End of module Evaluation

With this first module, the content chosen has helped me to develop my skills, with having previously having not much typography practice. The content has been challenging, allowing myself to develop and to force myself to change old habits and get me out of my comfort zone. The pace has been a real issue, with tasks having short lead time, having to change my working style to just keep experimenting, instead of thinking too much about the outcome. To improve, I need to develop my research and go into more depth as it will make the ideas come easier and make the concepts more strong in their context. When having an idea, I need to develop more, instead of trying a completely different idea, in order to have a stronger process. Time management was a problem in this module, with finding time to blog each process along the way whilst also designing and creating design boards. The module I found was difficult at times, with being stuck with ideas, which therefore hindered me with falling behind and rushing my designs in order to try and keep up. From the 2nd brief to the last, my work has improved contextually and visually, by finding the process of doing crits every week and continuously designing more easier yet still stressful.The module has challenged me, forcing me to use different materials, different process and look at designing in a different way.

Vignelli Canon

Semantics:  

its finding the depth to what we are designing,  researching into the history of the subject to understand it better. a crucial component to the process of design. 

design without the process of understanding and research is ‘shallow and meaningless’ 

means to understand the subject, which carries the meaning and is understood by the target demographic. stating that designs of which create vulgar design is criminal and creating pollution 

Syntactics:

The syntax of design is the structures, grid, typefaces, text, headlines and illustrations. 

How elements in a design relate to each other 

grids help the process of getting the consistency

Pragmatics:

Our work should stand by itself, without having to explain, otherwise something is missing

The starting point is essential to understand the final result

Discipline:

Every detail in a design is important

‘Discipline is a set of self imposed rules, parameters within which we operate’

it allows us to create a consistent way of working

Appropriateness:

Is the path that leads us to using the appropriate materials and form to express the artwork to lead to a solution. 

Ambiguity:

Designs which can be read with more than one meaning, complementary to each other, however needs to enhance.

Design is one:

‘design is a discipline, a creative process with its own rules’

the discipline of design is one 

visual power:

good design is ones that present a clear concept, that is expressed in a visually pleasing way also

Designs need to be strong visually, that can be created by using different textures for example

Intellectual elegance:

‘intellectual elegance is the sublime level of intelligence which has produced all the masterpieces in the history of mankind’

the essence of design that guides us to the solution that fits best

Timelessness:

A design that responds to peoples needs, that has values, that isn't just a temporary solution

‘we like design that is clear, simple and enduring’

Responsibility: 

a ‘form of economic awareness’ that gives the best solution to a problem

all facts of the problem need to be taken into account

3 levels of responsibility : ourselves- the integrity of the project

                                         Client- to solve the problem 

                                          Public- the consumer of the final desig

a solution that solves the problem but doesn't compromise 

Equity:

the changing of a logo ‘very often motivated by the desire of change merely for the sake of change, that is a very wrong motivation’ 

logos become part of our culture, becomes part of us, so should be protected and only updated for contemporary applications as there is no need to dispose of the core and connotations the brand has

quotes from vignelli 

'The life of a designer is a life of: fight against the ugliness'

'If you can design one thing, you can design everything'

'I don't think that type should be expressive at all. I can write the word 'dog' with any typeface and it doesn't have to look like a dog. But there are people that think that when they write 'dog' it should bark'

'The repercussion of ugliness is endless'

'Unfortunately, there are designers and marketing people who intentionally look down on the consumer with the notion that vulgarity has a definite appeal to the masses, and therefore they supply the market with a continuos flow of crude and vulgar design. I consider this action criminal since it is producing visual pollution that is degrading our environment just like all other types of pollution.'

