New way of thinking

I came into these art classes thinking that I had to learn a new way of creating art! But learning new ways of adapting old skills is what I've learned. 

What I've Learned So Far.

In the world of art I think the thing that will stick with me through it all will be this past weeks lesson about grids and how to use them. People look at magazines not knowing that it's not just pictures and words. It's more complex than that. You have thousands of typefaces to chose from and you have so many other variables to put into your designs. One thing I think people forget about is to use grids when you're making something. In the past couple weeks I have learned that useing grids really help with taking something that looks okay by the to making something look great with focusing on alignment and structure. It's important to always use grids making any design that you could be doing whether it's a business card, a poster or anything of that sort. Every designer should also think about Hierarchy and the way your design is presented it is one of the most important aspect of being an artist. I think if you don't get the concept of that you can't begin to be a designer. I think these things I will take with me through my journey of becoming a designer.

Wow tough question.

Honestly I can't think of anything that wasn't worth learning. The most important thing in typography I have learned is that you shouldn't use more than two typefaces in a piece.  the only thing I can really say wasn't that helpful was having take my career development class already. Because I took it first quarter I didn't have all my projects to throw in to a portfolio or fix my resume towards the career I want. So I feel like the class was wasted. Other than that nothing I would say was pointless.

In My Head

Alright, I never thought that I would be using grids in typography. Really I thought that I was done with all of that in grade school. Now its back, and will be drastically creditable in each and every assignment I will ever create as A designer. With all of the guidelines that I have learned in typography I feel that I can do anything. I have learned all of the rules, well maybe not all but i'm on my way. I also feel that anyone who wants to be a designer or even think of themselves as a designer is not  a designer until they have taken typography. I believe very strongly that this is the base of any creation, there is a whole history behind it and many many people have not the slightest idea. Hierarchy and the concept of what you are putting out there is very important because its making sure that the readers or even more importantly that your clients receive wholeness and accurate completion in your design.

Typography in Real-Life

The importance of typography skills are drastically needed no matter what field of art you are involved in. Once I gained my game design certificate, I had not known the importance of a hierarchy or even the sense of a grid. With knowing these concepts now, I can concur that using both these skills would both help me be more successful with my finished product as well as make the work easier. I have not yet determined what I want to do with my graphic design degree, however fallowing these concepts will help me in my art career.  Typography can be found in any artistic field and the importance of these typographic guidelines can make a good concept an amazing concept. Using the correct typeface for a given idea is also a great tool for artists. Many people can initially look at a word and instantly determine the feel it is trying to portray without actually reading the context. This helps gain attention from certain audiences in which the designer is wanting to reach. Bellow is an example of an artist using a grid for his concept art. This goes to show that grids are useful for many art fields.

Web Image Source:
http://media.tumblr.com/b5c8a99207099a5f3ca4ae074dbc2eca/tumblr_inline_n9u66s3f7h1qjvn5w.jpg

As I Move On...Type Will Follow...

Although I'm studying for a degree in animation, I'll be honest, I believe that what I've learned so far in typography will be very useful in this particular field. Whether it'll be animation in movies, games, or cartoons, type and the knowledge of typography can have an important role in this trade. For example, let's say in a cartoon or video game. There will always be type included; as in a title of a show, context in a game or the ending credits of a movie...typography is everywhere in animation. This is where choosing the right typeface for the theme of your work comes to play (action or sports game, children's cartoon, etc.).
Learning the skills to classify typefaces and which ones will convey the message I'm trying to give, I know this knowledge will be a huge tool in my future trade. If I decide to pursue a career in graphic design I know grids are going to be one of the most important skills to master to become successful, but I'm not quite sure how they could work in animation. I may be wrong about this assumption, I'm not really sure, but I'm willing to learn anything and everything about typography. A career can go a long way when it comes to showing clients that you really know what can work as a great design. In the end, whether I use typography a lot in my career or not, I'm grateful to be in this course and excited to be studying the "science" behind type. 

Which is important and which is not?

