Music poster

Final Project - Music Poster

Final Project

"One Rainy Wish" by: Jimi Hendrix

Burn One Down - Ben Harper

Music Poster

My music posters:

Music Poster Journey

7...Well 4 Deadly Sins Video

This took me so long that I had to cut the sins to 4 to be able to do the project in time.  Hope you enjoy what I have! :)

Music poster

Music Poster

Music Poster- Born to Run

Music Poster Work In Progress

7 Deadly Sins

7 Deadly Sins

7 deadly sins

Response to Chapter 6

I loved this Chapter. I am such a visual person and always read too much into things. I am the kind of person who looks at something, forms an impression, but can't explain why. It's because I pick up on visual cues.
I found it interesting that the understood use of this element came from the dadaist movement, simply because, I hate dadaism. I did a dada project once where we used magazine images to create a piece, and I found nothing inspiring about taking someone else's art to make my own. There are exceptions, but it's not my favorite concept. Therefore, I was surprised just how much I love the idea of taking premade fonts to create something new. Maybe the pictures was simply too abstract for my taste.
Font, on the other hand, to me is like paint, picking colors to make a whole, or choosing red to convey anger. Fonts do that too. I also love the way font is naturally dry, or maybe much more cognitive, while images are emotional. Too many words are so easy to glaze over and they go unread, but images are hard coded in us to impact us stronger than words. Therefore by adding an image within your font, you are engaging 2 parts of the brain, and creating a more memorable piece.
I loved the example of the E's being splintered or peeled. Action verbs like that are so powerful in and of themselves, and by having the font act it out, you can literally see the action, and it becomes so much more alive. It invokes an emotional response as well, leaving you wondering, why is it peeling, is it old, or is it edible? Or why is it splintered, was it attacked, is it weak and injured, was it broken in a dangerous situation? The mind lingers on scenes it associates with that verb, and it impresses upon them much more that a simple plain E would have done alone.
People respond so much more to this kind of art as well. A simple word, when done right, leaves the reader chuckling and saying, "ahhh, that's clever!"

Response to Chapter 5

I still find it so fascinating that something as mathematical in nature as the Fibonacci sequence can be so beautiful. You wouldn't expect nature to boil down to something so re-creatable. Nature itself just exudes a very "real" and imperfect quality, but is actually extremely precise. This shows how even nature uses a grid pattern, and in order to find the nature order it possesses, so do we. The golden mean is biologically appealing to us, and since it so prominent in nature, we are hard wired to prefer and better understand things that follow the same pattern, from faces to shells to page layouts. Things that don't follow this mean, like a person drawn out of proportion, just look...off. Most of us don't realize why when it happens in our daily life, but we just know. Playing with this ratio is the perfect way to subtly convey a message without using words. And whether you want your audience to be aesthetically pleased, or maybe you want to make them visually uncomfortable, keeping in mind the golden mean is key.
I also love the idea of creating a rhythm or a velocity for the page, both in words and in paragraphs. It is true, a letter, based on its position on the page, can imply movement, and I think this is very powerful, especially for very visual people. However, I never realized that the gravity effect on a letter could draw out basic fears and desires, like how it said a tilted letter can imply falling, which evokes feelings about humans' fear of falling. This is such a base instinct, but is completely true. The positioning of the letter dives into our sub conscious and pulls out reactions we don't even know are there until we develop an impression about the piece, and then are left wondering, now why do I feel that? It's amazing how many messages we can pick up just from layout.

Chap. 6 Response

Chapter 6 is about the Typographic Message, a multidimensional language. The typographic message is verbal, visual, and vocal. As a representation of verbal language, typography must communicate clearly. A lot of times, prolific messages are very apparent and litter the environment. The impact of an effective typographic message cannot be measured. Effective typographic messages result from the combination of logic and intuitive judgment. Only the neophyte approaches this process in a strictly intuitive manor; a purely logical or mechanical procedure undermines human expression. Keeping these two extremes in balance requires the use of a functional verbal/visual vocabulary capable of addressing a broad spectrum of typographic communication. Signs operate in two dimensions in a language: syntactic and semantic. All objects in the environment can potentially function as signs, representing any number of concepts. Signs may exist as various levels of abstraction. The particular syntactic qualities associated with typographic signs determine a specific meaning. A series of repeated letters can represent motion or a small letter can mean isolation. Simple syntactic manipulations, such as the repetition of letters or the weight change of certain letters enable words visually to mimic verbal meaning. Words as verbal signs, grouped together in a linear fashion, attain their value though mental association. These associative relationships are semantically derived. Two terms important to the understanding of signs are denotation and connotation. When considering the meaning of typographic signs, denotation refers to objective meaning and connotation refers to interpretations. Chapter 6 then goes on to talk more about how typographers have a responsibility to keep words legible and functional.

