Design by Chloé Arzuaga

An ART 235 Blog ~ Fall Semester 2017 SUNY College at Brockport

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Infographic Final Blog

Design Rationale:

I’d say I’m pretty happy with the way my infographic came out. One of my main goals with this project was to create a sense of alarm or urgency, and I think I was able to achieve that -- especially through the color palette of white, black, grey, and red. I was concerned with the gun graphic being too big and taking away the ability to easily identify what the infographic is about, but I think it works out just fine, and even adds to the theme of violence which I wish to evoke. Additionally, the gun aids in creating a movement and flow that carries the viewer throughout the composition. The overall process started out as complicated because I had so much important information that I wanted to include in the final product, but I think I was able to narrow it down to the most relevant information and most staggering statistics. That being said, I believe research is key when it comes to creating infographics. Not only did I get textual information this way, but I also was able to gather inspiration for graphic elements and how I can display information. I didn’t want the infographic to be distracted by a serif typeface so I used Futura as the typeface for the entirety of the infographic -- I used the Book, Bold, and Heavy form. These extensions of Futura enabled me to create cohesion within the infographic’s textual information as well as visual hierarchy and balance, while asserting the topic in a clear and urgent way. In general, I think the entire composition comes together well, and is tied together through the stability established by the timeline.

Citations:

Renner, Paul; Shaar Edwin W.; Thompson, Tommy. Futura Std Book, Futura Std Bold, Futura Std Heavy. Bauer Type Foundry, 1927.

molumen. Illustration of an elephant silhouette. Acquired from OCAL (website). Public Domain. http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/10699.

Unknown creator. Unknown title. Pixabay, CC0 Creative Commons. Public Domain, Sept. 2017. https://pixabay.com/en/silhouette-elephant-animal-wildlife-2676572/.

User:Brianski. Africa-outline. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain, Jan. 1 2008. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Africa-outline.png.

Alanmak. China-outline. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain, Feb. 14 2006. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China-outline.png.

Unknown creator. AK 47 Rifle silhouette. WPClipart. Public Domain. https://www.wpclipart.com/weapons/guns/ak47/AK_47_Rifle_silhouette.png.html.

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Infographic Process Blog

Topic:

My topic for this infographic is the epidemic of African elephant poaching for ivory and the worldwide ivory trade.

Design Brief:

My infographic’s topic is the African elephant epidemic caused by the worldwide ivory trade. This topic is of interest to me because I have always had a fascination and love for elephants as well as interest ivory as a material. It is beyond heartbreaking to me that the number of elephants in Africa have been plummeting due to poaching. Additionally, this is a problem that is very relevant in today’s world, although it does go unnoticed because of all the other historically significant events happening in the rest of the world. With this project, I hope to educate viewers on the weight of the situation that is becoming increasingly dangerous with regard to the extinction of elephants every day. The most shocking aspects of this issue are the statistics. For example, it is estimated that African elephant numbers have plummeted more than 95% over the past century (Morell 2016). This can be almost entirely placed at the fault of the demand for ivory and the illegal poaching it prompts.

While I’d like to communicate the information through an aesthetically pleasing composition, I don’t want to make it undermine the information, because this is a high-risk situation with shocking statistics. Additionally, elephants are naturally peaceful animals, so my initial thoughts on how to design the infographic went to soft blues, greys, etc. However, due to the weight of the situation, I would like to use warm colors -- especially red -- to evoke a sense of urgency and communicate the violence that has come from the situation (also because of the geographical region in which the epidemic is taking place). I’d also like to use sans serif typefaces to help illustrate a very clear message, similar to signs relating to emergencies.

Sketches:

Research Points (major):

Despite ban on international trade, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers. The ban was introduced in 1989 by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

While the ban has allowed some populations to recover, a recent surge in demand, primarily in Asia, has lead to steep declines in forest elephants and savanna elephant populations.

Weak law enforcement and corruption undermine efforts to stop poaching.

Demand for products that come from poaching AND trafficking are as dangerous as global arms, human and drug trafficking. 

Ivory Stockpile Destruction - nations around the world have seized tons of illegally trafficked ivory since the ban in 1989 went into effect.

Destruction of confiscated ivory tusks and trinkets serves as a symbolic purpose: to bring attention to the fact that tens of thousands of elephants are being killed for their ivory each year.

Every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed for its ivory.

Illegal ivory trade activity worldwide has more than doubled since 2007, and is now over three times larger than it was in 1998.