     I have learned that grids are one of the most important things, especially if you want to be precise when arranging your designs and type in a specific way. I have also found out that there are many different types of fonts and classifications of type. Each one can give a different feeling than the other.
     Even though I never thought any of the stuff I learned was entirely useless to me, but there was only one thing that didn't seem as important to me as everything else I learned. I don't think of the phrase "Typography is what language looks like" as a very important thing that I had learned. As to why I feel this way is probably just because I never really thought about it. It just seemed kind of like common sense to me like walking and talking.

Real-Life Typography

We’ve spent a lot of time in our design classes critiquing our own designs and those of others. Fortunately we usually know the context… the background of the work and the specific design brief that was (or was not) being followed.

We’re developing skills and a knowledge base for our continued growth as designers. Generally, though, the user (or viewer) of our work as designers won’t be interested in the skill with which we have met our constraints. Does the use of contrast or proximity really mean anything to the reader of a newsletter? Does any viewer ever consider the hierarchical level of the type on a poster? Does anyone even see the relationships between shots when viewing a video (for there is, indeed, such a thing as proximity in time)?

“For the designer,” Norman Potter wrote, “good design is the generous and pertinent response to the full context of a design opportunity, whether large or small, and the quality of the outcome resides in a close…correspondence between form and meaning.”

Architect Louis Sullivan expressed the thought in simpler terms: “form ever follows function. This is the law.”

But whether in building a skyscraper or in designing a business card, is detail really all that important? In a market economy world of fast food, designer knockoffs, and discount stores, could the time put into a design be worth the effort?

What have you learned in Typography that is truly useful to you in your career? Will it really matter if your designs follow a grid? If you are (correctly) choosing an Old Style typeface instead of a slab serif?

Provide a couple of examples of what you think really might of use to you (and your fellow students) in your careers…and what seems to be less than useful. In your reply to at least one of your peers, either offer a counterpoint or suggest an area that you think will be even more important as you develop.

What I have learned.

One of the most important things I have learned is how far back Typography goes. I never looked at it as more than just another type of art. It actually is a way of life. I love the the quote from Ellen lupton. "Typography is what language looks like." It is such an awesome simple phrase that has so much meaning. The second would be the difference between legibility and readability. Not the fact that I learned them but a I learned the difference between the two. I believe those a very confused group of words. They are so similar and very hard to explain the differences unless you fully understand. I believe that I have learned them. The only thing I would say is that I do not agree with Typography being the most important tool in design. Although very important especially for displaying an image but I think like a band, everything must work together equally to create a masterpiece and obtain the definition of harmony.

In this course I have learned many things, like the whole history behind Typography. I would never have guessed that all of these things were so important to be a designer. All iv'e ever wanted to do was draw, color and paint. Drawing was my strong point, not all of this digital stuff with type and fonts all of the uploading and downloading. I really thought that typography was going to be a breeze. I came into this course fresh and dumb, I thought it was a complete joke. I found out different very fast.


I have to admit that one of the things that have stuck with me and i think about it all the time, is that its unprofessional to outline a title or type. Maybe the reason why i think about it so much is because i see it all the time. Now when I see it in public places I laugh to myself. Iv'e also learned how to sketch a font, which i really enjoy doing. Iv'e also learned partially about grids i'm sure we will learn more this coming week.

Two Elements;

From this course I have learned one key element to always keep in mind when making a design is picking the right typeface, when you're making a poster or anything of that matter. It's always good to keep in mind what your client wants and also put your spin on things. Bring a couple idea's to the table but always make sure you do what they want. You want to always make sure the typeface you choose flows with the design that you are choosing.
Also, another elemnt I think would be important that I have learned is something Mr. Sattelmeyer always works into our assingments every week, "readability and legibility." You must always make sure that your piece is readable, meaning is clear and put together with lettering and the way you put them on the design. Legibility meaning the way the design is it's not to much but not to little. Make the design where it's able to be read it's clear and nice.
I think these two elements are the most important because it could make or break the design with the clients and or with the people who see it. I think I have learned first hand that it's not easy doing this all in one design but I also am getting to know myself better with designing and using these elements in my designs.

Is Everybody In?? Our Careers Are About To Begin!

