by melody sinclair
Published by Classicface Inc. www.classicface.com.au 73 Boundary Street, Paddington, Sydney NSW Copyright © 2013 by Melody Sinclair All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotation in review, without permission in writing from the author/ publisher iv
A Ty po g r a p hic De g u s t a t ion
by melody sinclair
A Typographi c Degu stati on
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typography and context logo designs and typographic self portraits
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We are asked to design a set of typographic self-portraits using either Gill Sans, Bodoni or Helvetica Neue.
giants of typography
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Design and produce an ePublication working with the supplied grid
letters in the environment
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Design and produce an A2 poster using the photographs taken with the large scale letter
the process book development
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You are asked to design and produce and A5 trimmed and bound process book
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logo designs and typographic self portraits
Abstract Logo To create a series of visually interesting abstract logo shapes. We were to use a triangle, square and a circle and show change with size, distortion and cut shape to create new forms.
Counterform Logo To use the following two letter combinations in different weights, typefaces, orientation or case to create a series of visually interesting combinations. ES ZT or Z2 AG JC . When letterforms are combined new counterforms emerge and create new unique visual sign.
Wordmark Logo Create a wordmark which is a free standing acronym or name that has been designed to convey a particular attitude or attribute
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Publishers Logos Create your Publishers logo using the skills from the Logo exercises design a publishers logo using a wordmark, abstract logo and letterform. The name of the your publishing company must contain the word FACE and the strongest one being incorporated into the back cover of your e-publication.
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Reflection I chose to use Classic Face as the name for my publishing company and Bodoni as the typeface. I liked designing the abstract logo and wordmark, however I struggled with the letterform. This involved using the unique characters of the typeface to achieve the desired outcome and I couldn’t quite seem to master this. Overall I enjoyed the challenges of using simple letters and shapes to create interesting new forms that communicate meaning. I have noticed this subject has made me more observant in everyday life when I see logos. I now find myself doing a quick analyzation of what the logo is trying to convey and how well the designer has executed this. The challenge of the abstract, wordmark and letterform logo is to utilize the shape of each letter along with negative space to create a visually pleasing identity whilst provoking thought.
Right: Final submissions for my wordmark, abstract logo and letter form. A Typographi c Degu stati on
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Typographic Self Portrait We are asked to design a set of typographic selfportraits using either Gill Sans, Bodoni or Helvetica Neue. The portraits should use type as an illustrative element and be constructed with reference to the design principles of scale, form and balance.
Left: The image on the left is a sketch I used to base my portraits on 8
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I was really excited to start this brief as it looked like a lot of fun and I had been wanting to learn more about typography since I started at college. I soon began to realize that it was going to be a little bit more challenging than I expected, as I had never even heard of Gill Sans or Bodoni. Then when I was shown how to find the glyphs panel in illustrator, I had to sit back for a while and take all these new and exciting characters on board.
Right: The first draft of my typeface self portrait 10
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TROUBLE MAKING
NEUTRAL
TROUBL Right: This is the final outcome for my Typographic Self Portrait using the typeface Bodoni.
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Reflection I decided the best way to tackle the brief was to type out the letters and numerals for each of the three typefaces so I could get a broader idea of the differences between each family. From there I decided to go with Bodoni, as I like the full bodied shape of each letter. I really liked the look I ended up with however, when it came time for the first wall of death, I became aware that I had way too much detail in each portrait. I was given strict instructions by Nathan to give my type portrait a really big ‘hair cut’ and remove a lot of the finer details I had applied. I struggled at first, but then started to see that even by using a few simple letters I was still able to still see a resemblance.
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giants of typography
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Giants of Typography Design and produce an ePublication working with the supplied grid and document structure to produce a series of interactive pages featuring the work of one influential type designer.
Right: Thumbnail sketches for the Giants of Typography ePublication. 18
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Reflection The feedback I received from the first wall of death was to simplify my layout and look more at the alignment of the content within each page. With this in mind, I made a few adjustments starting with the removal of some images and a review of the page hierarchy. I made sure to utilize the space provided but to also give the content some room to breathe, this was much more visually pleasing and easier to look at. At first, the idea of putting the content and images into an interactive document was a little daunting and took some time for me to get my head around. For this reason, I payed careful attention during the class tutorial as both Nathan and Gaye had mentioned that this would be the biggest challenge - they weren’t wrong. Once I had placed my images into the document and exported the files using the Oomph structure, I ran it through the oomph player and nothing happened! I had done something wrong and immediately knew it was the naming system I had used. After fixing the tiny spelling mistake, I ran it through the Oomph simulator again and was excited to see that I had managed to create the start of an e-publication which had a working sideshow feature. Overall the process of creating an interactive document using the grid system and hierarchy of composition was both challenging and enjoyable. The end result is definitely something that I am pleased with and I will now be able to put these skills to good use in my future projects.
