Drop Box Invites

I've just sent out Dropbox invitations to everyone so anyone who hasn't got Dropbox yet should get an email invite with links and info on how to get into using Dropbox.

Great Assessment Today

Hello Everyone,

Great assignments today. Very high standard. I forgot to mention today that first week back if you could all bring in your favorite magazine. We will have a discussion about page layouts, target markets and what makes these publications successful.

Also for the motion graphics students, I thought I would attack this great clip from a new Sydney band called The Money Go Round. Very nice clip.

Enjoy your break
Lauren

Week 7: Time to get ready for your new project

Well - hopefully you've been able to provide Lauren with a strong response to the first project of this elective. I'm looking forward to checking out what you have been up to.

However this week as we head for the Semester break here at COFA it's time to:

1. Check out the new online lecture about Style Guides for publications both print and screen based publications. You'll find the document located here.

2. The second task is to begin to familiarise yourself with the new group project that will become the focus of your work over the rest of the semester. The task is of course to design a new issue of the elective online and downloadable magazine ffi. As I mentioned in my previous post last week you can check out some previous issues over on the Essential Reading page of the blog. Here's a link to one issue to make that even easier to see.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cofa

As stated in the Brief:

Project 2 asks you to collaborate and work as a design studio for the development of a downloadable online publication. Each of you will undertake a role within a team to develop, design and publish an online publication. Discussion about individual design strengths and interests will assist each of you nominating roles and developing a set of tasks you regard as appropriate for each role. The objective is to get the publication ready for online distribution in Week 12!

The focus of the publication content is up to the group to decide but is located within the scale and scope of typographic practice. You/the team could consider including issues derived from current affairs, sustainability, design issues, etc. Essentially this is up to the group to decide. You are also to introduce design elements generated using 3D printing and the Letterpress Studio. Resources will be made available to enable this to be integrated into the project process.

The publication will be published as a new issue of ffi – an emerging online publication/web magazine dedicated to typography and run by teams of designers from the course SDES2198 at COFA. ffi is published annually online.

You may be wondering how you'll all manage to collectively create a magazine when you only meet for a few hours each week. The process over the years that this project has been running has evolved but has remained steadfastly mediated by online processes. This semester as was the case last semester we'll be using Dropbox which is an online platform for sharing files. You are also of course free to use the blog as a means to communicate throughout the process as well. 

Ok that's a lot to soak up - have a great week and a great semester break!

Week 6 - check this out!

A Type Primer
As Project 1 comes to a close take the time to persuse this seven minute video primer on typography. It's amongst the best online content we've seen come to light on type. The content covers insights and really practical advice and the work referred to ranges from mainstream to cutting edge innovation and new ways type is being used to present data.

I think as you begin to familiarise yourself with the upcoming group project looking at as much diverse material about type as possible will inform you and the wider group in the best way. You'll be defining a direction to go in as a collective so this is actually important. Fortunately there is more and more video material out there to assist you. We'll keep posting - you do some digging too. Feel free to post relevant material you find at all times.  The more we share the more we all learn in his context.

With the upcoming project in mind it's probably a good time to remind you to have a look at the work of previous groups so you can get a sense of what is expected of you. The last issue of the course online magazine ffi is full of interesting takes on typography - from graffiti to cartography, the London Underground to letterpress, so it's really worth a look. You can check out a lot of other good material over at the page Essential Reading on this blog including The Pressing Issue - another great online publication issue developed in this course.

Finally next week is the deadline for Project 1 so do ensure you are ready for this and have covered all the assessment criteria outlined in my previous post (below).

Week 5 - How brilliant!

Firstly I must say the excursion to the Distillery looks like it was excellent fun! A great post from Lauren too.

This week and next week are all about refining and finalising your response to Project 1. We hope you've found the process a rewarding one. I note there was some confusion about when the deadline to Project 1 actually is, however as Lauren has clarified we will go with Week 7 as the final deadline for Project 1.

Last week I began to focus your attention on the design considerations. This week I want to reitterate the importance of also considering the the Assessment Criteria which are as follows.
Please ensure you are taking them into account when preparing your submission for
Project 1 - Letterpress Booklet.

Assessment Criteria:	EXCELLENT	GOOD	AVERAGE	VARIABLE	POOR
Studio Research (20%)
Demonstrated understanding of a range of historical and contemporary approaches to letterpress typography.
Evidence of understanding of visual hierarchy for typographic designs in print
Design Concept (40%)
Documentation of experiments with conventions and innovation in print publication design using advanced typographic structures.
Effective contributions to discussions about diverse cultural associations communicated by letterpress typographic treatments.
Presentation of innovative typographic concepts that address current issues.
Designed proposal for letterpress printing produced as a Rapid Prototype letterform.
Design Synthesis (20%)
Designed outcomes that address a deadline, budget, and the needs of an identified audience.
Worked collaboratively in groups for print publication production.
Design Presentation (20%)
Prepared and presented prototypes of typographic letterpress publication designs at an advanced level.

This week's additional resource is a very nicely put together short film about letterpress.
Do check it out.

Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo.
 Stay tuned. See you next week.