Ever since starting this course and even this program itself, I've learned so much about the actual science behind design, hand drawn and digitally. As long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be in the design field, specifically animation. I've had a love for character design my whole life and my love for drawing and designing goes back to my childhood but I never really broke down all the aspects of what it is to be a good designer as well as a successful one. I believe this program will help me as a designer and teach me the tools to create the best pieces of art I possibly can. I've always had some what of an idea on the importance of appearance when it comes to graphic design, for example, placement of images and text and having an eye for color schemes and what fits best in a design. Typography..I'll be honest, I've never realized how crucial and important it really is.

The two concepts that stand out the most to me when it comes to typography is choosing the best typeface that helps convey your message and placement of text. Before, I'd probably just decide on any kind of typeface but now, knowing the classifications, I can decide if a design of mine would best work with an old style typeface or maybe something more contemporary like a modern typeface. I would have never given it a second thought! Although my first attempt at using grids was bit of a failure, after going over it in class and with the critiques from my peers, I'm gaining a better understand of it all. Now in the process of learning grids a bit more, I can really perfect the ability to establish balance and hierarchy when placing texts in any project I'll be working on; in school and beyond..I love this typographical design of the lyrics from a Doors' song that I had to put it with my post. I couldn't help it!!

  It is always important that the viewer of your work be able to understand your intent whether it be through reading what is in the design or understand the feeling you wish to convey through the placement of the designs or the colors you implemented into your work. The most important things, I believe, to be implemented into a design is the combination of a concept and a rule, "readability and legibility" and "no touching." These are important in the way that your work may be misconceived if you do it wrong. If your viewer cannot read the type correctly, they might become confused or lose interest fairly quickly. The rule of "No Touching" is to avoid visual tension in a design. Even though "No Touching" is a good rule to go by, this doesn't mean that you can space out words too much as it can still be irritating, but in the sense of causing too little visual tension. If you space the letters of a word out, you can strain the reader's attention just as much as putting the same word too compressed, as in putting the letters too close.

  I will implement this knowledge into my career as a designer so that the viewer will understand the message I am trying to convey. If I make a poster or such, I will not make it too compressed or too spaced out with the text and I will make the letters not blend with the background but instead pop out. Since I will have to use designs almost all the time, I am also sure I will have to add text to the design eventually, if not immediately. This will also mean that I will still need to make sure the text stands out from the background in a way that it is readable and legible yet still fits with the design.

The Two Elements From This Course

   Throughout this course I have learned many things that will make me a more successful graphic designer in the future. Before this class, I had pictured graphic design being a combination of graphics on a web page or poster that portray a meaning or concept. I really hadn't thought about the text that reside upon the page or the importance of the typefaces within. With this said, the first important element I have learned from this course is choosing the correct typeface. Choosing the correct typeface to bring about a certain tone or meaning is such an important step when creating a graphic.  The font selection is crucial when trying to convey an emotion to the reader. We had touched on this subject briefly in our last class, but I wanted to share another example with my team members.  For example, say a poster is created to express the negative affect war has on our economy. The font chosen should portray that emotion, choosing a typeface such as the one bellow would not work for the given poster. The one to the right would however work.

                                           







  The second important element I believe is most important is "readability and legibility". This goes hand in hand with the phrase " no touching". I have learned that we should organize our graphic designs in such a way in which the viewer can read it easily and can visually see the important context within it. The graphic should be formatted in such a manner that gains interest from the reader.  This lures the viewer into reading on and potentially urging them to learn more or attend such event. Overall, I believe that typeface selection as well as legibility and readability are the two important elements I can take forth from this course.

Week 8: Typographic Education

Art direction, design critic, and author Steven Heller wrote in The Education of a Typographer that “teaching a student graphic design before teaching her type and typography is like teaching a baby to walk before she crawls.”

“Type,” he says, “is the formal expression of writing, and writing is the physical representation of language. Type is the lingua franca of graphic design… type is the single most important graphic design element, and typography is the most consequential course a student can take as an undergraduate.”