Chapter 5 Response/Reflection

Chapter 5
Chapter five went into one of my favorite topics about typography and design in general, the usage of grids.  Grids can offer a lot in the design world. They can help aesthetically, they can be used for organization, they can also be used to help simplify as well as add complexity.  Grids are incredibly fun to work with in design as they have been a more recent design obesession of mine.  Reading this chapter and learning more about space, edges, boundaries, zones etc. reminded me of something often used in web design/development to reflect a grid.  There are multi-column grid systems built to reflect mathematical calculations for laying out web pages into a grid.  Here is a picture to show you what I mean:

The use of space, hierarchy, boundaries all work to create a final web page that has organization through clear lines, columns, boarders etc.  Different grids and columns will seem more active depending on their placement and hierarchy.  Using a grid only helps so much; a designer has to also have an understanding of proportion as this chapter mentions.  Realizing where things are in the space and how they occupy it with their size and weight can be a very crucial thing to have in the design world.  Proportion has a lot to do with the ratio of objects and elements on the page and in type.  The more precise proportions are the more clear, clean, and organized the final product will be.  The idea of these "ratios" kept bringing up the idea in my mind of the golden ratio.  We touched on it in class but it is still something that is fascinating and can also be applied to the design world because it is used in the making of grid systems and other design like architecture, product engineering, web design and typography.  For anyone who may not know what the golden ration is, here is one of the more common photos you will find that describes it (even though it is very complex beyond the image alone):

In conclusion this chapter really touched on a lot of the aspects of design that really excite me personally.  Reading these things sends me off on tangents finding and researching design techniques and practices.  I really enjoyed further exploring the grid and the idea of space in the grid and in type.  I look forward to expanding on this in class.

Chapter 6 Response

Chapter 6 in our text is about the typographic message.  It discusses the different aspects of typography as a language of visual signs capable of education, persuasion, informing, and entertainment (111).  It also mentions the relationship between effectively sending a message and aesthetic beauty.  I think this chapter is important for us to learn because it sort of breaks free of discussing the technical aspects of typography, and addresses the cultural, artistic, and communications aspects. 

One of the important points made is that the typographic message is verbal, visual, and vocal because it can be interpreted verbally, visually, and audibly.  I think this point is especially important when considering the artistic aspect of typography.  Poetry is a perfect example of that.  The writer can reach you by not only composing meaningful words, but also arranging them in a manner that solidifies their point by using stanzas, line breaks, scale/weight etc...The text mentions the Dadaist and Futurist movements as significant moments where typographic design was “pulled into this artistic revolution” (112). The section on verbal/visual equations is important, especially when considering our next project.  It talks about how designers can manipulate typographic signs to attain a more expressive communication.  This section has a lot of depth in that ‘signs’ can exist on so many levels.  The authors talk about how one sign can represent various given its context—they used the example of the red dot.  The concept of ‘signs’ has so many layers and opportunities to be creative.  I also appreciate the simplistic aspect of using signs to communicate—it’s always interesting to consider what the simplest way to communicate a message is.  All in all I enjoyed reading this chapter.  Especially because of it brings to light the cultural aspect/implications of type.  It reminded me of traveling abroad. It’s always intriguing to see not only what kinds of signs other countries use on the street and in public areas, but what kinds of things they feel the need to make a signs for.             

Chapter 5 Response

Chapter 5 of our text is all about the use of grids as a framework for designers to organize information.  Grids are a crucial aspect in effectively achieving a sense of visual balance.  A grid framework is an easy way of creating an aesthetically pleasing composition, and their versatility makes room for variety/creativity.  The chapter mentions the importance of proportion in using a grid framework.  The authors argue that it is critical to have an understanding of proportions to create an effective typographic grid because “divided space is perceived as a system of proportional relationships” (94).  As I have said in previous posts, I never really gave much thought to how mathematical and methodical typography is.  Reading this section about proportions specifically has reiterated that fact.  However they do mention that designers most often rely on an innate sense of proportion, which I think is very true.  I also think that the gird itself is a kind of innate system of visual balance for most people.  I think that’s why it’s such a crucial component of design. 

The section about multi-column grids makes an interesting point in that, before any decision can be made about the grid the designer has to consider the amount of text and the context it will be placed in.  I always really like when books have big pages with multi-column and modular grids.  I find them more interesting, and I think there is more room for variety and creativity.  I’m glad that the chapter included the section about improvisational structures.  It seems like a process that is much more flexible, but still adheres to typographic form.  I think improvisational structures are good because their asymmetrical use of space interrupts the norm, in a sense.               

