Discussion Point 3: Christian Andree

I believe that typographic conventions within contemporary publishing are as relevant as ever within the design field. It is through the conventions that we are provided with a set of rules (or should I say guidelines) that help guide us to create something that visually works instead of having to reinvent the wheel for each design we are involved in. Although saying this I do believe in pushing the boundaries and knowing when to break traditions is of key importance of each graphic designer as it allows the creation of unique and interesting pieces of work that have the ability to stand out from the crowd.

It is through conventions that allows for coherence within design publishing. Take for example a magazine such as Vouge. If we were to abolish the conventions associated around typographic and page layout the magazine would be a total mess. It is these conventions that create continuity, whilst also saving the designer time by having set style guides. Within this spread it follows many of the traditional conventions for example a clear sense of visual hierarchy, a tight grid formation, title leading to subheading leading to bodycopy as well as the use of a drop cap (however used in the lower 1/3 of the page!).

Within this page layout however there is a big contrast as it rejects the general conventions allowing for an eye-grabbing piece of communication. The rules are followed in a vague sense, as there is still a visual hierarchy within the bold title overshadowing the rest of the text. A 3-column grid is used for the body copy however it isn’t seen as consistent.

All in all I believe that through these 2 examples that there is an underlying importance of the use of typographic conventions however knowing when to break them in today’s contemporary scene allows for the production of interesting works.

 Refrences:

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Vogue-Magazine-Redesign/968531

http://paperstorage.tumblr.com/post/32385085405

 

Feedback

Hello Guys,

I have looked at your files guys and left feedback in your folders. There is lots of work to be done overall!!

On Monday can you guys please bring along A3 print outs of your spreads and we will line them up in order and decide on the overall look and feel of the magazine. The contents page group will need to finalize next week. Also your references. The reference group need this asap also.

Some of you need to participate more in your groups. I am seeing a lot of variations between spreads. The Breakfast Club have kindly put their spreads in a folder in drop box. Please take a look. They have done very well working with the colour palette, the typefaces and the grid. It also shows how each page does not need to be exactly the same.

Jess's group, I have yet to see any of yours or your final topic decisions. We are in week 11 guys, that means Monday is our last class before you hand your assignments in.

As we will be handing in Online through the dropbox due to our room being used for marking, we will go through everything you need to include in your individual folders/and group folder in class, so please don't be late. I will then place you feedback in your folder that you put on dropbox.

Have a good weekend
Lauren

Week 11!

I hope you've enjoyed the recent long weekend. I've just returned from installing two interactive works at the GeoCity Smart City Exhibition in Beijing at Beijing Design Week. Time to get back into our current project however...

This week's lecture is an Introduction to File Preparation. It's print focussed but should help you in developing your assignment.

Preparing your files for print 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.

 http://resources.printhandbook.com/pages/binding-guide.php

This week's links out include this little gem which relates to an important topic not covered in the lecture  - binding. You'll find some downloadable links to files that give you a lot of the basics. Very useful.

http://glia.ca/meanderings-wordpress/typography

The second link this week I hope reflects the diversity we hope will manifest in the group's approach to the typographic content of our publication and so it's a kind of digital wandering - a blog but a rich one - it's called Meanderings and has some intriguing content that I hope you'll enjoy and be inspired by...Check it out.

Finally, do remember the Discussion Point for this week - it focusses your attention on a self-selected aspect of production that you feel you need to learn.

Discussion Point: The digital desktop has shifted the responsibility of preparing artwork for reproduction to the designer. Identify an area of file preparation you need to learn more about and provide an overview (200 word max) of the process and its significance. Post your response to the Studio Blog.

My Typography Font - Gotham - Micaela Alcaino

(Sorry I didn't realise i had to post this after printing and handing it in) 

Gotham HTF is a clean and attractive font that has been used primarily for advertisements and signage. The boldness of the letters are great to attract the eye and catch the attention of the viewer. The font it brings a new, fresh and confident aesthetic and with its wide range of weights and italics the font is able to bring an array of 66 styles offering a diverse collection of voices into the Gotham HTF family. Just to name a few, Gotham HTF gives the user the ability to choose from condensed, thin, narrow, medium, book, bold, ultra black and italic options. Its elasticity and flexibility to changes in size and spacing makes Gotham HTF incredibly agreeable to use for large and small print.