The Disterilly

Hello everyone,

What an amazing excursion to the Distillery. Very inspiring, and im sure you will all agree we learnt alot. A huge thank you to Nathan and Elise and the Distillery team for having us, and taking time out of their busy schedule to show us around their studio. It was great to see the presses in action, and to be able to take home some samples. I'm sure their will be a few of us visiting the Distillery in the future to get some business cards made. Here are some photos from the day.

Welcome back - Week 4 already!

Having begun to work on your own experiments with the process, and in combination with the excursion to The Distillery, you are now beginning to become familiar with some of the basic techniques of Letterpress Printing. With this in mind I would like also the get you thinking about how the tools, process and techniques of Letterpress might be combined with new approaches to making and typographic practice such as Rapid Prototyping.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662896/freedom-of-creation-unveils-customizable-3-d-font

The above image is from an interesting article exploring just this.

The Dutch rapid-prototyping juggernaut Freedom of Creation has released an arty new font designed explicitly to be printed in 3-D. The result is a snaking, spiraling, sinewy typographic sculpture that's totally customizable and would look right at home on the mantle.

Ok, sticking with the use of new technologies within experimental typographic practices these images (above) and videos showing experiments with 3D Printing and sculptural graffitti are quite interesting - at the least showing us the potential of creating complex forms that might be deployed in letterpress.

http://helloantique.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/3d-print-of-graffiti.html

There is plenty to do of course. Some of you are yet to post your material about your selected typeface. The post we have are all very informative and build the content here nicely. Then there's the current studio project. Although that deadline seems a few weeks off, time is acually pretty tight in the studio and it's crucial to use the time to focus on the refinement of your design for Project 1.


These are the things to keep in mind as you prepare the final submission over the coming weeks:

In the project ‘Letterpress Booklet’ you will engage with notions of ‘typographic voice’ and specialist
type history. The booklet shall present three newspaper headlines you are asked to modify and layout to 
express an aspect of contemporary media experiences.
 
Each page of the booklet will be a single-colour design printed on two sides, which demonstrates an 
advanced knowledge of display typography, and an understanding of the history of the design 
surrounding your chosen types.

Design Specifications:

— Demonstrate the application of illustrative/display typography

— Size: self-directed (consider an appropriate size for your chase, type, etc.)

— You may explore different materials for printing on, suited to your design

— Single colour design, printed on 2 sides

— The postcard will be printed in wood type

— A considered design which includes visual hierarchy, scale & proportions, word spacing, 
line-spacing and letter spacing, etc.)

Although the research and concept development have been evolving over the duration of the project
to date remember that we will be assessing the whole as a package including your work in the earlier 
stages. Don't neglect the Assessment Criteria.

Assessment

PROJECT 1: LETTERPRESS Booklet Studio Research Concept  Synthesis Presentation

Ok, have a good week and do let us know if you have any questions or problems with the current project.

Helvetica_Felicity Riley

                                              

 Typeface: Helvetica

Helvetica originated in Switzerland in 1957 and was designed by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas type foundry. This sans serif font was originally named Die Neue Haas Grotesk, it was changed to Helvetica in 1960 which is Latin for Swiss.

Helvetica was designed to be neutral as it was based on the principle that “type itself should give no meaning.”  Companies were looking for change after the European war and to deviate away from the decorative and loud that had been used in advertisements.

Although this type was originally designed to inherently convey no meaning, it now represents corporate culture and business because of its adaptability. Helvetica is clear, direct and instantly legible, which is the backbone of most corporations; why not use a type that reflects a mission statement, whilst simultaneously advertising.

“Helvetica’s sleek lines and modern sensibilities were just what companies were looking for to remake their identities and set themselves apart from the past.” [1]

Helvetica is classified as a transitional or anonymous sans serif with vertical and horizontal terminations on their strokes and is as much about the negative space then about the lines, whilst having monotone stroke weights.

Another interesting fact is that the type remains legible whilst in motion which is a key factor for its use in transportation signage and placement on moving objects.

“…a font that rides the line between classic and modern, conservative and edgy, or elegant and relaxed, Helvetica might just be your answer.”[2]

Helvetica is usually categorized as a safe font, it doesn’t tend to influence the other elements within a design, and it is clear and communicates the text/brand simply and explicitly. Examples-Nestle, Toyota, Microsoft, Target, American Apparel, American Airlines, Post-It, 3M, Skype, BMW, Panasonic, GM, Motorola, Harley-Davidson, Tupperware, NYC Subway.

As a result of its neutrality it is easily read without being disturbed with serifs or decorative flicks, users just read and absorb. Although its modern (as it does not use serifs) it’s not aggressive or overly harsh, it doesn’t shout the message, it just simply communicates it. This is one of the reasons that it will work in my letterpress. I can build on its impartiality. It will not interfere with m design, but will enhance its understanding.

                  

References

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/01/the-simplicity-of-helvetica/

http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/the-typeface-that-ate-the-world

www.moleskine.com/custom_editions/stories/art/the_helvetica_project.php

http://amdesignperspectives.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/typeface-tuesdays-helvetica/

cemreyesil.wordpress.com  

              

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[1] http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/01/the-simplicity-of-helvetica/

[2] http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/01/the-simplicity-of-helvetica/

Optima - Christian Andree