Chapter 5 Response

            I found it interesting that the first few pages of chapter five discuss that the way we perceive letterforms has a lot to do with gravity.  The authors point out that when a letterform is centered on a background, that letterform appears still and motionless.  When the letterform is placed off center, say, slightly to the right or left of the page, the letterform appears to be moving.  Consequently, the letterform gains velocity as it reaches the edges/boundaries of the background.  Similarly, the authors note, that by simply rotating a letterform, the letterform will appear to be tumbling…it will appear to be visually giving way to the natural forces of gravity.

            I enjoyed learning about all the different organizational, spatial, and aesthetic possibilities that can come from using a grid.  Some might tend to think that a grid is a rigid structure that does not allow for much creativity or flexibility.  The authors point out that the more complex a grid’s structure is, the more flexible and numerous the organizational possibilities are.  The modular grid, for example, “offers opportunities to present more complex information with a high degree of accuracy and clarity.”  The areas formed by the intersections of vertical and horizontal lines are called modules.  These modules can be combined and or put together to form hierarchical “zones,” so to speak.  By using varying modules, keeping an open, creative mind, and working to balance variety and unity, one can design a highly successful and effective grid structure for any sort of lay out or project.

Write Now Exhibit

I attended the "Write Now" exhibit, and I was amazed. There were so many creative ideas in one room! There were so many things I loved about this exhibit. Here are some of the ones that caught my attention:
First, there was a table with papers of letters making pictures. I loved that stepping outside the box and using the form of the letters to make abstract pictures.
I also loved the "safety is not in numbers" collection of words stitched onto military style vests. Those simple words on fabric conveyed to me that all you need to be safe nowadays is a bullet proof vest.
I loved the area full of what I can only describe as "hand rendered trial confessions". They were beautifully drawn with so much detail, and each one used a variety of texts, which looked extremely uniform for hand drawings, to convey a feeling of being wrongly accused.
I was fascinated by the wood engravings, especially since the engraved part was the background! The letters were precise and raised, while it was the rest of the background that had been cut away.
I loved walking by the wall of toll road receipts with the fan. There were hundreds of them, and they did not say much together literally, but figuratively the white wall fluttering and punctuated by black was very powerful, telling the story of the journey to took to collect them all.
I got a kick out of the table with the instructions on how to write an old fashioned text message (letter). It is fascinating to remember how much effort it took to communicate. When I was in 5th grade, my best friend moved to California. We wrote letters every week to each other, and sometimes called one another. Now, if I wanted to talk to her, I could text her, email her, or Facebook her. All without ever buying a stamp. It's scary sometimes to remember that younger generations(than myself) didn't experience this crossing over of technology, and therefore lack appreciation and patience for the time it should take to properly communicate with someone.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 talked about the designers grid and all the different aspects that go into making a good design using the grid. One of the principles that book talked about was, structure and space. The best way the book described this term was when visual elements are introduced the create subliminal spaces. This I can feel like depending on the design can be a good thing and a bad thing. Good, being that if a person wants to create the subliminal spacing and or images for a certain style poster they would have no problem placing random shapes and texts anywhere to create that space. However if a designer does not want that and if they do not pay attention they can create subliminal images that can take away from their piece. Another concept the booked talked about was Proportion in a grid. The proportion is the ratio an object has to the grid that it is placed on and do everything else in the piece. I feel like in order to have a strong piece a person has to master proportion to make everything flow smoothly and make everything fit into place without making anything stick out awkwardly. Single and multi columned grids was the next aspect in design. It was stated that its best to use a single block of text and not have multiple space in between, this I feel like would be beneficial in order for the text to read smoothly and not be very choppy and divide important information. Multiple column grid in my opinion is beneficial if a designer wants to lay out a newspaper, or compare two different objects in two different rows. Finally, the booked talked about modular grids, which in my opinion work best to layout a page. Modular grids are grids that have vertical and horizontal intersecting lines that layout spaces to place objects in. This I find to be very helpful because then someone can visualize where they want a certain aspect to go without actually needing to place objects on the grid.

Mas Context Analog Disscusion/meeting

Mas Context Analog was a very interesting discussion and meeting of the mind in the graphic design world. There were many influential people that talked about their past projects and all the work and revisions that went into the final product. Along with this, many of the designers talked about and showed examples of good and bad designs today. One example that Jason Pickleman talked about were the park signs that were all replaced in recent years. He said that the old designs were very pleasing to look at, and had a 50’s style to them by their trapezoidal shape. Along with that, he stated that those signs were very sturdy and withstood the dramatic Chicago weather, from the scorching summers to the brutal winters. He also went on a rant for the Millennium Park logo and talked about how he hated the logo. He talked about how the typeface did not really help out the logo and how even the logo was poorly designed. He stated that Mount Prospect should still that logo and use it for their city and have the city of Chicago create a new logo on a clean slate. He also talked about how designs of signs and wording can effect the interpretation greatly. One of his main examples was that when someone sees a red octagon they automatically assume it means stop even if there is no type on it. Another example he gave that stood out to me was the wording on street signs. He showed a picture of a sign that said wrong way, but then he flipped the text around to say way wrong, which made the sign still have the same meaning but it made the sign comical. Overall this discussion was very helpful in seeing all the different types of projects one can do in the graphic design field. It was also interesting and educational to hear first hand from designers about what the field requires and how much work and skill goes into creating designs.