Left: The first draft for the Giants of Typography ePublication. A Typographi c Degu stati on
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letters in the enviroment
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Letters in the Environment Design and produce an A2 poster using the photographs taken with the large scale letter only two PMS colours in addition to this create a series of interesting letter croppings. The purpose of this is to explore the visual potential of letterforms which not only convey information but also have the power to attract attention through their form. In our group of four, we took our large scale letter ‘e’ around North Sydney and explored the way our letter related to the environment it was put in. We started off at the school as there is a lot of space there and we knew the playground would give us a great background to work against. After a few shots from around the school grounds a member of the school advised us that we were trespassing and had to leave, so we moved on to the park around the corner. As we walked there we found a really good array of backdrops from red telephone boxes to fountains and even a construction site.
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Letter Cropping Explore eight different ways of portraying the letter R consider cropping, re-scaling, or distorting whilst still retaining its recognisability. I found this exercise quite interesting as I had the lower case ‘r’ and didn’t think I would get many variations of the letter. Initially I thought it didn’t have many distinctive features, but I then found that by scaling the letter up in size it gave me lots of flexibility and has given me some great ideas for my final poster.
Right: Cropping’s portraying the letter R
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place your cropped images in these boxes
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Poster Design Using the photograph taken with your letter in the environment design an A2 poster with only two colours and the supplied copy. Before even starting on the poster I knew which photo I wanted to use from our excursion. It was a shot where we had put our letter halfway down a large drain that we had come across. I knew Nathan would kill us if ever found out, as we had strict instructions to keep the large scale clean and bring it back in the same condition it in which we had taken it.
Right: First draft of the poster for Letters in the Environment. 30
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www.mca.org/enviromentposters
Thursday 12 December 2013
letters in the environment
Thursday 12 December 2013
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Reflection To start with I chose my colours. I went with a duotone, Light Blue and Dark Blue as the letter was going down the drain in the photo, and I thought it would add a comical aspect. I then scaled up the image to get an interesting crop of the letter. Once I started laying out the type on the image, I found the alignment was the biggest challenge as the letter itself was on an angle. I looked back at the work we had done in class and found the notes I had taken down about using the image itself to help create and direct the composition. I found the strongest line element in my poster and used it to help lay out the type, this created an interesting and effective composition. However once I had my first draft reviewed by Nathan I was asked to strip back all the unnecessary elements I had added and use the details of the event itself to create the hierarchy on the page. I looked at the point size as well as the weight of the type to create a sense of direction and even though this is something that will come easier to me over time I can certainly see that the simple the better.
Left: Final result of the poster for Letters in the Environment. A Typographi c Degu stati on
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the process book development
The Process Book Development You are asked to design and produce and A5 trimmed and bound process book that records your experiences, reflections and designs throughout the semester.
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Book Analysis In groups we were asked to pick a book and analyze the different structural, rhythmical and navigational elements and show these structural elements as a series of annotated thumbnails The book we chose was for this part of the assignment was ‘Soak Wash Rinse Spin’ by Tolleson Design. As we began to analyze the book structure we realized it was going to take us quite awhile. It is a book designed by designers, for designers (to put it simply) and has a running theme of science and equations. The elements on each page change frequently but have similar enough features as to direct the reader through the book. Although this was interesting to analyze, it reminded us that simplicity through design could also be just as effective, if not more. It was a challenge to read and remain focused when there was so much to look at.
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Right: Pictures of the front cover, thumbnail sketches and inside spread from ‘Soak Wash Rinse Spin’ by Tolleson Design A Typographi c Degu stati on
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Book Design I started coming up with themes for my process book as soon as we received the brief. I explored the ideas of ‘A Guide for Typographic Etiquette’, ‘A Type Yearbook’, ‘A Burn Book’, ‘Trivia Game Instructions’ but in the end decided to try my luck the theme of a ‘Typographic Degustation’ is a culinary term meaning a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods and is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all the chef’s signature dishes. Usually consisting of eight or more courses and accompanied with matching wine. Since the beginning of this subject I have slowly been introduced to all the best bits of typography and how they all work together to make some mouth watering designs. I started by sketching my layout ideas on a flat plan to give me some direction when it came time to design my book. This turned out to be very useful as it helped with noting all the content I had to add, whilst keeping the consistency through my navigational elements.
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Right: Thumbnail sketches of my designs for the process book.
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Reflection The exercise we did in class certainly gave me a better understanding of the use of the grid system, how to organize information and creating hierarchy within a page. I look back at week one and I can remember how daunting it was when we were given this brief and what we were expected to produce. I was excited to learn about typography back in semester one when we discussed how it can make or break a good design, I now know there is so much more to it, things I hadn’t even considered before this subject. I can honestly say that when I walk down the street, read a magazine or watch television I am analyzing the typeface that has been used in a logo or trying to guess how many columns in the grid system on a page. This is my reflection on what I have learnt and how I have put it into practice. I’m looking forward to implementing and using the skills learnt here in future assignments.
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Published by Classicface Inc. www.classicface.com.au 73 Boundary Street, Paddington, Sydney NSW Copyright © 2013 by Melody Sinclair