Vignelli's 6 typefaces

Bodoni- Upper case 'r' has to versions, one with straight tail and one curved
              square dot over the letter I
              upper case 'j' has a slight hook
              vertical stress
              slight serif bracketing
              widely used for posters and headlines

Futura- geometric sans serif
             based on geometric shapes
             headline and body font
           
Times Roman- serif type
                         short ascenders/descenders
                         high x height
                         tall lower case letters

Century expanded- Finely pointed serifs
                               strokes ending in fine tapers
                               stroke contrast is low
                               ball terminal on hook of 'f'

Helvetica- tight spacing between letters
                  tall x height
                  narrow 't' and 'f'
                  square looking 's'
                  closed aperture

Garamond- top serifs curve back into the letter
                   scooped serifs
                   semi parallel angled serifs
                   soft rounded serifs

Muller Brockmans 9 typefaces

studio brief 2

Design 1 is inspired by Cragg’s claim to be constantly pushing to find new relations to people and the material world. The logotype, is formed by taking the concept of human form, which in response creates an expressive tone to the logotype. The logotype has been manipulated form Vignelli’s initial typeface ‘Bodoni’, which has then been hand drawn over, in order to create a more looser form of type, with Cragg stating ‘if you make something with your hands, every change in line, volume, surface, silhouette, gives you a different thought or emotion’

Design 2 is inspired by Craggs most important design feature, stacking, of which Cragg states ‘stacking stuff up does create a role in my work today’. The logotype is based upon Bodoni, with taking 4 shapes from Cragg’s YSP featured sculpture named ‘point of view’ with layering the shapes in order to adhere to Craggs loose form. The concept is visually communicating an energetic logotype, whilst still incorporating Cragg’s style of work. 

Design 3 has been developed from the previous brief, with having the loose form of Cragg’s sculptures being the main inspiration. The logotype has become more of an ligature, with the joining of the letters. The texture of the curved lines was used in order to encapture Craggs’s ‘caught dreaming’ sculpture. The tone of the logotype is therefore a more casual, kinetic style, that takes Cragg’s free hand into consideration, reflecting his process.        

     

Design 4 has been inspired by the main theme of Cragg’s work stacking, however interpretated in a different way from design 2. With Cragg’s work using different shapes, using a variance of materials, the logotype was formed by sketching out some basic shapes and overlapping them in order to create the effect of what would happen if created in sculpture form. The design has been manipulated from Bodoni, creating a more dynamic design with the slanted shapes, of which adheres

to Cragg’s quote ‘there’s lots of dynamic energy involved in keeping form upright’.

Design 5 has been isnpired by Cragg’s title of the exhibition which is ‘a rare category of objects’ to which the idea of using a common object in order to create this logotype was thought of. The logotype has been made with pasta, with then additionally breaking them apart in order to represent the form and strokes that are found in Cragg’s sculptures. The result of the pasta has created a pattern like layerment keeping the original type anotomy of Helvetica.

crit of my final suspended typeface and rationale

communicates the word well
deemed successful as it can be used in the context of the word and in an organised structure
love the meaning behind it
maybe add boxes around the other letterforms, as the 'A' feels different from the rest
add the details about what typeface my design is based upon
approach to the word was clever and created a beautiful typeface- that is unique
love the way the 'K,m,u' look and should take these and redesign the rest in order to be consistent
reminding of a simple type or paths
shorten the rationale in places, with writing more about Erik Spiekermann
further explain type in rationale
show the typeface on grids - shows more of the structure
with the 'z' need to sort out the spacing of the top and the curves



 

YSP- 3 typographic ideas based on Tony Cragg

My 1st final design has stemmed from Tony Cragg's sculpture, in YSP, called outspan. As his sculptures texture is similar to that of icing, the development to this piece was found. Our group experimented with creating type out of yellow icing to try and develop the texture of Cragg's piece. As our idea developed, we decided to add cake into the idea, with cutting out simple shapes to create 'ABC' with. From this, I have extracted the 5 cake shapes to create into the alphabet. 

For my 2nd design, the inspiration has come from Craggs sculpture 'caught dreaming'. I have incorporated the aspect of texture and loose curves in order to create my alphabet from. A drawing tablet was used in order to keep Cragg's way of working, which is starting off by sketching in a loose form. Also, the looser curves were formed more effectively because of using the tablet. The yellow background was chosen, to highlight Cragg's use of the primary colours in some of his sculpture, if he uses bright colours at all. 

For the 3rd design, it expanded from the experimentation of the icing. From the writing of the alphabet with icing, it was apparent that because of the thickness, the alphabet could be seen with the grease marks behind. The grease marks, created a different version of the alphabet, becoming more loose, therefor adhering to Cragg's style of 'loose form' using his varied materials.