Chapter 5

Chapter five focuses on the importance and meaning of the typographic grid. It explains that space is the common denominator for all typographic communication. When typographic elements are introduced into space, they create subliminal divisions, and these divisions create spatial structure. Divided space is perceived as a system of proportional relationships. One must understand that the typographic grid is a system of proportions. A grid ratio is a mathematical relationship between two or more grid measurements and it governs the size and placement of typographic elements. The natural division of the golden section is the basic square. Squares in combination lend an infinite variety of visual patterns. Squares basically will never go out of style because Paul Rand used them as metaphorical building blocks. They seem to be forever-contemporary. Before any decision is made about the typographic structure, a designer must become thoroughly acquainted with the amount of text, its content, the audience for which it is intended and the medium used for its delivery. Grid structures will often require adjustment throughout the design process. Multi-column grids are unique in that they provide boundaries for typographic elements and define the “active” space of the page, which creates a dominant axis for the alignment of elements from page to page. Modular grids are formed by the intersections of horizontal and vertical lines. The units provide zones for the placement of different parts of information. In general, the more complex the grid structure is, the more flexible the organizational possibilities. Improvisational structures evolve in response to the specific elements of information as opposed to modular grids, which are predetermined organizational grids. Typographic designers build typographic information environments for clear and accessible information. Once it is known which elements are more important than others, they are translated into typographic forms reflecting their hierarchal status. Working with improvisational structures call for a firm understanding of asymmetrical composition, the dynamics of positive and negative space, and the essential role of visual contrast among typographic elements.

Found Type

Found Type: Library Style

Found Typography Assignment: Fantasy Novels

Response to Ch 7

This chapter was really difficult for me. It was fascinating to hear about all of the old typographic machines and how they worked, but I couldn't understand it. I wanted to badly to see how they worked, and I couldn't grasp to concepts just by reading them. I wish there had been a few more realistic models, not just concept models.
I was fascinated to read about the role of photography in the development of type. I never knew that was such an effective way of capturing letters forms, but it makes perfect sense when I think about it. If it can capture something as complex as scenery, why not letter forms?
Something I was surprised by was the concept of snap on serifs from the Walker Art Center. I always categorized different serif patterns into different fonts all together, and that you had to pick the complete font you wanted to use. It is a curious idea to me to just snap on a serif. Yes, you get the illusion of different fonts, but then the contrast, weight, and base are exactly the same for all of them. It's like putting on a disguise, but you are still the same person. I am not a fan.
Reading about the digital age was very amusing to me. I realized that believing in magic is part of my everyday life. I expect my computer to do exactly as I say, even though it doesn't speak English. I expect my keyboard to transfer my kinetic energy into bits into letters. I expect my mouse to move things I cannot touch. I also have no idea how a laser jet printer works, but I expect the words I type to magically appear in ink on paper. In fact, the only typing concept I actually understand is a typewriter, which is very outdated. So is my knowledge, I guess.

Chapter 1 image responses

The main reason I chose this image from Chapter One is because it is hand rendered and includes illustration. The C taking on the form of a mouth allows the word to be seen as an image in a whole, not just letters. It conveys the message of racism, which is vicious and tearing and messy, with the expressive lines and smears.

I choose this second image of the MTV logo because it is something we all recognize right off the bat. The combination of the M and TV is something we're so used to seeing together that we even blend it into one word "MTV" not "M...TV." I like that even though this particular logo is so 80's looking, it is still used, but slightly modified. The combination of the blocky M and bubbly TV makes it identifiable and have a personality.


















This third image of "All That Jazz" reminds me of the musical "Chicago." It looks like the letters are written in lights that one would see on a Broadway sign, which goes along with the premise of the show. I also like that the letters show movement and sort of go along with the sound of the words in the song, in which "all" is held, "that" is staccato, and "jazz" trails off at the end.

Found Type Grid

My Found Type Project

I wanted the central theme behind my project to be personal to me instead of based on a time or place.  So I decided to tie together all of the albums that I love and that have shaped me through listening to them.  Then I tried to find uniting things between them to make the project more visually appealing.

Two styles

The top was my first proposal, the bottom was a revised version.  I might end up combining some of the them to give it better unity.