Tobias Frere-Jones, a typeface designer based in New York Manhattan, created Gotham HTF in 2002. Mostly know for his earlier design of the Interstate typeface, Gotham HTF had been created and commissioned by the GQ Magazine for its logo, wanting the logo to look “masculine, new, and fresh" for the magazine’s readers. The Hoefler Type Foundary (HTF) then released it into the public and since then, Gotham HTF has been grabbed up by large companies such as Coca Cola, Starbucks, Tribeca Film Festival, Yahoo, and best known for its large role in the campaign material for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. In collaboration Frere-Jones and HTF have had a honorable history in working together to design typefaces for Grand Central Terminal, Lever House, the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Wall Street Journal, and Radio City Music Hall, among others.

Although it is quite a new font, and it has resemblance to past fonts such as Futura, which originated from the style of the 1920’s era of sans serif. Frere-Jones had stated that his inspiration of the font was from his love of his city, and the post war building signage in New York City. He intergrates two themes together in Gotham HTF, working class letterforms and the typographic heritage of the city. Being a native New Yorker he aimed to preserve its character and history winthin the font, “I suppose there’s a hidden personal agenda in the design, to preserve those pieces of New York that could be wiped out before they’re appreciated. Having grown up here, I was always fond of the ‘old’ (or just older) New York and its lettering. After watching one of the most distinctive features of the city being destroyed last fall, it seemed more urgent to protect the original ‘character’ of the city, both in the sense of letters and personality. After collecting material for Gotham HTF, I set myself the task of walking every last block of Manhattan with a camera, and recording anything extant and noteworthy.” (Frere-Jones, 2002)

On a personal level I hole Gotham HTF HTF dear to my heart. In being based primarily in doing graphics and posters for fesitvals, concerts and events, Gotham HTF has provided me with a collection of styles to work with, that are clean, easy to ready, yet filled with character and an alluringness to seek our attention. Gotham HTF is a font that will undoubtedly transcend time and will be used continuously in the years to come for many different projects and campaigns. 

Discussion point 3 - Andrea Agathocleous

Personally, Typography has always grasped my attention and made it's relevance in contemporary design prominent. Each letter is a piece of art signifying the purpose of an article, poster or design. Thus, every piece of art, as a photo - speaks a thousand words. Typography always has a place and a purpose. Taking this seriously and understanding original typographic conventions and traditions is important, as it shows (if nothing else) the respect and consideration of this medium and it's purpose in design and publishing.

These Typographic conventions also show consideration as they simply adhere to making a design aesthetically pleasing. Much like Otl Aicher, principals were taken from other schools and institutions of design as they have been tried and tested, thus bound to work. In this same way, contemporary publishing can take from traditional typographic conventions.

The question that comes in my mind is if these traditions are bounding and possibly constrictive to designers in a way. Reading the lecture and and watching David Carson's video leaves me pondering how the entire 'face' of graphic design can be changed via the innovation of one rule breaking, talented mind. If we do stick to typographic conventions and traditions as so, maybe we were only slowing the evolution of graphic design - one which should have no limits. Neville Brody and Robert Massin are few of the many exemplifications of this in the lecture.

Clearly, Anthony Froshaug disagree's with this, and believes that structure is there for a reason, in contrast to more avant-garde work. While he is right in suggesting structure never fails to hold things together, arguably, one can't take his opinion as an accurate definition of how typography should be, as the avant-garde era would have never succeeded if completely unappealing and not purposeful. The lack of structure was used for a REASON and this reason had been justified in the way avant-garde typography was.

[1]

While in the lecture, David Birdsall argues that he is merely "supporting the thoughts" of designer through type, I believe type plays a much more significant role. 3 Above is Aleksandr Rodchenko's 1924 poster, beginning to display avant grade notions in Russian Art. As a new political system was beginning to come through from the past, structure was falling literally in a political sense and thus reflected in the poster. This confirms what I had initially insisted, that typography assists to semiotically represent intention. As long as intention is justified, rules can be broken and history can be made. 2

While innovation is encouraged especially when it can be justified (but even sometimes when not), these inaugural methods are known to work and when all else failed - they are a safety net.


[1] Rodchenko, Alexander. Untitled. N.d. Graphic. BloggerWeb. 26 Sept 2012. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_P-zTG-zdF9EW39CsbknDRvkXnEv3UP0BHUI7OH95twFP4kTSc0c2_FxmiZQSSmIzBFjc40ejU_Ab6qy3AzX86nwxSNFQfn7GRgUG4dk8F77WXVpBN3dW5aVuskLblfmjPUIZbVkIkKQ/s400/Rodchenko Untitled Advertising Poster 1924.jpg>.

[2] Blanchard, Dough, ed. "The Russian Avant-Garde Part 2; Constructivism." Counterlight's Perculiars. Blogspot, 5 Aug 2009. Web. 1 Oct 2012. <http://counterlightsrantsandblather1.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/russian-avant-garde-part-2.html>.