Crit of my final typeface

With developing my typeface,  I expanded on the notation idea. With my word being suspended, I looked into the suspension of time and how you can suspended time. To which, I looked at music notation and how the different notes played represent different amounts of time. For my typeface, I then took the most simplistic shapes from music notes. I am going to also develop the phonetic concept into my typeface, by creating a rule in which for how many letters the phonetic version of a letter is I will move it upwards by the corresponding amount. For example, the poetic version of 'B' is 'Bee' so I will move it upwards three times.

The response to my typeface and how to improve was:

Make the gapping between the details of the letters consistant
Use curves on all the letterforms, instead of a mix of curves and harsh edges
Make sure the weight and thickness is the same throughout
Place the alphabet phonetically
Place is a specimen, using the music stave, going throughout
Use the idea of 'twinkle twinkle little star' to add the element of song but also because it has the tune of alphabet, creating a more interesting concept

Group crit for 5 typeface ideas

My 5 ideas in response to the word 'suspended' for my typeface is :

The rule of moving up a part of the letterform in order to adhere to the word 'hung' that has been derived from my word.

suspending dramatically a part of the letterform

Having a point in which the letterforms join from, in order to maintain the 'hung' concept

Using a simple grid in order to create letterforms in which have 'sunken' parts

Taking the shapes of musical notation to reflect the concept of 'suspension in time' 

From my initial sketches, it was evident that my most effective concept was the musical notes idea.

to develop the idea it was suggested that I :

research the concept of phonetics  - trying to incorporate the length of letters 

looking at the more simplistic shapes of notes like circles 

maybe stretching out if the letter is is longer  

using Bodoni as the starting typeface because of the different thicknesses and heights in the letterforms

Tony Cragg Research

Tony Cragg: A Rare Category Of Objects

-states ' I have no idea where a drawing might lead' 'It's a journey- an adventure'

-He creates profiles and manipulates them to a point where only a silhouette, from looking at a certain angle, remains.

-'stacking stuff up does create a role in my work today'

-He creates the sculpture process by initial sketches

Cragg's early work, consisting of organising rubbish from his studio gathered into stacks, gave him some of his early works

Cragg has an interest in scientific analysis and categorisation of materials and processes, stemmed from his early days as a lab technician.

'A Rare Category of Objects' showcases Cragg's intuition to sort and categorise, evidenced from his childhood fossil collection, and expressed through significant early stacked series in which the accumulated content of his studio, including stones, wood, and books, are formed into geological-like sculptures' - Lisson Gallery

'If you make something with your hands, every change in line, volume, surface, silhouette, gives you a different thought or emotion. After several moves, you’re in unknown territory. Although I change material with my hands, the material itself changes my mind. It is a dialogue in which the material always has the last word.' - Cragg

'But sculpture? Art takes on space, makes new forms, ideas, emotions, languages, freedom.'- Cragg

Tony Cragg's tutor who told him that he needed to tidy up in his studio, that sparked his interest in stacking materials in towers. As it was a quick solution to the problem, it became a fixation of which started his association with piling upwards.

'There’s lots of dynamic energy involved in keeping a form upright. Making a sculpture for me is about making a vital sign.' - Cragg

Constantly pushing to find new relations between people and the material world

That spread of possibilities gives a clue to Cragg’s originality. Driven by delight in his materials, for more than 25 years he has flitted between the abstract and the figurative, creating shapes that speak to our humanity yet lie just out of reach of language. Like his drawing, his sculpture is an adventure.- Financial times

5 Initial typeface ideas/research

                                                                        Suspended






   

synonyms related to it:

Hanging

Dangling

halted

interrupted

swinging

on hold

postponed

way of hanging things: nails

                                     string

                                     rope

                                     coat hanger

                                     hook

                                     pegs

what you can hang: lights

                                pictures

                                shelves

                                plants

                                clothes

                                umbrellas

                                paper decorations

                                baubles

                                earrings

                                lightbulbs

Suspended in time is therefore a time period that is temporarily inactive or like they say 'when time doesn't move' or 'time stands still.'

1.  the suspension of time with music- 'rest' in notation
2.  the rule of suspending the tails in the letters
3.  Half of the letter becoming suspended
4. using hooks- fish hooks somehow to relate to hanging of people etc
5.  letterforms being stretched long and width way



Extra ideas to think about: 

-Hanging the letterforms from a point
-Looking at the rhythm of the alphabet
-Diacritics- when certain coded are on top of the alphabet, it makes you say it longer etc
-Grid System





Musical notes that are used the most in music are: crotchets, semibreves and quavers.
The music notes are positioned on the stave according to the pitch of the note.

