a GREAT thing). So you got your mechanical pencil and lead, you say you don’t need anything else but you want to step it up a notch. Enter the lead holder. A lead holder might seem a bit cumbersome for all the pieces you need to buy separately, but when it’s all there it will actually last you much longer than any wooden pencil or mechanical pencil. You can get lead holders in a variety of sizes but the most popular is 2mm. My personal favorite is the Staedtler Mars 789 Technical Pencil, 2mm and the Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead in HB is my favorite hardness. Keeping it traditional, I swear by Palomino Blackwings (specifically the 602, for it’s the firmest out of the different versions). Not only are they beautiful and smell amazing, the lead is far superior to anything you’ll ever find in a refillable manner.

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Pens It’s hard not to get carried away with pens. There are just so many out there and it’s hard to recommend just one. Depending on your style and preferences; that will lead you in a few different directions than someone else. Going straight for it is the cult-classic, the Sakura Pigma Micron Markers. I don’t know any artist who hasn’t heard of these. They feel great in the hand, they disperse the right amount of ink, it has a nice even black color, the ink is permanent, top-notch acid free archival quality, and if you treat them nicely they’ll last you a good amount of time. Always have backups on backups on backups of them because while they are great, ever once in awhile you get a dud. Because of the wide range of sizes Micron has to offer, I don’t find myself needing any other marker pen of the sorts. I will give a little shout out to the Stabilo Sensor Fineliner Marker Pen. This marker pen is about as smart as it gets. The tip is encased in metal to help extend the pen’s life. This also lets it stand up to rulers and stencils better. With its micro-cushion, the tip also adjusts to writing pressure and will not bend or break as easily as other pens of its kind.


Felt tip brush pens are a favorite to experiment with. Instead of constantly changing out pens as you’re working, a brush pen can usually do it all. With a brush pen you get your fine line and thick bold line all depending on the amount of pressure. The Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen lets you control these varying strokes with absolute precision. Available in hard and soft – with just two pens you have a wide range of line widths that will take a pack of other marker pens to do. The Pentel Fude Sign Pen in the brush tip is similar to the Fudenosuke but instead offers a wider variety of fun colors. The Pilot Futayaku Double-Sided Brush Pen combines two different nib sizes into one, which is even a step further from the Fudenosuke. All three are great and offer enough difference in line width and style that I see them as necessary in my collection.

Erasers I can’t be the only one who isn’t a fan of the pink eraser? I am not a fan of the pink eraser. There you go, I said it. You grow up using it in school, it’s the “standard” but it burns through paper like no other. Maybe I make more mistakes than necessary or I am too heavy handed when it comes to erasing but the feeling of the pink eraser as it rubs on paper drives me crazy. Enter Staedtler Mars Plastic. This is the eraser I use for large mistakes (most of the time). It’s latex free. What does this mean? I could pretend to tell you but I won’t embarrass myself, let me just say it makes a difference. Your paper stays intact by the end of furiously erasing and writing overtop of where you just erased doesn’t make you want to pass out. This is one of those things that once you try it, you’ll never go back. For smaller mistakes the Uni Boxy Eraser is a great choice. It erases incredibly well, and the shavings stick together in thin strips for easy cleanup. It’s black so its aesthetically pleasing in terms of you can’t tell when it’s dirty. The Boxy Eraser is also softer and more flexible than the Mars Plastic, which is why I’ll use them both for different reason. This next eraser I’ll mention is a big life changer when it comes to hand lettering. The Tombow Mono Zero Eraser is honestly a heaven sent. So they say, the world’s thinnest eraser! With pencil leads so thin, the correction tool should be an eraser that is shaped similarly to its nemesis and this is the eraser that does it. If you’re someone that tends to work small, this mechanical eraser will be the best thing you’ll ever invest in. Even if you don’t work small – you’ll want to keep this around.

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ABECEDARY A freshman guide to fonts

Whether you’re a freshman in college, high school, or life in general (meaning you don’t have to be a freshman in any way shape or form), you’ll find this abecedary full of wonderful and beautiful information. This guide is meant to help you make the right font choices. You don’t need all to be successful, you don’t even need a handful. Pick and choose your favorite one – study them, play around with them, learn what they can do for you and then do it. Choose it, use it, and abuse it. Become one with the font. Set everything in it. Love it until the end of time and maybe then, just maybe, you’ll understand the beauty of it and what it really offers. Find something that speaks to your taste. If you’ve made the right choice, you’ll never grow tired of it but grow with it.

