Typography - Project 2B

12/06/2020 - 10/07/2020 (Week 9 - Week 13)
Yeo Hui Qi / 0334134 / B' CS
Typography

Project 2B / Typography: Expression, Hierarchy & Composition

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LECTURES

Week 9 

(Project 2a poster feedback and Project 2b briefing)

Pre-recorded lecture: Typo_6_Screen&Print

A lecture on "Typography in Different Mediums"

Typography exists not only on paper but on a multitude of screens, subject to many unknown and fluctuating parameters. Our experience of typography today changes based on how the page is rendered, because typesetting happens in the browser.

Print Type vs. Screen Type

1. Type for Print
• Designed intended for reading from print
• Designer's job to ensure that the text is smooth, flowing, and pleasant to read.
• Versatile, easy-to-digest typeface
2. Type for Screens
• Typefaces intended for use on the web. Often optimized and modified to enhance readability and performance on screen in a variety of digital environments.
• Examples of these modifications are taller x-height (reduced ascenders and descenders), wider letterforms, more open counters, heavier thin strokes and serifs, reduced stroke contrast, as well as modified curves and angles for some designs
• There is more open spacing to improve character recognition and overall readability.

Other subjects of comparison are hyperlinks, font sizes (16 pixels on screen = 12 points on paper), system fonts for screen / web safe fonts, and also pixel differences between devices that depend on the size of the screen.

Static vs. Motion typography

1. Static Typography
• often seen on billboards, posters, magazines, and fliers
2. Motion Typography
• Temporal media offers typographers opportunities to "dramatize" type.
• For letterforms to become fluid and kinetic
• Some examples are film title credits, music videos that have animated lyrics, and advertisements. Motion typography is used in these contexts to create rhythm, brand values, and evoking a certain mood.

Week 10

For week 10, we were given feedback for Project 2B and our blogs were assessed for Project 2A.

Week 11

We went through 3 rounds of intensive feedback from Mr Vinod for Project 2B. He did mention that he shouldn't be giving much feedback but if he didn't, then we wouldn't be able to improve if we were left to our own devices and instincts. 

Week 12

We went through a brief feedback session from Mr Vinod to finalize the static poster so that we can move on to the next phase which is animation.

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INSTRUCTION
Project 2b

1. Find a slogan or line as a social message about something you're passionate about (preferably something that applies to our immediate community; students of Taylor's University or people of Malaysia)
2. Design and express based on the line that you've chosen as an A3 poster with only minimal graphical elements.
3. We should do some research on the topic of the line we've chosen.
4. Sketch our ideas
5. Digital exploration (digitize our work)
6. Refine
7. Animate

For my line / slogan, I've chosen to base it on the topic of mental health. I chose it because it was a topic that I am passionate about and something I feel should be addressed more in our community.

My chosen line is "Depression is a flaw in chemistry, not character."

Sketches:

Figure 1.1 Sketch 1

For my first sketch I used the semicolon to represent Project Semicolon that was a social media movement in 2013 dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. I, myself, had participated in 2013 to show support by drawing the semicolon on my wrist. The semicolon represents the choice to continue living despite the struggles with mental health or illness.

Figure 1.2 Sketch 2

For sketch number 2, I drew the serotonin molecule. Scientists believe the imbalance of this brain chemical may be one of the causes of depression in some people. I've just replaced some of the lines with the line I've chosen, "Depression is a flaw in chemistry, not character."

Figure 1.3 Sketch 3

For the third sketch, I tried to replicate a certain style I saw online with the word "depression" because overlaying the line "depression is a flaw in chemistry, not character" made a messy and dark feel. This is because I think it represents the meaning of "depression" quite well because mental illness can be messy and it can feel like you're stuck in a dark place because of it. And then for "chemistry", I integrated the serotonin molecule from the previous sketch.

Digitization (First Attempt):

Figure 1.4 Digitization of Sketch 1

Figure 1.5 Digitization of Sketch 2

Figure 1.6 Digitization of Sketch 3

Second Attempt:

I decided to further work on the third design (Figure 1.6). 

Figure 1.7 Second Attempt Poster 1

For my second attempt,  I added more clouds and added a gray scale gradient so that we can see more of the cloud shape. I also added some letters to cover the word "depression" in order to express the meaning of the word more. Compared to Figure 1.6, I also made the words at the bottom smaller so that the focus will be on the word "depression"

Figure 1.8 Second Attempt Poster 2

Since I've noticed that the molecule design for the word chemistry was too playful, I changed it to plain text and highlighted "flaw" and "chemistry" in all caps. I also added more clouds in this version compared to Figure 1.7 and it made more contrast between the clouds and the words at the bottom. It almost looks like the clouds are weighing heavily on the words.

Week 11 (progress):

After 3 rounds of feedback were given, I had made many iterations and changes but mostly, I imporved the density of the cloud, the position of the text below the clouds and made the word "depression" bigger as well as adding brush strokes as Mr Vinod suggested.

