Theme analysis

War

Conflict
Tactics
Geography
Ideals
Discontent
Revolution
Soldier
Weapon
Strategy
Attack
Defense
Flank
Ordinance
Armour
General
Navy
Army
Logistics
Valor
Front




Government                                                  

Democracy
Oligarchy
Tyranny
Dictatorship
Ideals
Leadership
Efficiency
People
Revolution
Justice
Order
Few
Many
Law
Court
Legistlature
Leader
Ruler
Rebellion
Influence

Font Study of Futura

There. done.






...







Ok, ok I'm just kidding. But it does give a pretty textbook definition of the font.

The font I chose in my project and in this post is Futura, a Geometric Sans Serif font created by Paul Renner in the 1920s that counters many more traditional forms of type that emphasize a calligraphic feel from previous eras.  By the category alone we should be able to point out a few of the more obvious characteristics of this typeface.  It is Sans Serif meaning of course....NO SERIFS.  This contributes to the geometric feel of the type by creating those crisp corners.  Those crisp forms are continued everywhere on the type. For example on the capital letter "P" that I'm working on the counter can scarcely be called a "counter" at all, with its form reflected in the overall form with the same sharp corners and machine precision. While many typefaces have a bowl that conveys some sort of weight to it by connecting by using spurs, Futura's capital P has a bowl that is tipped exactly sideways to make a perfect semicircle. the stem and bowl are seemingly exactly the same in width making the whole shape uniform in strokes, making the letter P have NO stress whatsoever.

Overall the font has a beautiful simplicity to it. It could easily be stenciled and comes across as a mechanically manufactured sort of design.  Its logical and in its parented form fairly calm and unemotional.  What interesting to me is how well the balance is used and how even the slightest change in it can impart tremendous feeling and/or intensity. This has been reflected in the variation spun off of the parent type such as Futura Condensed or Bold

Zombies and Graphic Design - My Choice for Contemporary Graphic Design

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

I've been obsessed with zombie films since I was about ten...just look at my movie collection and you'll see a envy worthy assortment of blood, guts, gore and the undead.  Few of them really have cool posters associated with them, at least not in the sense of a design. Most of them have the run-of-the-mill cheesy illustration of the walking dead or the heroes on the cover. One however has always stood apart from the others....so much so that I keep a poster of it on my wall

George Romero's original Dawn of the Dead was in my opinion the most cerebral of the initial "Dead" trilogy and worked very clever social commentary into the fabric of the film, but I'm going to stop myself from distracting myself with my own film geekery. My point is this: It is very appropriate that it has the most subtle and intelligent of the posters designs in the series

Its main element is a sense of continuation used to draw the viewer closer the the perceived threat of the poster, a stylized eyes only portrait of a zombie (within the film no less ). The wounding adds a touch of asymmetry to what would almost be a very logical and symmetrical design from its center alignment and corresponds to the different red hues throughout the poster. This lends a bit more to the feeling of unease to the  whole piece.

For a horror poster, this image uses very subtle tools to convey the feeling of dread and foreboding  that Romero and the other filmmakers wanted to portray in the film

Herbert, Meggs, and Sagmeister

All three of them had their own piece to say about the role and nature of graphic design work.  Stefan Sagmeister, an Austrian born graphic design with an important firm in New York, advocates being bold (or "having guts" in his words) when designing, suggesting that risk-taking and passion will help a designer prevail more times then not.  Meggs and Herbert approached the subject with a more analytical approach talking at great length about the universal language and hybrid qualities of design.  Herbert specifically mused on the delicate balance between style and substance.


I believe completely in what Sagmeister had to say, and have always felt that boldness is a vital part of truly excellent design or just artistry in general.  Standing out is very important to get the attention of those you're trying to get the message across to.  But also designers have to keep in mind that communication is the main point of a design and cannot get bogged down in the aesthetics. Meggs and Herbery both have excellent points on the careful considerations of our craft.

"What is Graphic Design?" - A Power To Wield

When I was building my artistic skills in high school and community college, I always seemed to encounter the same problem.  I would paint, and draw,  and do other more free-form art methods, but i never seemed to be satisfied on a whole.  I didn't really have any goals when I worked on art, which while relaxing, meant that I would always feel as if I wasn't accomplishing anything of particular worth.  Sure, I had painted a beautiful image, learned to render models faithfully and otherwise flourish in traditional art, but otherwise my world was virtually unaffected by what I had done.

I looked to Graphic Design and saw something different: while it still was definitely expressive and artistic, It DID have goals that could be applied in a practical manner. Not only could I produce a piece that moved people aesthetically, but also change the way they thought and felt in a very surgical sense.  There's much more power with that in my mind, then with most traditional art.  It helps me feel like I am doing my part to improve and shape society to pursue graphic design

Painting's a good hobby for me, Graphic Design's a good purpose

Progress Report #2

Visual Communication I: Collin and I worked today and completed all but five designs. He and I have begun despite the fact that we've only just met to assume different roles in the design and construction of the projects.  I'm sort of the aggressive irrational type, making my ideas filled with emotion, making my ideas stylish but not very practical or clear. Collin on the other hand is quite a bit calmer and more logical then I am, so when ever we throw ideas on the table Collin usually creates the clarity and logic into the pieces while I add punch or come up with the basic gist of how we should operate.  We riff well off each other, refining each others processes as we go.

