Typography Sample and Research

I thought I'd post a sample of the type of typography that I've chosen to focus on for the second project.

This piece of paper had been lying on my desk for a week, and I found that over a period of time, a very personal sort of documentation evolved with no real design beyond the moods I happened to be in for each element. The elements arose spontaneously and were the results of activities such as testing out paint, noting songs, movies, and quotes, alongside idle drawing while speaking to someone on the phone.

I am particularly draw to this type of typography since, even though everyone has a unique style of handwriting, deviations exist within each individual style, demonstrating mood and personality in an instant, as well as over time when viewed together. As such, the focus of my project is personal typography, and to an extent, the psychology behind hand-writing. I aim to explore the different styles that arise in spontaneous documentation, and the aesthetics of what is produced when there is no conscious consideration of design.

A quick survey of my peers indicated that hand-written notes are on the decline, mainly due to our increasing reliance on technology. There is simply no real need to make hand-written notes these days. Through this project, I therefore intend to reveal the intimacy and spontaneity that has been lost in digital typography.

Research & Sample Ideas

I've found some examples of Si Scott existing publication designs, covers, posters and spread pages.

Si Scott's works are mostly illustrated and very decorative. He usually draw his artwork cross over double pages or extended from the original image. 

Here are my initial design ideas, I'm playing with 3 colours, orange, green and blue. I made the cover go along with the layout. Here are the screen grab of the BLAD designs.

After consulting with Wing, he gave me advice of combining the elements of the green and blue to create a better BLAD in terms on both image display and type arrangement. 

research so far

these are just a few pictures that i have taken around the city of the font Helvetica.

re:collection

this is an awesome archive of australian graphic design.

about
re:collection is an inventory of australian graphic design produced in a period circa 1960–1980. It was never intended to be comprehensive, representative or exhaustive. the selection of content is purely subjective; fundamentally it is work I find inspiring, intriguing or influential.

the project was borne out of frustration at the lack of australian graphic design reference material available, specifically from the decades mentioned above. there is a paucity of books on the subject, a quandary noted by esteemed design commentator Rick Poynor in his excellent article ‘Look inward: graphic design in australia’ (eye magazine 46, 2001). poynor attributes the deficiency to ‘a tendency for australian design to underplay itself,’ a modesty that would be understandable if there was, in fact, nothing worthy of acknowledgment. It is my hope and aim that visitors to this site will appreciate that this is not the case.

the images shown on the site have been collated from a range of disparate sources including books, magazines and online resources, and consequently the quality of reproduction varies substantially. where possible, i have acknowledged the source of the imagery, the originator of the work and the approximate period or date it was created.

take a look here.

Decorative Fonts on Print & Outdoor // Si Scott

I'm working on a book for decorative fonts, and focused in one of the designers, Si Scott. I can't find his work in Sydney, however I took some photos of decorative fonts are used on the shops. I got them in City area.

Here are some works from Si Scott designs, they appear on print and outdoor. Images are from his site http://www.siscottstudio.com/ and some of the online gallery.

The double page spread of the book will be showing the conversation on his interview, which is talking about on his design, and his thinking on it.  Here's the 1st sample of the book cover and double page spread.

I meant to make the cover and layout simple to make the art work of the artist stands out, and using the colour Orange, is a Synonymy to the Eye-catching to the illustrated / decorative font of the Designers. However, for the first attempt the layout elements maybe conflicted with the ornamental  feel on the artwork. I'll be trying some more layouts and colour combination.

I found this type on the window of a bakery / cafe in newtown. The message of this type is to reinforce the culture of the bakery; being a place where sweet delicious things are baked with love! I like the serif typeface as it gives it a chic and cute feel, very similar to the essence of the bakery, which fits cosy in a terrace house, yet retains a trendy appeal.

Week 7 (and it's a bit quiet in here)

Hi everyone, welcome to Week 7 and a new lecture. This week it's a rather technical topic - preparing your files for print. This part of the design and production process can be a daunting task. There are many things to consider. This lecture establishes a checklist of the most crucial considerations at the moment. Technologies evolve rapidly so It's the designer’s responsibility to keep abreast of the latest developments adopted by the industry. If there were one maxim I can suggest, it would be to ALWAYS discuss your job with your printer. This seems simple but is sometimes overlooked due to "lack of time" or a feeling that "everything will be ok". The truth is that often things are not ok, and that in fact, much time is lost and possible considerable expense incurred (yes by you the designer) because the appropriate questions were not asked or a breakdown of communication has occurred.

Wing alerted me to this excellent video on Vimeo for one of our other classes but I thought it was a good inclusion as a supplementary for this class as well.


What is graphic design ... what a graphic designer does from Design Council on Vimeo.

Ok finally I thought it has been a bit quiet in here the last week or so despite some (well a few) excelelnt posts about type found on the street. Looking forward to seeing more - don't forget that (like in studio) your Studio Research participation here is part of your overall assessment.

Found Type

I found this poster up on a wall along Oxford Street. The large use of type on it caught my eye. It has very little other graphic elements besides some colored texture in the background. There is a strong grid system present in the design, though it is not a conventional grid. I really like how the typeface is clean yet interesting and a bit unique. It is interesting how the designer chose to use color rather than font size for a change in hierarchy, where the names of the performers are black and the following words underneath are gray. I think this poster successfully relies on the use of type to create a distinctive design.

Parklea Markets, Sunnyholt Road, Sydney

Signs at Parklea all have one aim, to attract and entice people to buy their discounted goods. The signs combine handwriting as well as printed text, often without any careful typographic consideration, but always with bright, clashing colours, bold weights and capital letters, either overlaid one over the top of the other or very close to one another in a position most visible to the customer. This photograph here is an example of signs at one stall that I found interesting. Placed very close together and with a combination of colours, details are spontaneously drawn probably by more than one person. The Parklea logo and the digital type in it are visible among the handwriting, making up a unique, improvised, graphic composition.

Week 6 - That means Visual Hierarchy and Grids!

Hi everyone. Well, now Project 1 is well and truly over, it's time to begin to delve deep into the world of book design (see last week's lecture) and the specifics of information architecture.

I'm posting two lectures this week and I want you to read both of them - consider them ONE lecture because in combination they establish a clear framework for thinking about this week's topic of Visual Hierarchy and Grids. As a supplementary activity, I want you to look at this video on Typographic Hierarchy on the Vimeo website. The video by Tony Pritchard looks at at word shape, copy analysis, syntax and semantics and further augments the topic scovered in the lectures. It's excellent.

Typographic Hierarchy from tonypritchard on Vimeo.

At the end of the Visual Hierarchy lecture the details of this week's Studio Research are included - but here they are again for easy reference.

This week's Studio Research 3 (SR3):
due week 7

Develop two alternative grid system proposals as research in structuring your design proposal/layout for the two pages of your BLAD. Your selections are to be included in your supporting research for the project.

Typefaces of the urban enviroment- "Welcome"

Where to find : The Wentworth Building, Butlin Avenue , Darlington. Description: This automatic sliding door features on its surface the imprints of over 50 languages to say the simple words of "welcome". In different typefaces, sizes and langauges, the image struck me as distinct and a visuallay harmonious design that effectively conveys its message without too over bearing or confusing.