A

ARCHER

B

BEMBO

C

CENTURY GOTHIC

D

DIDOT

E

ENGRAVERS MT

F

FRANKLIN GOTHIC

G

GARAMOND

H

HELVETICA

I

IMPACT

J

JOKERMAN

K

KARMA

L

LUNA

M

MYRIAD PRO

N

NEUTRA

O

ORWELLIAN

P

PERPETUA

Q

QUAVER

R

ROCKWELL

S

SCALA

T

TRADE GOTHIC

U

UNIVERS

V

VAN DIJCK

W

WARNOCK PRO

X

EXOCET

Y

YESEVA

Z

ZAPF DINGBATS


Archer |Hoefler & Co. An ode to my good friend Shannon, Archer has beautiful slab serifs and round balls that will make everyone swoon. Bembo|Monotype A.k.a my best friend. I wouldn’t be where I am without this one. Bembo has been there for me

since day one. It does the job and does the job well. Century Gothic|Monotype Spacious and modern, Century Gothic is a geometric sans-serif, strongly influenced by Futura though with a higher x-height. This makes it more readable at small print sizes.

Didot|Adobe Originally cut and casted by Firmin Didot, variations of this typeface features high contrast with increased stress, perfect for those sophisticated articles. Engravers MT|Monotype Introduced in 1924 as metal type, this font replicates the

thin hairlike strokes. Be cautious when using this font at a smaller size. Franklin Gothic|American Type Founders Originated by Morris Fuller Benton, this typeface appears in a variety of media; including this publication.

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Garamond|Adobe Truly an O.G., Garamond has won the test of time. Designed to be organic and unadorned, Garamond is perfect for printing body text and books where you have dense copy. Helvetica|Hass Type Foundry One of the more popular and

overused typefaces (for good reasons), Helvetica will save your design lives a few times over. When in doubt, check out the large font family it has to offer. Impact|Stephenson Blake Its name says it all. This typeface is designed to make a

statement. More recently, it has been used extensively in image macros (internet memes). Jokerman|Letraset Wildly original and energetic in every way, we can thank British designer Andrew Smith for this one. More for inspiration than anything, if you find

a non-cheesy way to use this font, let us know. Karma|Indian Type Foundry An open source multi-script Google font, Karma is great for on screen work. Developed specifically for body text on screen, it’s a great alternative to the standard.


Luna|Amanda Leeson Just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s not worthy. This quirky handwritten font is just as great, if not better than the stereotypical handwritten system fonts that we see all the time. Myriad Pro|Adobe A humanist sans-serif typeface

designed for Adobe and at one point known for its usage by Apple Inc., this typeface is a good one to go to when you don’t want to try too hard.

Christian Schwartz of House Industries is meant to be “the most typographically complete geometric sans-serif family ever.” And it is.

Neutra|House Industries Influenced by Richard Neutra’s design principles, this geometric sans-serif designed by

Odin Rounded | Frank Hemmekam With it’s clean and linear appearance, the simple and compact

nature of this design allows for great use of space across layouts. Perpetua|Monotype Corp. Designed by English stonecarver Eric Gill, Perpetua is classified as a transitional serif font. Specifically designed for books and body copy, it bears the distinct personality of Gill.

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Quaver|Lost Type Co-op Quaver is two fonts with a complimentary feel. One serif, one sans-serif. You’ll never doubt yourself when contemplating pairing them. Rockwell|Monotype This slab serif font is perfect for headlines and display type.

When you need a steady, bold typeface – Rockwell, just like its structure, is a solid choice. Scala|FontFont Named after the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, this typeface designed by Martin Majoor has six weights and is best suited for advertising/

packaging, editorial/publishing, logo/branding, as well as web and screen design. Basically a “I can do it all” typeface. Trade Gothic|Linotype A staple of North American design, at one point Trade Gothic was a formidable competitor against Helvetica.

Univers|Linotype Designed by Adrian Frutiger, Univers offers a comprehensive and consistent range of weights and styles. Allowing documents to be created in the same typeface for all text (body and headlines), this helped increased popularity of sans-serifs.


Van Dijck|Monotype Based on Dutch Old Style type of the 17th century, Van Dijck is a graceful typeface, best used for setting books, magazines and articles. Warnock Pro|Adobe An Adobe original font, named after the co-founder of Adobe

Systems, John Warnock. He’s made major contributions to the graphic arts, and with that came a timeless font. Exocet|Emigre Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman letter carvings, with its geometric shapes as the main form, it’s an all-capital font

with different capital glyphs for both lowercase and capital letters. And no, it doesn’t start with an “X” but sometimes you just gotta go with it. Yeseva| Jovanny Lemonad Named from the phrase “Yes, Eva.” As a sign of agreement between man and woman, this

typeface is dedicated to the designer’s wife. Zapf Dingbats|ITC If David Carson could do it, so can you. This font, designed by Hermann Zapf “gives no shit.” Made entirely of symbols it takes the letters we know and changes them into glyphs.