We completed all but five of the pieces together, and laid enough of a plan to where when he left for work, I was able to complete three others.  We'll meet later tomorrow to finish the remaining pieces.

Typography I: Its interesting that the class that I expected to be the most straight-laced class wound up have the project that was the most fun. I completed the illustrations in one sitting and am very pleased with the results.  This project did make me analyze the structure of typefaces and how they made me feel, making it enlightening and entertaining.

Futura P: Yet another example of the most serious thing winding up being the most interesting, Futura had a quality of repeatability not unlike a cookie cuter or stencil. I toyed with the idea that the letter could fit within itself perfectly if place right and started to paint.  Overall I find it to be a striking design that still manages to  keep clear the letter itself.

Clarendon P:  An interesting font this one...its interesting that Mr. Kidwell recommended this typeface right as I started to work on it. When I looked at it, It had a sense of nostalgia with me, reminding me of the type of Americana signage I saw in abundance in the rural areas I used to live. Just as they were trying to do then, I tried to show wear and age with the typeface, think of old country signs and a carousal in the style and positioning of the letters.  It was a project that was very forgiving with mistakes because I was already trying to create a little bit of imperfection while still maintaining the type structure.

Garamond P:  I looked at the letters sloping forms and while I saw a delicateness, I saw a little bit of rigidity as well.  I approached it as if it was metal or jeweler material and tried to render a bit of a metallic feel to each letter.

Color, Drawing, Form: I still tend to feel very unprepared with my skill sets in this class...I've inked and colored a few VERY basic posters (Photoshop only) for the Theater dept at Mineral Area College.  Just in two classes I've realized how backward and amateur I had done even THOSE simple projects   I'm still hopeful that I will catch up to a few of my tech savvy classmate by the end of this class, but I still can't help but feel intimidated  by my ineptitude in this matter.  I'll be able to complete my projects, but only by tiny stumbling baby step by baby step.

My studio habits are already starting to take shape, sometimes in extreme ways....like my cup. I bought the largest QT cup they had for the discount.  I've found it lasts me almost exactly one night if I buy it in the morning.  My classmates thought it was hysterically huge, but it works and I don't have to get up for drinks. Its little things like this that make me realize how much I'll have to streamline and micromanage to survive living and working here.

My first blogpost/Progress Report!

This is my first blog post on my first blog....I feel behind from my classmates just saying that, but I'll manage.

I'm beginning to start my first projects of the school year and figured it would be a good idea to start a progress report of sorts.  At some breathing space during my current projects, I'll post how far along I am and give thoughts on any difficulties.  I think it could help if people knew about my projects during the actual process and how I feel about an ETA for completion... that way if someone has any good ideas, or if faculty want to know what exactly I'm doing (wrong or right) they can go here and look.

I'll try it out and see how it goes:

PROGRESS REPORT #1

Visual Communication I: My first project is complete and I did better then I initially thought I would.  I constructed my dots pretty badly harming what were fairly decent compositions (I thought).  Mrs. Gray commented along the same lines and also pointed out a few things hurting my message (I'll post the scans and the criticisms in a separate post when I get home from class).  I should do my main projects at the design studio unless I don't have a choice:  I didn't have a single solid surface to cut on in my entire apartment! Not only did I craft my project badly but it took forever just to do that.  I need to either keep my projects in the design studio, or buy a decent desk for cutting and drafting.

As for my current project, my partner Collin is unable to work tonight on it with me, so I'll continue to do my thumbnail ideas and gather some of my old magazines for use tomorrow when we can be 

 together.

Color, Drawing, Form: I've purchased all the items required for Friday and have set up this blog.  As far as my logo is concerned, my tablet experience helped me quite a bit in drawing the different shapes in the NASA logo (which I suspect may have made Mrs. Ludwig consider it a difficult project compared to the others), but its actually the simple (looking) matter of making the circle that it all rests upon. I am not sure what to do here, so I'll just accept that I don't know what I'm doing and wait for help on Friday. Mrs. Ludwig said there would be some time for help on the project then.   If time permits I'll try to smooth out the outline with the brush tool on Adobe Illustrator.

Typography 1: My letters project I'm fairly pleased with, but I'll draw it again more slowly and distinctly (and write something other then chicken-scratch...it seems bad form to write illegibly for a typography course). I feel confident about the project.

Overall, I'm not all that stressed about this week, I'll be fine as long as I use my time wisely (I usually do)

I have my other courses, but I figured all this blog was to be used for was for courses pertaining to my major.  If you're one of the faculty and want to know what part of my resume I'm on or what chapter I'm reading in Western Art...throw me a comment.  In the meantime I'll just assume that's none of your concerns.

Have a great school year,! I think I will!