[3] McArthur, Ian. "Historical, cultural & contextual considerations." Online Lecture. College Of Fine Arts. Keynote.

Discussion point 3 - Micaela Alcaino

TYPOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS AND TRADITIONS

I think that typographic conventions and traditions are always going to be relevant in contemporary publishing, in order to draw attention to its viewer. Nowadays most publishing areas such as magazines have aimed for the clean, simple, and minimal look, where the use of negative space becomes our friend. Most people are familiar with the tweaking of simple columned grids, so that the reader finds a sense of familiarity in reading different magazines or newspapers. Most magazines and journals are recognized for their "look" and "style" seen and repeated in each issue. Magazines like Frankie is known for its simple spaced out type, and pale colours, while In Style is known for its white backdrop cover with a bold coloured heading. 

My example of Eye Magazine shows the use of bright block colors, a simple two column grid, and san serif fonts to achieve this miniminalism in order to capture the readers attention to the basic nature of the magazine. They pride themselves as the "world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal, published quarterly for professional designers, students and anyone interested in critical, informed writing about design and visual culture."

The simplicity of its conventions allows the color and headings stand out from what would otherwise be a clutter of words. Its organized chaos. 

The simplicity in spacing and grid is effective when asking for a clean look for professionals, yet the block coloring screams out to students. Legibility is consistent, and easy for the eye to follow. I do think that design journals and graphic magazines do push the boundaries of chaos in the order than simple reading magazines do, but they never seem to lose the sense of familiarity to others like themselves. 

References

http://www.eyemagazine.com

Discussion Point 2 - Micaela Alcaino

MATTHEW CARTER VS PETER SAVILLE

Matthew Carter (Born 1937) was one of the handful of designers whose type has been used by day by day by the general public. In the first half of his career he created type such as Miller and Bell Centennial for print designs. Later on in 1994 he created, now, well known fonts for Microsoft such as Verdana and Tahoma. These fonts were for onscreen use. Carter's typographic designs were consistent in their style, yet monotonous and repetitive in appearance. As one of the last people to have learnt the art of metal type, Carter had been able to examine and learn the form of letters better than most, as well as volume of the letter and the relationship between space and each letter in conjunction to a whole page of letters, focusing always on improving a typeface's readability. His early worker he had designed for the Uk magazine Private Eye (created in 1962-today). He had then created a digital type foundry called Bitstream INC, but left it to form a company with Cherie Cone called Carter and Cone. Nowadays moving to design for Apple and Microsoft. 

Carter has also manage to create for other companies such as Wired magazine, Yale University, Time and more.  He is a rare designer that has been able to move from the pre digital to the digital with great ease.

Both Saville and Carters work consist on simple type faces, so to bring order and attention to the words that are put in front of us. Although Carter's work has been mostly used for print and onscreen purposes, his effectiveness of everyday type has proved to play a large and enduring role throughout the years. Saville on the other hand has used his skill in order to place type purposefully for propaganda and records. His work has been effective in a way to bring attention to the words rather than the images on the designs, mostly using san serif fonts that jump out at the viewer. 

Peter Saville (born 1955)  is well known for his work on creating innovative record covers. Most of his early works in the late 1970's-80s (as seen to the left) contained simple or no imagery, which focused more on his use of type to stand out for the viewer. He entered the music scene after his encounter with tv presenter Tony Wilson in 1978. He was then commissioned by Factory Records to create their first poster, and had then later progressed to becoming a partner in the company. His most notably record cover designs are Joy Divisions "Unknown pleasures", Duran Duran, Wham! and New Order. His inspiration derived from Herbert Spencer's book Pioneers of Modern Typography and "New" typography propagandist Jan Tschichold, whose works are influenced by modernist designs, which are sharp, simple, minimal yet effective in bringing attention to the type on the posters, who also created fonts such as Saskia (1931) and Sabon (1966). 

Many of Savilles works were reappropriated from art and design on this era. He grew in demand as a younger generation of people in the area of propaganda had grown up knowing his works from Factory Records.  He managed to work along side clients such as Selfridges, EMI and Pringle and fashion clients such as Dior and  Stella McCartney. '


References
http://designmuseum.org/design/matthew-carter
http://www.monotypeimaging.com/ProductsServices/TypeDesignerShowcase/MatthewCarter/Biography.aspx
http://www.cubanxgiants.com/berry/300/documents/man_of_letters.pdf
http://www.designishistory.com/1980/peter-saville/
http://lovedesignetc.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/peter-saville-on-helvetica-and-typography/
http://swisslegacy.com/2009/03/13/peter-saville-qa-what-inspires-you/