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HOW TO OVERCOME THE ENEMY “10 forreal steps to cure your creative block” The scariest thing to a creative might just be a blank page. Where some days you stare at it, words and images are fighting to escape your body - there are other days when you stare and that stark white just stares back. Mocking you, laughing at your inability to come up with something remotely interesting. Reminding you that this is your life, you can’t afford to be short of ideas or the energy to put them into action. A creative block is frustrating almost soul crushing for those who rely on creativity to pay the bills or even an ounce of their happiness. So what do you do about it? Anyone with a mind, body, and soul has experienced this once, twice (a week) in their lives. Sometimes it may even seem like you’re fighting this block more than not. The first step is always recognizing you have a problem, right? You’ve watched enough movies and TV shows in the spare time that you’re fighting this block to know admitting you have a problem is always the place to begin. So what is it? A creative block is the inability to access your inspiration and creativity. Creative blocks were not all created equal; different blocks require different solutions. To make matters even more complicated, there is no quick fix. No special pill you swallow that’ll solve your problems and definitely no “10 forreal steps to cure your creative blocks.” So what’s the point then? You can’t fix it, then why try? You know you’ll get over it eventually and worse comes to worse you’re good enough at what you do to “magically” pull something out of somewhere. How do creative blocks affect your aspiration? Ignoring it until it goes away can push your timeline back a few years. What is a day or two right now can equate to two or three years later on. Feeling that sense frustration can be anxiety inducing, completely stopping you from going for that goal in the end. Bullshitting your way through now can make you hate what you’re doing later on. With that being the case, there are some things that you can do to help you get your creativity moving again. It’s all about finding the right release for you and then doing it.

Evaluate the Block. The Mental Block Sometimes, or even most of the time, you get trapped by your own way of thinking. You’re so used to the familiar way of looking at the world that you forget there are others out there. Seeing the world how you’re used to you get caught up in “your style,” “your beliefs,” “your talent.” Change your mind. Now don’t go changing your beliefs and faith but take a moment and try to see something else. Question yourself and ask “why not” instead of making reasons for why you’re doing something. Meet new people that aren’t in your walk of life. Go somewhere new, read something you wouldn’t typically, watch something that’ll terrify you or bore you. Talk to someone that you can rely on to disagree with you. Be your own devils advocate. The Emotional Barrier Creativity is an intense thing. You unlock parts of your brain that not only thinks but also feels. Faced with something unknown you might be scared of what the outcome could be or even what you’ll learn about yourself. Maybe the subject matter is painful, embarrassing or just weird. Whatever the case, emotionally you’re not ready. But ready or not, you got to do it. Overcoming the emotional barrier is a personal struggle that only you can do. Surround yourself with people that support and bring out the good in you, and then you can overcome anything. The “I’m Doing too Much” You’re overwhelmed. Sometimes a block comes from doing too much, not too little. You feel paralyzed by your obligations and/or simply exhausted from working too hard and for too long. What do you do? It’s time to cut it down. We have every faith in you that you’ll get it done but think about saying “no.” Prioritize what’s really important and what will get you where you need to go. Fluff isn’t always good in your life so maybe it’s time to clear some of that out of your work. Focus in on what will benefit you in the long run and stop trying to be superhuman. It’s okay to not be everywhere and do everything..

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OFFLINE IS THE NEW LUXURY.


Beat the Block. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Here are some ways you can overcome (note overcome - not get rid of) your creative blocks. PRODUCTIVE PROCRASTINATION You’re going to do it anyways so why not make it productive? The difference between procrastinating and productive procrastinating is how useful it will be to you in the end. Instead of binge-watching a new season on Netflix that will just make you overemotional when you reach the finale, why not educate yourself by watching a documentary on Helvetica that’ll instead open up your mind to the world of type. Not only is it interesting but information, and it just may be what you need to get your creative juices flowing again. THE INTERNET IN MODERATION Don’t you wish there was an off switch in your life? Well that’s too bad cause there isn’t one. But you know where this is an off switch to? Sometimes the issue with having too much information at the tips of your fingers is that you have too much information at the tips of your fingers.Turn it off.Walk away, read a book, study the clouds, adopt a cat. There is such a thing as too much. The Internet has its time and place and yes, we’d be nowhere without it but you’d be amazed at what ideas you can come up with on your own vs. the ideas you get from Pinterest.You think people can’t tell but we can. We can and we judge. ALWAYS CARRY A SKETCHBOOK Just like athletes who need to warm up before physical activity, so do creatives. Let your sketchbook be that place for warming up. A sketchbook is a safe place for exploration of medium and style. This is your playground and where you should go for breaks. Perfection is not the key here and it’s important to remember you don’t have to show your sketchbooks to anyone. Carrying around a sketchbook is going to allow you to put pen to paper whenever inspiration strikes and you’ll be able to store those moment for later when you need it. JOURNAL My parents once told me “a journal is the best book you’ll ever read” and boy were they right. I’ve never laughed so hard, cried so much, and cringed in embarrassment reading anything else. Whether it’s a stream of consciousness style, or focusing in on a specific topic, a compendium of information, however you wish to journal - just go and do it. With journaling you have something to always fall back on, someone to always talk to, and a place to work thoughts and ideas out in a way that only has to make sense to you. Journals and sketchbooks go hand-in-hand; some may only need one but let having both be an option. Its reassuring knowing you sometimes don’t have to be creative all the time. SLEEP Not too much, not too little, but just right.We all know how important sleep is to function as a human being so why is it when you’re busy with so much to do sleep is the first to get cut out? It’s difficult to focus and feel inspired when you can barely stay awake so instead of working sleep around your schedule work your schedule around sleep. The average adult in this day and age sleeps less than seven hours per night. While seven hours sounds like a pretty decent number, the reality of it is it’s a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation. Take a moment to evaluate your sleeping habits and adjust accordingly.