I certainly have to agree with that, for, even as a filmmaker, I was indebted to dedicated typographers who helped create the graphics for innumerable commercials, films, and ads. If I didn’t believe how important typography was to my graphic design career, I might not be teaching a course in it…and making you learn type classifications.

But, as Steven Heller wrote, “the efficient study of type and typography is an ongoing process that involves much more than knowing the names of a few typefaces.”

Studying typography prepares you to draw from history, develop confidence, and be informed by the experience of generations of designers. “Yet, good typography does not happen with the flick of a switch. Fluency (in designing with type) means having the ability to … to make considered choices, which is the paramount result of a good education.”

But this class isn’t about me; it’s about you and what you are learning.

This week, stop and think about what you have learned from your reading, from the course content, and from the projects and their critiques. What are the most important things you learned and how will you apply that knowledge to your career as a designer?

In two or more paragraphs, explain the importance of two (2) concepts, rules, or elements of design that you feel are the most significant things you’ve learned in the course.

In your reply to a fellow student, explain which of the two items that student chose is, in your opinion, the most important.

readability

Ok on this one i scaled it at 106 points and i used Garmond. i used the type tool and wrote the word out and then i used the rotate tool on the second one, and i individually typed out each letter and rotated the letter. The third one i used the reflect tool and i also typed each letter out individually and tried to pace them neatly. I do believe that something like this is readable long as you dont try to over do it. I do believe that a project such as this should stay really simple.

Read it and we... .wait wait..

I used Comic Sans MS for my experiment. In the second line I flipped the I and the S around and upside down then changed the P and H to caps while taking the L, U, and C out of caps. I reflected the D. The third line I reflected it horizontally. I believe that readability is always important. If you can't read it then how would I get the message to you. The only time I would say that readability doesn't matter is if you were making a jumble puzzle for some one. I do believe what we did here could be a very valuable design tool as long as you don't over do it. You ever read those type of puzzles where the letters are all jumbled but somehow you can still read the whole paragraph with ease and the paragraph is usually is explaining why that's possible? I that is a perfect example of this design tool and how it can be used to grab a readers attention. For example see the link.

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/can-you-read

The first version of the word is clearly legible and readable and to me, words in all capital letters are by far the easiest to read. For the second version, I still kept it readable but somewhat illegible. I can still read the word without too much of a problem but I reversed the B and K as well as flipping the R upside down to trick the eye just a bit. For the third version of my word, it's obviously very much unreadable and without a doubt, illegible. I basically placed the whole word upside down, or reflected the second version of the word. Although it's totally illegible, I kept the W and R in the correct form just to make it SOMEWHAT readable...just for fun! This technique can be a valid tool in design in certain cases. If in a case let's say an album cover, and the band was going for an intricate design feel, where there is basically no rules or standards, I can see this working. So in cases such as the one I've stated, sometimes readability isn't too important but I wouldn't recommend having your business logo/title or for example, magazines and/or novels designed in this way. It may not be a good idea to have a reversed, upside down title. Do you agree??

My thoughts are that this is a really useful tool in the sense of making a poster to draw somebody's attention but then again the quantity of words that are unable to be read can cause somebody to just give up entirely. So with that I would say that it matters in order to draw a crowd but if you do more than a headline or such of a poster or sign it will make the customer or viewer lose interest. All I did was made an outline of the letters and reflected the y o h and a and then rotated all of the letters except y and h and reflected the rotated M a and r.

Readability in wording

For this weeks blog post, I chose to change the font Arial.

In the example below, I started off with the word readable typed in Arial font.

For the second portion, I chose every second letter and flipped it horizontally.

This makes it a little harder to read then the original text. 

I then flipped the two beginning letters and last letter.

This is now a hard to read word.

I believe this can be a valid design tool in certain circumstances.

If the message your are trying to portray is lackadaisical, then this would work perfectly.

However, this style would only work for a small portion of designs.

Many people have enough trouble reading a sign while driving.  

Readability is almost always important, to insure people are understanding the concept of the wording. 

In this corner: Legibility vs. Readability

In studying design rules, we’re often reaching far back in time. For example, an optimum line length between 18 and 24 picas—3 to 4 inches—was established back in 1929. Today, readers have a higher tolerance for both longer and shorter line lengths; your APA-format papers are 6 ½ inches wide and browser windows can be much wider; mobile device screens can be much smaller than 18 picas.

