CONTENTS Projects 2 visual thinking 3 typography as a semiotic resource 5 typography idea generation 6 String art typography 9 food typography 15 postcard design 16 vernacular letterforms 27 french fold binding technique
Workshops 30 digital letterpress [Lettermpress] 32 japanese book binding 34 screen printing
Lectures & Seminars 36 transmedia 37 notions of taste, aesthetic judgement and consumer culture 38 propaganda lecture
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Visual Thinking Focuses on extending your visual awareness, individual creative language and understanding of contemporary practice while examining the fertile and complex semiotic and aesthetic nature of word, image and object.
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typography as a semiotic resource. This was a Collabrative project with Will Clempson. The brief was to communicate a word using only the first letter of the word. letter given was: e 160mm
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E explosion exposure examine eye egg empire extreme enzyme engine easy elephant
explore erase event evade enemy entrance envy erupt enter earth edge
embrace every eyebrow enlighten exotic ear entwined eastern east encased elastic 4
endangered endearing endeavour evolve entertain engage eternity espresso envelope eat echo
enchanted entail england even emerge earphone elbow execute end empty exist
Create the letter ‘E’ from an eraser, the cut would have to be clean, sharpso it looked well under photography lighting The best method of choice would most likely be the use of the lazercutter, this would ensure a clean, straight edge. Cut through the rubber so just a rubber ‘E’ or just carve into the eraser? would people think Erase?
The shaded (blue) areas show the areas of the rubber that will be removed, leaving just the white areas.
Looking through visual research, one idea could be to use a bold ‘E’ and expand thread from the edge to create the look of an explosion. Looking at other examples a gradient could also be used to express the colours of an explosion. The use of thread doesn’t express the action, another way to communicate explosion could be to shape or blast the letter ‘E’ into a blast, to demonstrate the action.
Stringing model ‘E’s and photographed, shown as an installation. Best way to photograph, present them? Is the word Elevation or elevate? Is this obvious enough? What material to make them from? They would have to be light enough so that string/wire could hold them. However also heavy enough to keep the tension.
Our last idea was to find or create an image of an explosion and then manipulate the letter or inprint of the letter ‘E’ on the explosion/where the explosion was. This would ensure that the action of an explosion was being presented, leaving little doubt into the viewers opinion over what the word is.
Using negative space and using some kind of mould, shaping an ‘E’ out of fried eggs. What to create the mould from? The ‘E’ has to be a clean cut, sharp image and well photographed
Creating a lowercase ‘E’ could beslightly more challenging, however creating it out of scrambled egg could be more appealing. Simple, clean photography VSCO filters?
string art typography. Initially we created an ‘E’ constructed with thread and nails.
Initially we created an ‘E’ constructed with thread and nails. It created a design in which thread was spread out from the centre of the ‘E’ Along with the use of the colours red, orange and yellow we believed it formed the shape of the action ‘explosion’ similar to something that you would notice in a comic or cartoon.
However after some feedback we understood the confusion as why people didn’t understand what the word was meant to resemble as it wasn’t reiterating the action of an explosion. This led us onto our next idea.
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E FOR EGG
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food typography This was a collaborative project with Will Clempson, our first idea wasn’t communicating the word efficiently so we changed it to ‘Egg’ we attempted multiple ideas. The first idea was to slice the egg to form an ‘E’ however the edges were rough, not straight and the yoke split. Consequently the photographs of this weren’t clean or professional enough to be placed on a print. After brainstorming and redesigning a new idea we decided to use the idea of negative space this meant we didn’t have to cut the letter. Instead we moulded the ‘E’ with toast allowing us to create a bold, cleancut letterform. Our desired letterform was to be a bold with 90 degree angles, keeping the type clear, From the photograph (top left) you can see the ‘E’ is in fact eye catching, however we wanted to emphasise the word egg. Therefore we cracked yokes on either side to support the letter. Finally we decided to place it in a frying pan. Although this wasn’t necessary as there is more than one way to cook an egg it was noticed in a critique that the (top left) egg was in a circle for no particular reason. Communication was key to this brief and in order for our letterform to be fully understood we decided the frying pan was a necessity .
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E FOR EXPLODE
We wanted to express the action ‘Explode’ within our visual therefore we tried to recreate an explosion however although we had created the blast and selected the shot with the largest radius, like an explosion would. Imprinting or overlaying the letter ‘E’ proved difficult and we were unable to create this to the degree of accuracy that we wanted. Although the imagery was grasping and inviting the miscommunication of the letterform meant the brief was not fulfilled. 11
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Food typography Further development led us to the idea of creating typography out of objects that were edible and linking to the word ‘Eat’. ¬However the original image was unclear and misleading, through editing the Editing the sharpness, clarity, saturation and other settings, I was able to brighten the image and lighten the fridge still retaining the outline of the fridge. However after critiques we found that the fridge was miscommunicating the word with the word ‘Food’.
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Final Design Our final design was an adaptation of a previous idea of moulding the letter ‘E’ within fried eggs; we felt this was the best way to communicate the word ‘Egg’. Our desired letterform was to be bold; therefore the placement within the pan was necessary as the egg white contrasts well against the black pan. The chopping board incorporates with the theme of a rustic kitchen environment.
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Final Postcard This is the final postcard design which we created.
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vernacular letterforms. mapping the landscape
A lexicon of urban typography. This project was a collaboration between will clempson, kaya simson, gemma brett and myself. our final outcome was a book titled ‘letters in the landscape’ 16
‘Letters in the landscape’ is a complete alphabet collected from the local environment of a town called poole, situated in dorset. our letterforms could either be literal or abstract, either from shopfront signs to unintentional typographic structures.
documentation of our visit. photos on following pages.