Figure 1.9 Sixth Attempt Poster (JPEG)

Week 12 (progress): Final Static Poster

Figure 1.10 Final Poster (JPEG format)

Final PDF Format:

Figure 1.11 Final Poster (PDF format)

We started on our animation for this week and I had some trouble since my cloud was made up of so many words Illustrator had trouble loading whenever I made a slight change. I had to wait 10 minutes every time I duplicated or moved anything. I tried converting the words into shapes and then merging them but that didn't work out and Illustrator took 30 minutes to respond. I went to a friend for help and eventually I managed to convert the cloud into a png image and use that to edit all the frames for my gif. Compared to my previous method, this allowed Illustrator to work faster and I finished my work efficiently after doing that. I also had some trouble due to the Adobe license expiring so I was not able to make any progress for a few days during the week. I was only able to access Adobe apps 2 days before the class deadline in Week 13.

Animated GIF First Attempt:

Figure 1.12 Animated Poster (GIF format)

For the animation, I made the clouds move behind the word depression and I tried my best to make sure the other words on top of it doesn't move too much. I also made the speckles in the background fall slowly like rain. And finally, I animated letters crawling up the word "depression" to make it look as if it was being swallowed up by the cloud little by little.

After feedback on Week 13, I made changes to make the animation smoother and the cloud movements less random so I made them move side to side.

Final Animated GIF:

Figure 1.13 Final Animated Poster (GIF format)

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FEEDBACK

Week 9 (regarding sketches for Project 2B)

• "It's hard to say from the sketches what it would look like. But I can see that you are thinking hard and making connections. Two things: Visual Impact and Message. Start digitizing your ideas, then you'll know if they are planning out."
• "A reference does not mean you are not developing your own style of expression. A reference is a guide, not a map. It reminds you of the heights you are trying to achieve. That said, if you are confident with your ability and are willing to work hard and fast, you can do away with any form of influence and focus purely on what you have in mind. But, this requires focus, dedication and discipline. You have to keep refining it in order to achieve visual impact on your message. So, surprise me. Digitize."

Week 10

Specific feedback:

• The first poster, it's one idea but it's not the idea.
• The third poster, there's a lot going on in this poster. Focus on the main word which is "depression" and followed by "chemistry" and "character". 
• Suggestion: can make the cloud cover more or the whole page and then painstakingly colour in the word depression instead of just typing out.

General feedback:

• Project 2A(P2A) / Final JPG Artwork from Ai; Poster must be exported 300dpi (Black and White) when uploading on eportfolio.
• There must be 2 posts for P2A and P2B
• Check all embedded files using dark mode/incognito/private browser to see if the files are visible
• Name your posts properly

Week 11

Specific feedback:

1. Round 1
• Add a gray background for the words at the bottom half of the poster.
• Break up the word "depression" and make it take up more space.
2. Round 2
• Make the gray background darker. Choose a colour that is between the shades used for the cloud.
• Align the bottom words better. Maybe align to the letters in "depression".
3. Round 3
• Composition of the bottom text can be improved.
• Explore brushes provided in Facebook resources to make dotted effect around the corners of the cloud.

Week 12:

Specific feedback:

• The positioning of the words at the bottom can be improved
• "is a flaw in" can align it towards the center align to the "i" in depression so that the reader reads that first before "not character"
• "chemistry" and "not" make it the same size and make "character" point size in between "is a flaw in" and "chemistry not" so that it becomes small, then big, then medium in size.

Week 13:

Specific Feedback:

• Make animation smoother

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REFLECTION

Week 9

1. Experience
• It was relatively relaxed lesson as Mr Vinod gave us feedback on our Project 2a and briefed us on Project 2b which is our last assignment for this module.
2. Observation
• When doing my research and sketch, I was unsure of the expectations for this project because the examples found online were complex with many eye-catching elements and designs.
3. Findings
• When I started digitizing like what Mr Vinod asked, I found that Sketch 1 seen in Figure 1.1 above was most visually impactful compared to the other 2 sketches that I did.

Week 10

1. Experience
• It was a tough week because I had many final assignments being assigned all at once and I was under a lot of stress because I'm not known to work fast with assignments.
2. Observations
• I tried making the changes that Mr Vinod had suggested, and I found that having more clouds worked but to carve out the word "depression" was too much for me because I also couldn't keep consistency of the size of the letters.
3. Findings
• I found the molecule design a bit too playful for the poster and I also added black letters on top of the "depression" in order to make it look like it's being swallowed up.
• I've just been emotionally drained to do assignments...

Week 11

1. Experience
• I managed to make the changes that Mr Vinod suggested and it made my poster make much more impact visually.
2. Observations
• I was having trouble with using the brushes but eventually managed to make it work in my favour and it was a great feeling to have accomplished it.
3. Findings
• There is so much more to learn in terms of using Illustrator and what I can make with it.