I hate to sound cliché, not to mention I’m not very good at this “expressing my emotions” kind of thing. But in all seriousness I want you to know how much you mean to me. You’ve made this adventure all the more exciting and bearable. This magazine owes a lot to your constant words of encouragement and comments/critiques. I trust in your opinion and you both inspire me to aspire to be my true self. I’ve always found it hard to make real long-lasting connections with others; let it be my social-anxiety, my “sometimes” lack of communication, need to be by myself, or even just intense passion for things that others don’t quite get (can we say #penislife here?). You both understand me and appreciate the flaws. You don’t try to change the way I am but instead support the fact that we can all be horrible people, but at least we are horrible together. And by horrible I mean fantastic, because let’s be honest we are pretty fantastic. We can understand each other’s glares and we speak with no words (but of course always choose to be the loudest in the room). We laugh about everything and cry about just as much. I am glad to have found my people, ones who I can really count on for honest words and time. You guys aren’t afraid to say what you truly think and you’re not trying to be anyone but yourself. You are as you as you can be and it’s amazing. I hope you know, this is more than just friendship now – you guys are my family.


S.O. – I love how everything offends you but then again nothing at all. You are a walking reminder of “don’t let anyone fuck with your day” and “you just do you”. I am always confused as to how we really became best buds for life. There has never been that defining moment in our friendship, and while sad we never had it, I think that says a lot about who we are. We’re the same person if you didn’t know. We always joke that I was forced into this friendship with not much of a say. That you dragged me into your life headfirst and chained me there forever. My response is “thank you”. You are what I need in a friend. You make a normal day above average, as there is never a dull moment with you. Conversations can go on for hours and the silence is understandable too. I remember waking up early (which I hardly ever do) on a Friday just to meet up to work on design projects together. Instead of getting actual work done we would just sit and talk about everything and anything. We shared our love for stationary, hatred of people, and talked about things that would take me years to tell anyone else. Yet, there in the early mornings in Wolf 100, I found the conversations to be effortless. Maybe I figured, “it’s nothing, you’ll forget this in about a week or so” but no. Proven so a year later, as you recited almost word for word something that only my best friend knows. I had almost forgot I mentioned it to you but as we stood there in a circle of people I knew you were the real deal. So Wolf 100 is where it started. Wolf 100 started a lot of things. During our morning meet ups you made a comment about my work and that was it. The future was set for us and we had big plans coming. Thank you for always being there for me. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve made a huge impact in my life. Without you, we wouldn’t be the squad.

G.S. – Talk about a great package deal. We’ve talked in passing – I knew you as the struggling artist that sort of came out of nowhere. We had friends in common but never the chance to really click until this year. It feels like I’ve known you forever and it angers me when I think about the fact that we could have been friends long before now. All those wasted times on people that don’t matter and you were always there with your one-of-a-kind punny humor that I greatly appreciate. For whatever reason, people had this idea that we were friends way before we even met. I’ll take that as a sign that we were meant to be the all-encompassing squad, it didn’t just happen but it was meant to happen. You have the kind of personality that, once you get to know and open up to, you shine! There’s always something that I’ll come across and just think “she has to hear about this, she’ll find a way to make it even better.” There’s always a joke and laughter somewhere. Maybe even a little bit of shit talking, who knows? I guess only Abraham Lincoln does. No matter how much joy and happiness you bring into my life, I know all the while you’re real. Just like you’re always there to make us feel better, we will always be there for you too – and don’t you forget that. This semester has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I am glad I got to spend some (most) of it crying/complaining with you. Your support means so much to me. Someone who is such a recent addition to my life, but cares for the work I do yet challenges me to think and create what I need to create, you are a indispensable tool in my life. Right up there next to InDesign. Thanks for being there for me and let’s get ready to rock the (many) years we have left together. 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3 = some sort of whole of something.

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WHAT’S NEXT? twitter/ @aspirationmag insta/ @aspirationmag






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