Top 5 origin countries for seized ivory: Democratic Republic of Congo (almost half), Burundi, Gabon, Mali, Congo.

China accounts for 70% of the market.

Between 2016 - February 2017: price of ivory in China dropped more than 60% from its 2014 high, down to $730 per kilogram.

To meet the demand, poachers are killing some 50,000 elephants a year, an unsustainable rate.

Black market prices for ivory in China and elsewhere run about $1000 per pound.

Poachers slaughtered nearly 30% of East Africa’s savanna elephants from 2007 to 2014, some 144,000 animals. Poachers also killed nearly two-thirds of central Africa’s forest elephants between 2002 and 2013. Fewer than 400,000 elephants are believed to remain in 18 sub-Saharan countries.

At least 21 countries have destroyed large ivory stockpiles in recent years; Kenya burned 105 tons earlier this year.

Overall, researchers estimate that African elephant numbers have plummeted more than 95% over the past century

Works Cited:

“Threats to African Elephants.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund. Web. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/afelephants_threats/.

“Ending the ivory trade.” Ending the ivory trade / IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Fund for Animal Welfare. Web. http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/our-work/elephants/ending-ivory-trade.

“Criminal Nature: The Global Security Implications of Illegal Wildlife Trade 2013.” IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Fund For Animal Welfare, June 2013, Web PDF. www.ifaw.org/united-states/resource-centre/criminal-nature-global-security-implications-illegal-wildlife-tra-0.

Canby, Peter. “China And The Closing Of The Ivory Trade.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker. 12 Jun. 2017. Web. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/china-and-the-closing-of-the-ivory-trade.

“Dramatic Changes In China’s Ivory Trade.” DRAMATIC CHANGES IN CHINA’S IVORY TRADE - Save The Elephants. Save The Elephants. Web. http://www.savetheelephants.org/about-ste/press-media/?detail=dramatic-changes-in-china-s-ivory-trade.

Morell, Virginia. “Recently killed elephants are fueling the ivory trade.” Recently killed elephants are fueling the ivory trade / Science / AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science. 7 Nov. 2016. Web. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/recently-killed-elephants-are-fueling-ivory-trade.

Morell, Virginia. “Legalizing ivory trade won’t save elephants, study concludes.” Legalizing ivory trade won’t save elephants, study concludes / Science / AAAS. 15 Sept. 2016. Web. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/09/legalizing-ivory-trade-wont-save-elephants-study-concludes.

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Typographer Postcard Final Blog

Copy:

Tobias Frere-Jones is ​an​ ​American​ ​designer​ ​best​ ​known​ ​for​ ​his​ ​work​ ​in typography.​ ​He​ ​is​ ​credited​ ​as​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​leading​ ​typeface​ ​designers​ ​in the​ ​world​ ​right​ ​now,​ ​having​ ​created​ ​widely​ ​used​ ​fonts​ ​such as​ ​Gothic, Whitney,​ ​Interstate,​ ​Tungsten,​ ​and​ ​Retina.​ ​Growing​ ​up​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​City, Frere-Jones​ ​attended​ ​Saint​ ​Ann’s​ ​School​ ​in​ ​Brooklyn​ ​before​ ​receiving​ ​a BFA​ ​in​ ​Graphic​ ​Design​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Rhode​ ​Island​ ​School​ ​of​ ​Design​ ​in​ ​1992. He​ ​joined​ ​the​ ​faculty​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Yale​ ​University​ ​School​ ​of​ ​Art​ ​in​ ​1996,​ ​and became​ ​a​ ​member​ ​of​ ​Font​ ​Bureau,​ ​Inc.​ ​in​ ​Boston​ ​around​ ​the​ ​same​ ​time. Eventually​ ​leaving​ ​the​ ​Font​ ​Bureau,​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​teamed​ ​up​ ​with​ ​fellow typeface​ ​designer​ ​Jonathan​ ​Hoefler,​ ​creating​ ​the​ ​company​ ​Hoefler​ ​& Frere-Jones​ ​in​ ​2005.​ ​However,​ ​in​ ​2014,​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​left​ ​the​ ​company following​ ​a​ ​split​ ​from​ ​Hoefler​ ​and​ ​a​ ​lawsuit.​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​now​ ​runs​ ​his own​ ​type​ ​foundry –​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​Type​ ​LLC,​ ​alongside​ ​his​ ​wife​ ​Christine Bateup –​ ​and​ ​continues​ ​to​ give ​lectures on typography​ ​at​ ​universities​ ​across​ ​the​ ​country.