Our group collectively decided to focus on both abstract and literal letterforms within the environment trying to capture the most innovative shots we could. We wanted to show a contrast between graphically designed/machine generated letters and ones made through street art graffiti. We all agreed that we wanted to create a book that incorporated the variety in which letterforms can be made, therefore not sticking to a specific style of typography. Working in groups was very beneficial as our individual styles; compositions and ‘eye’ led us to different creative outputs within the surrounding environments. Our acknowledgement of typography is very oblivious; the majority would walk past it without comment or criticism. I believe this brief has led me to become more aware of graphics around me particularly typography, from this I’ve started to take inspiration from various designs to incorporate into my own. We developed our photos in Adobe Lightroom, this software allowed us to edit in specific details rather than the image as a whole. We wanted to retain the purity of the photos rather than spoiling them, this also explains why we used a film camera. Capturing pure light rather than converting that captured light into a digital form. To design our book we used Adobe Indesign, we had already been introduced and taught some basics of Indesign so it was good to build our skills,
The book was to be created using a French fold method, therefore the layout had to be altered to this process, the project help me realise the lengths and difficulty into creating a book but overall it was an important skill to learn. 18
A selection of individual photographs follow on the next couple of pages 19
Photographs by Will Clempson
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Photographs by Matt jefferies
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Photographs by kaya simson
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Photographs by Gemma Brett
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Collaborative book by Will Clempson, Kaya Simson, Gemma Brett and Matt Jefferies. The following pages show some of the documents layout designs. Photo taken by Kaya Simson, film camera
This is an example of one layout design we used, we wanted to keep everything Symmetrical and within grids. We agreed this gave the book a professional mannerism.
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Another design we used is known as a full bleed, this is when all edges of the image are exceeding the edges of the book, eliminating any chance of a unwanted border.
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Documentation of the process. Firstly gluing the paper in the vice to accomplish a straight edge. Afterwards trimming the edges so a clean cover bound is easily done with more glue. Then the book is placed in the press overnight to set properly. After this the book only needs to be trimmed to the right size.
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WORKSHOP sessions 1 digital letterpress 2 japanese binding 3 screen printing
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digital letterpress workshop lettermpress software
this is a digital piece of software that replicates the process that is traditionally practiced using a printing press and movable type. the advantages of this is it’s ease of use and time saving processes, the image quality is high resolution therefore images can be easily manipulated into designs. 30
These are a few examples of the capabilities of Lettermpress. You are able to manipulate not only the type and layout but also the colour, style, weight of ink. You are able to overlay colours to create different effects. Overall the software is a digital process of the letterpress technique and teaches you the basics for this style of typography.
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japanese book binding Bound-pocket books are made by stacking pages and then bound by sewing the loose edge opposite the crease together with thread. This is known as Fukuro Toji books using the method of Japanese stab binding is a traditional method that bound paper and covers together using string attached in a particular way. Traditionally the pages would be punched with a bookbinding needle. However we used a automatic drill to punch these holes as the technique has modernised. We then wound string through wax to prevent fraying, this enabled us to thread through the holes accurately. We then followed the method to thread the book together correctly ensuring that the thread went over both edges along the binding side, this ensured that the book stayed together and the pages didn’t slip. The final result was a sketchbook that is held together by string. This workshop help to extend my knowledge of different binds and there uses, this one is a particularly interesting bind as compared to a traditional bind this one requires no glue or vice to hold the pages together. 32
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The process of screen printing is particularly interesting, the method of which ink is passed through a mesh which is extended into a frame, the design stencil is used with the use of the squeegee to transfer the block colour through the mesh. The particular benefit of this method is on the use of clothing and garments.
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Transmedia seminar 13/01/14
this lecture explored the concept of transmedia and it’s application to various mediums and visual practices. one particular comment that stood out to me was ‘storytelling through image’. an interesting way of explaining transmedia, the lecturer went on further to discuss ways in which transmedia has and can be applied to visual practices and the intervention with ideas such as audience interaction.
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notions of taste, aesthetic judgement and consumer culture 20/01/14
This session explores our relationship with objects and how we give value and respond to ‘things’ How our consumption and judgement varies year on year, how do these relate to consumer culture? Are we living in a demanding society. The session considered the notion of style, luxury in relation to mass produced products that we instantly demote in our ‘standards’
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Propaganda: the power of persuasion 27/01/14
The lecture discussed key issues such as the power of persuasion, control and manipulation and how these are accomplished, the examples including the power and boldness of visuals, the session mentioned key figures such as Noam Chomsky who has proved to be one of the most influencing people of the century. The session also questions the role of modern social media in everday situations.
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We visited the Buchstaben museum which is a typography museum that is devoted to preserving and documenting letterforms, specifically collecting reclaimed signs which are usually found on the side of large corporate buildings however they have been rescued and partly restored from decay and scrap heaps. The Museum of Letters is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to displaying old and new landmarks from the ever changing
cityscape. These typographic elements are selected independently of culture, region, language, the overview of these letterforms are displayed in the ever changing exhibitions. The exhibitions display various recognisable letter logos which use simple letters in a custom font developing an entire corporate identity. The museum contained some inspiring typography such as the piece on the following page, the transition from the previous letterform to the next. 39
berlin typ
I particularly like this piece because the neon lighting especially stands out from the background, the baseline of the type encompasses each character in the word, this allows the transition between each letterform.
pography
berlin study trip: 3rd-7th feburary
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
reichstag building
Berliner Dom 42
Berlin Underground
Inside the Reichstag 43