Kerning, branding and grids

Vignelli
-The grid represents the basic structure of our graphic designs we know it
-Rationalising design allows us to ensure consistency and structure

-Many artists and and architects attempt to explain the 'beauty' of the Roman alphabet by applying a geometric grid to each letterform
-The golden ratio divides a line into two parts relating to each other at approximately 1:1.618 &
plays a significant role in geometry, to create a rationally proportionate shape
-kerning is important to establish the word properly

Helvetica has the characteristics of being modern and simplistic, the brands 'American Apparel', 'American Airlines' and 'Luthansa'- simplistic
                                                          modern
             
Rebranding -
-vignelli stay true to the original brand not trends
the question of is rebranding for change or ...
out of thousands of typefaces, all we need are a few basic ones, and trash the rest' - vignelli
-the use of computer is now visual pollution

Typography Videos

Erik spiekermann- putting back the face into typeface

-It's like music

-looks at books and sketches over it etc and then re draws it the next day from memory

-all language

-Developing different languages - adds more and more

-Communication to be more open - type

-Every word has a rhythm- spaces and characters 

-Started off with an b , ascender, descender, capsize to create a typeface  

House Industries 

-Balance and contrast 

-Do the letters work well together does one have emphasise over the other? - something to think          about

-Type used to enhance other design work 

-looking at typefaces for lettering

Evaluation of final logotype and design boards

From the final outcome of my design boards, showing my chosen logotype in context and how my ideas of logotypes developed, it was clear that I didn't execute the ideas as I would have liked and should have been. The logotype I thought worked well and had an element that could be used in context in different ways effectively.

the critique given to my design boards were:

-the logotype looks a bit basic at first but when in context it thrives

- The mockup looks like an actual website 

- effective how the logo surrounds the whole page - the colour doesn't need to be there 

- designs and contextual part are really good but lacks in the writing aspect x2
- explanation needs more development
- idea of using acetate could overlay
- strong and thorough development shown with tackling the same theme from a different angle
- the development of my logotype into a collection of shapes is effective - animation
- needs more cragg research
- more in context images
- not enough attention been given to type manipulation

With looking back at the final outcome, I would have took more time to develop the initial ideas, as a few were weak with me finding the task more difficult then would have liked. Also, to allow more time to put the final logotype into context to excel my design further, really displaying my concept.

Ligature

For our first task, the brief was to in groups develop a new character for one of the six typefaces in 'the vignelli canon'.
Our group decided to take the brief on by using the text abbreviation 'Af' meaning as fuck, to create it into a character. We looked at the meaning and use of the word, which is to emphasise what you are saying, most likely in a text. From this idea, we started to experiment with characters that are used to exaggerate in a text message, such as exclamation marks and question marks. We chose to use the font Futura as it is a more modern font to fit the contemporary use of the word.

                                      

 
For our first final design out of the two, we went with the concept of having our ligature become an underline, to take into account the context of the abbreviated word, which is to exaggerate something said. The 'a' shape is smaller than the F, which is found in negative space, to highlight the harshness of the fuck when the word is spoken.
Our 2nd design was based upon a full stop that has a larger tail, to relate to the context of the word as when used in a sentence, AF is usually the last word said before a pause. The design is simple and contemporary, still adhering to the word used.

The feedback from the group crit was:

The simplicity is effective
The question of how would it be translated to social media
Use of horizontal space is innovative
Concept makes sense
Clever and works well

Group crit - My Tony Cragg designs

In my 1st design, as shown above, I was advised to:

Thicken the lines
Perhaps create in sculpture form
Animation to see the different profiles of the letters
Simplify, use less shapes

In my overall work it was suggested that to develop and progress, that I;
play with the idea of stacking, represent Cragg's more dated less contemporary style better, be less illustrative and playful and use his full name to represent him and his work more effectively.

To progress better with my designs and the brief I need to see the brief in a different view and take Cragg's main element in his work, which is stacking, and incorporate that with the logotypes in a less literal form. For example, by cutting out different typefaces and stacking them on top of each other.