When a web page can get shrunk to the width of a smartphone, it would seem that the “rules” about legibility need to be revised.

Adrian Frutiger (well known for the creation of Univers, Frutiger, Glypha, and Avenir typefaces) concluded: “the foundations of legibility are like a crystallization, formed by hundreds of years of use of selected, distinctive typefaces. The usable forms that have stood the test of time are perhaps permanently accepted by human-kind as standards conforming to aesthetic laws ...”

In other words, new forms of type and type of poor quality hinders the reading process.

This would seem to imply that type could be legible and still unreadable.

Typographer Matthew Carter (who designed Verdana and Georgia) finds it’s difficult to define legibility/readability because “Legibility can be measured because successive degradations demonstrate how letterforms hold up. But readability is difficult to measure. People read and comprehend best those typefaces which they are most familiar.”

Type designer Zuzana Licko (Mrs. Eaves, Filosophia) extends the argument: “Typefaces are not intrinsically legible. Rather, it is the reader's familiarity with faces that accounts for their legibility. Studies have shown that readers read best what they read most.”

Consider blackletter typestyles. While we find them illegible today, they were actually preferred over more humanistic designs during the eleventh and fifteenth centuries.

Today, Times New Roman might be the “most readable typeface” since you are required to write all your papers in it. (Oh, go ahead, be radical: write a paper in Baskerville Oldface or Garamond and see if your professor notices!)

On the other hand. Rudy VanderLans, founder and publisher of graphic design magazine Émigré, thinks that “If you can’t read something—never mind, it probably wasn’t written for you. People who complain about not being able to read the type are usually not the audience the piece was destined to reach.”

This week, perform a design exercise for your post. You experimented earlier in the quarter with derivative typefaces. This week, take a font you are familiar with that is easily readable and over 3 steps make it illegible. (1: original-readable font; 2: difficult but possible to read; 3: really-difficult to read/illegible.)

You don’t want to completely obliterate the type, just reduce the readability.

For Example:

Use your choice of software (Photoshop or Illustrator), but don’t just use a filter or simple distortion. (In the example above, I started with the normal Georgia typeface, then—starting with the third letter—I flipped every other letter upside down in the second version. In the third version, I flipped a copy of the second version upside down.)

Once you’ve created your readable to unreadable example, post it and then describe the process you used to gradually reduce the readability. Tell us if you think this might be a valid design tool to use. Why or why not? Is readability always important?

Online or magazine.

I have found that there are cons and pros to both. A magazine is something that you can own and hold in your hand which can give you a sort of happiness because you own it. It is a material feeling. I have found however that online that between the 3 magazines I chose you can actually go online and start reading the articles without having to pay. The plus side to online subscriptions is that they can do more with the format of them. They can implant videos that you can not put in a magazine. They have more of a choice of how they can set it up to appeal to the reader. (pop outs, moving affects, videos. etc) it can also be more interactive. You can also usually search certain subjects that you are interested in. A magazine can be a little more easy to reach in the sense of not having to type the web address in to get to it. It can be easier to use. It has the index so you can turn right to the page. It is just more simple and plays on what you are already used to doing to read. I would say though that if you have a computer then online would be the best way to view your favorite magazines. But, if you have to invest in a computer than that could be a pricey investment over a magazine.

http://www.aarp.org/magazine/
http://www.rd.com/
http://www.glamour.com/

From Print to Digital...

There are a lot of differences in printed versions of magazines from the online publications. In today's fast paced world, everyone is on the go. I work in a hotel and I know there are still demands for printed newspapers because some are just used to the old ways of getting their daily news. However, with the obsession of devices such as tablets and mobile devices, consumers prefer these modes of access to information over print. In this digital world, magazine companies are looking to roll with the times and benefit from all of this. Some may do well with the transition and some may not unfortunately. Here are three examples I've researched: 

The New York Times, one of the most prestigious papers ever published, as made this transition. With a new design online that is more suitable for work and life on the go and with the cheaper cost of having the subscription online, it seems like the obvious choice. For some, the want to stick to the old ways. A research conducted found that people who read the printed version remember more news stories and the points of the stories more than online readers. In this study, done by readers from the University of Oregon, found that the layout of the online version may alter the reading experience with ads inserted mid-story and forced to click additional pages to finish articles. Some still find printed newspapers easier to finish the articles and are less distracting. 