Week 12

1. Experience
• I didn't have a good time dealing with problems I faced with Illustrator because of my clouds. But eventually I found a way to solve it even though it was quite late when I figured it out.
2. Observations
• Throughout the week, there wasn't really much time to work on this assignment because of other final assignments but I was glad I was able to finish it the night before even though I was having difficulty.
3. Findings
• There are always ways to solve problems we face but sometimes we just need to know where to look and not be afraid to ask about it because we can always learn from others.

Week 13

1. Experience
• This week was stressful because it was the week where all final assignments were being handed in for the semester and I went through the motions of receiving feedback and making changes again for the last time.
2. Observations
• I was still unsure about the animation. On one hand, I was done with the animation and fine with the improvements of making it smoother and improving the movements of the clouds. But, overall just unsure if what I've done was enough.
3. Findings
• The clouds in my animation needed less random movement and more movement over a few frames rather than changing direction in every frame.

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FURTHER READING

Week 9

Excerpt from: Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces

by Philip B. Meggs, Rob Carter

Topic: Futura

I thought it would be exciting to explore one of my favourite type families that was provided to us to use in our Typography module; Futura. It appealed to me because of its geometrical look and simplicity.

Inspired by the Dutch De Stijl and Russion Constructivist movements - along with the Bauhaus school and its dictum that "form follows function" - European designers explored elemental geometry during the 1920s. Futura reflects this passion. It was designed by the German book designer and educator Paul Renner, who applied elementary geometric form to typeface design by constructing Futura with a T-square, triangle and compass. Renner's original concept was quite abstract; numerous changes occured before the Bauer family released it from 1927 to 1930. The original family had 6 weights, plus 3 condensed weights, and an inline design. 

All strokes in each font are made of a single line weight, and the number of strokes to create each letter are minimized. The "o" is a perfect circle, and the "a", "b", "d", "p" and "q" were designed by adding a single straight line to it. The "t" is composed of 2 straight lines, and the tail if the "i" does not curve. The "G" has no foot serif. and the "Q" is a perfect circle broken by a diagonal slash. Futura and the host of other geometric sans-serif fonts was embraced during the late 1920s and 1930s as an expression of modernism and industrial culture.

Week 10

Excerpt from: Culture+Typography: How Culture Affects Typography

by Nikki Villagomez

A ghost sign is an advertisement that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. The sign (hand painted, floor tiles, or neon signs) may be kept for its nostalgic appeal or simply indifference by the owner. Here's an interesting lesson you can learn form studying ghost signs. Achieving a different look with typography, can be accomplished by simply changing your medium. We notice the different forms the letters are forced to take from the grid of the tiled entryways compared to more free hand-lettered signs on the sides of buildings.

Graffiti is more than just urban art that has been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a public surface. Consisting of anything from simple written words to to elaborate wall paintings, graffiti has existed since ancient times with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Miami, Florida is an interesting case study in regards to the amount and quality of graffiti. It is found that the graffiti in Miami isn't affected by the culture of the city as much as the culture of the city is affected by the graffiti.

Week 11

Excerpt from: What Is Typography, And Why Is It Important? A Beginner’s Guide

an article by Jaye Hannah

Typography is the art of arranging letters and text in a way that makes the copy legible, clear, and visually appealing to the reader. Typography involves font style, appearance, and structure, which aims to elicit certain emotions and convey specific messages. In short, typography is what brings the text to life.

Typography is so much more than just choosing beautiful fonts: it’s a vital component of user interface design. Good typography will establish a strong visual hierarchy, provide a graphic balance to the website, and set the product’s overall tone. Typography should guide and inform your users, optimize readability and accessibility, and ensure an excellent user experience. Typography builds brand recognition, influences decision making, and holds the attention of the readers.

Week 12

Excerpt from: Beginning Graphic Design - Typography

an online article

In a way, fonts have their own language. They all have something to say beyond the words on the page. They can come across as casual or neutral, exotic or graphic. That's why it's important to think about your message, then choose a font that fits.

Fonts to avoid:

Some fonts come with extra baggage, including Comic Sans, Curlz, and Papyrus. There's nothing particularly wrong with these fonts—they just have a certain reputation for being outdated and overused.

When deciding which fonts to use, less is more. It's best to limit yourself to one or two per project. If you need more contrast, try repeating one of your fonts in a different size, weight, or style. This trick is practically foolproof for creating interesting combinations that work.

Week 13

Excerpt from: The Fundamentals of Typography: Second Edition

by Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris

When thumbing through a publication, attention is usually drawn to the recto (right-hand) page first as that is exposed to our sight before the verso (left-hand) page, which is why magazine advertisers always want their advertisements positioned on the right-hand page and why quality publications try to maintain right-hand pages free for editorial. The positioning of an image on the recto page reinforces this. Where images are placed, what colours are used, how type is arranged and placed, all have an impact in how we navigate around a page. Irregular columns, body copy overlaying titles, type meeting the parameters of the page, all combine to create an eclectic and engaging design, maintaining interest over a series of spreads.