Sources:

https://frerejones.com/about

https://frerejones.com/about/press/2014-10-30/

https://frerejones.com/families

https://frerejones.com/families/exchange

https://frerejones.com/families/mallory

https://frerejones.com/families/retina

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Frere-Jones

http://2016.typographics.com/schedule/text-and-type/

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Found Objects Final Blog

Design Rationale:

Putting this project together was more tedious than I thought it would be. I also thought that my legs would produce way more hair than they actually did after shaving -- I only had enough hair to put together one letter at a time, so I wasn’t able to have the whole word put together on a cohesive background. Additionally, it was difficult to arrange the hair in a way that made the opacity of the letterform as high as possible. However, I think it worked out in the end. I like how the word is formed in a sort of block-pattern (and it makes the aesthetic of the piece just playful enough), due to the varying shades of pink surrounding each letter.

I decided to go with a more modern typographic style because I wanted the letters to be thick and loud -- almost too demanding to be associated with the soft, feminine hues forming the background. The hair makes up the word I chose to illustrate: “LADY.” The term lady seems to be getting more and more outdated. However, it is still used today to describe the role of an ideal woman in our patriarchal society. I wanted to play with this concept by suggesting a contrasting idea -- the embrace of letting natural body hair grow.

The construction process involved some pretty shady methods. I shaved my legs with an electric clipper over a large piece of sketch paper. I gathered the hairs using a credit card, which I also used to shape the letterforms in a more organized way than if I used my fingers.

Overall, I’d say this project has had a somewhat profound affect on me, as an artist. I must admit that working with my own shed strands of DNA was a little more unpleasant than I had anticipated -- but I guess you could say that I feel a little more in touch with my body following this experience.

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Typographer Postcard Process Blog

Tobias Frere-Jones 

Research:

From New York City

Formed type company in 2005 with Jonathan Hoefler

Split from longtime creative partner Jonathan Hoefler in 2014

Known for having created GOTHAM, WHITNEY, POINTER OLDSTYLE, GOTHAM, SURVEYOR, TUNGSTEN, and RETINA

BFA in Graphic Design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1992

Following graduation, became member of Font Bureau

Joined faculty of the Yale University School of Art in 1996

Still gives lectures all over the country

Copy:

Tobias Frere-Jones is ​an​ ​American​ ​designer​ ​best​ ​known​ ​for​ ​his​ ​work​ ​in typography.​ ​He​ ​is​ ​credited​ ​as​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​leading​ ​typeface​ ​designers​ ​in the​ ​world​ ​right​ ​now,​ ​having​ ​created​ ​widely​ ​used​ ​fonts​ ​such as​ ​Gothic, Whitney,​ ​Interstate,​ ​Tungsten,​ ​and​ ​Retina.​ ​Growing​ ​up​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​City, Frere-Jones​ ​attended​ ​Saint​ ​Ann’s​ ​School​ ​in​ ​Brooklyn​ ​before​ ​receiving​ ​a BFA​ ​in​ ​Graphic​ ​Design​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Rhode​ ​Island​ ​School​ ​of​ ​Design​ ​in​ ​1992. He​ ​joined​ ​the​ ​faculty​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Yale​ ​University​ ​School​ ​of​ ​Art​ ​in​ ​1996,​ ​and became​ ​a​ ​member​ ​of​ ​Font​ ​Bureau,​ ​Inc.​ ​in​ ​Boston​ ​around​ ​the​ ​same​ ​time. Eventually​ ​leaving​ ​the​ ​Font​ ​Bureau,​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​teamed​ ​up​ ​with​ ​fellow typeface​ ​designer​ ​Jonathan​ ​Hoefler,​ ​creating​ ​the​ ​company​ ​Hoefler​ ​& Frere-Jones​ ​in​ ​2005.​ ​However,​ ​in​ ​2014,​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​left​ ​the​ ​company following​ ​a​ ​split​ ​from​ ​Hoefler​ ​and​ ​a​ ​lawsuit.​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​now​ ​runs​ ​his own​ ​type​ ​foundry --​ ​Frere-Jones​ ​Type​ ​LLC,​ ​alongside​ ​his​ ​wife​ ​Christine Bateup --​ ​and​ ​continues​ ​to​ give ​lectures on typography​ ​at​ ​universities​ ​across​ ​the​ ​country.