Sports Illustrated is one that may have a tougher time with the transition. The customer base is an older demographic which, not all of course, may not be very familiar with using the internet. When a consumer has defined a brand a certain way, it's hard to change the meaning of that brand and SI is closely tied to the print product as well which can be an upside to the digital world because this magazine is still in print and I see them everywhere! The positive side of the mobile version however is that it has a tiled look on the desktop with scores front and center and allows editors to mold the site into different formats depending on what is happening in the news. These tiles allow for ads that can attract advertisers and that can always be good for business.

In one case where a magazine threw in the towel in this fight was Newsweek. After 80 years in print it will solely be online-only. Unfortunately for them the cost of print and distribution was too great and instead looked at the opportunity to expand digitally which was a huge motivation for this choice. It was difficult for Newsweek to maintain printed weekly magazines with the declining advertising and subscription revenues because readers were asking for the magazine online more and more. I think if layouts are right, websites and mobile versions are user-friendly and the content is on key, digital can be a great alternative but there are a lot of consumers out there who are not connected to the digital world so a decision like this could make or break any business.

After 79 years in print, Newsweek goes digital only | Reuters

Stretching a brand from print to digital | Olive Software

Print vs. Online: How the print edition of the New York Times trumps the online version.

* NOTE: I do not have an actual subscription to ANY of these magazines. Also I cannot use internet on my phone, so I couldn't really view the mobile site but I viewed the computer's version. *

TIME – February 2015

In the online version and the printed version, you see the same cover page which is “Cheap Gas” for this issue. In the online version, the headline is right underneath the cover page’s photo. As for the printed version, you have to flip halfway through to page 32 to see the same article. The picture shown in both are very different in one very big aspect. The picture shown online is seemingly small while the one in the printed version takes up a page. In the online version you don’t see the first letter of the article in a drop cap as you see in the printed version. The online type’s margins are also larger than that of the printed version’s margins. The online magazine seems to be more popular in the aspect of it being easier to access on-the-go, but you have to have a subscription in order to access the full magazine articles and pages. Even with buying them from the store it is not always in the best interest as you can easily forget to take the magazine with you. They both are in the same type but not the same sizes. The online version is larger and easier to read, since you can zoom in and out but with the printed version you will need a magnifying glass or put the paper as close as you can until you can read it.

 Cheap Gas - TIME

ConsumerReports – January 2015

            The online version and printed version are different and yet also the same. The online version does not require you to pay for the subscription so long as you search for the magazine you want to view and don’t go to the magazine page that pops up as you search for the site. The printed copy does not have all of the content that is available on the website. The magazine takes 3 columns per page to fill up the page with type with small amount of thumb space but the site has PLENTY of thumb space as you scroll down, and get past the ads. The type is definitely different as the type in the printed copy has a serif type but the online version has a sans-serif type. Once again the online version has no drop cap while the printed version has one. I believe that once again the online version is much better since it is mobile and has more pictures to help you understand the article’s meaning.

 Will A Gluten-Free Diet Really Make You Healthier - ConsumerReports

Florida Sport Fishing – January-February, 2014

            The online version and the printed version both have serif type. Maybe since it is an older issue, the online version did not require a paid subscription. The picture shown to symbolize the article is very different in both versions. The online version is extremely small compared to the printed version, which takes up two pages. The quoted section in the printed version has a green box around quotation marks but the online version has a red box around the quotation marks for the same quote. The thumb space is seemingly larger in the online version than the printed version. There are less photos in the online version than the printed version which makes for less space taken up on the online page. In this case, the printed version is better than the online version because some of the pictures shown in the printed version displays a visual reference to more valuable information about the article.

Midnight Mules - Florida Sport Fishing