Sources:

https://frerejones.com/about

https://frerejones.com/about/press/2014-10-30/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Frere-Jones

http://2016.typographics.com/schedule/text-and-type/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502151427178633466

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Found Objects Process Blog

Design Brief:

My first idea was the word “PIG.” I have two guinea pigs, so I thought I would try to use them as inspiration for this project. I thought about doing the whole term “GUINEA PIG,” but I thought it would be a more meaningful piece if it was just the word “PIG,” which refers to the farm animal, but the incorporation of the guinea pig and food items into the word would lead the viewer to understand that it actually refers to the rodent (a little work on the part of the viewer -- something that makes for good art). After more brainstorming, I thought about the many pills I take every day for various things. One of them is anti-depressants, which have influence on how I feel every day. With this in mind, I sketched out the word “FEELING” made up by pills. Finally, I came up with the idea to form the word “LADY” out of body hair. I like to use feminism in my work from time to time. I’ve decided to follow through with my “LADY” idea. I felt that the “PIG” idea was too simple, and the “FEELING” idea too cliché. It can be argued that my “LADY” idea is also cliché, but at least it has more weight in its meaning and execution. With this idea, I aim to explore the concept of what it means to be a “lady” through a thought-provoking image. The body hair (which makes up the letters) will be used as an element of conceptual contrast with the conventional meaning of the word they spell out. The concept of a “lady” in our society involves a body free of unsightly imperfections – including stretch marks, cellulite, and, of course, body hair.

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Type Exercise IV: Hierarchy

Design Rationale:

For this exercise, I didn’t want to complicate the design, which I feel would be easy when creating something like a business card for yourself. How can one effectively communicate oneself through one little design? In response to this thought, I decided to go with something simplistic yet graphically effective. I set up the information with regard to hierarchy of scale, making my name the biggest and occupation a few font sizes smaller. I put “Graphic Design” in italics to add some variety to the text (and because it just felt right). I added the purple circle as a graphic element to play off of the text. I think the circle sits nicely in the space along with the text, and adds subtle personality to the entire composition.

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Type Exercise III: Typographic Expression

Design Rationale:

For this exercise, it was difficult to choose an adjective that I wanted to illustrate. I found myself overthinking the project – I could only think about typographic expressions that would have been way too complicated. I was feeling pressure. I decided to take it as a sign and choose that very word. I decided to make the font color red for the cliché reason that red signifies negative energy. I added the black area to provide weight and contrast for the word to interact with. I’m pretty happy with the simplistic nature of it. It reminds me of that one Talking Heads album.

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Type Exercise II: Two Letters

Design Rationale:

Similar to the first exercise, I wanted to create a composition that possessed visual interest while maintaining legible letter forms. With this in mind, I chose the lowercase form of the letter “k” since it is composed of angles, and the uppercase form of the letter “D” since it is made up of a closed form. I thought the combination of these forms could make for an interesting relationship. I wanted the letters to be appreciated for their shape, so like the first exercise, I had the forms fill the composition. The shapes created by the letters draw attention to positive and negative space, while the letters are still easily identifiable.

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Type Exercise I: One Letter

Design Rationale:

For this exercise, I wanted to choose a letter that embodied qualities that hold potential for graphic experimentation, specifically lines coming together to form a closed area. With this in mind, I chose the capital form of the letter R. I wanted to make sure that the finished product made the letter less of a letter and more of a design, so I had the “R” fill the entire composition. Additionally, I filled in the area between the two lines that make up the bottom half of the letter, creating a visually interesting graphic element while the letter is still recognizable.

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Introduction

My name is Chloé Arzuaga.

I am a 21 year-old student and this is my last year at the College at Brockport before I become a full-fledged member of society :(. I am majoring in Art with a concentration in Graphic Design, and I have a minor in Film Studies. I am trained in Fine Arts but I’d like to think that I have a strong sense in design, therefore I decided to major in Graphic Design.

I consider myself to be a working artist. I’ve been doing creative projects for as long as I can remember and I’ve always known that my destiny resides in the art world. I have been commissioned to do special projects for many clients, and I sell my artwork on shirts, mugs, postcards, etc. on my RedBubble profile (even though 70% of the pay goes to the website - meh). Here’s a link:

https://www.redbubble.com/people/littlegirlbluue/portfolio

I have avoided taking Typography because whenever it was offered in the past, it was only held really early in the morning. Since it is my last year, I have no choice but to take it. Thankfully, it isn’t held too early in the morning. 

The pup in the picture is my special girl Oona. I somehow got her to look at the camera when I took the photo. I edited the photo to make it look like American Gothic by Grant Wood. 

I look forward to a semester of designing alongside y’all in Typography I!