GD 102

MOLLIE ENNIS | INTENDED GRAPHIC DESIGN MAJOR | MAINE COLLEGE OF ART

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Penguin Publishing GD 102: Typography Final MECA–Maine College of Art

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Against interpretation

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This should have at least 1/3 the amount of notes of all the posts disparaging Comic Sans combined.

Trust me, I'm no avid proprietor of the typeface myself, but this misdirected hatred of Comic Sans always irks me. Maybe because so many people declare their distaste for Comic Sans without knowing how painstakingly much goes into the creation of a "good" or "bad" typeface? It has become some sort of trend amongst the modern internet culture, and to be quite honest I can't argue with the validity of many of the posts out there. As a fine arts student studying graphic design at a collegiate level, I would like to say now what has been said to me before:

Comic Sans is not a poorly constructed typeface, it is just a poorly applied one.

Let's think about it: What about its bold line weight and juvenile handwritten quality says to the consumer: "FINE WINES," "DANGER," or "REST IN PEACE?" These are just a couple examples of sacrilegious typography, and I'm sure you've seen more.

All I'm trying to do is encourage people to give this trend a moment of thought, because (1. typography is really cool), and 2. you're going to sound super intelligent around your friends if you can provide a valid dispute to their point because now you know something about a field that they are entirely clueless to.

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We were asked to produce two compositions with filler text provided by Margo in Adobe Garamond Pro. We were able to italicize and could manipulate tracking, kerning, and leading; we were not able to use bold versions or change the size of the type. The objective was to create a dynamic composition in a 6' x 6' frame. My intention was to replicate the meaning of the text through the visual relationships between my compositional decisions. Before reading the type on the page, the viewer should innately grasp the insistence on rigidity of form that is discussed within the piece. The one line that has been separated and italicized, "In handwriting, control of space tends to be ornamental, ornate, as in calligraphy." obviously functions as an opposition or exception to the rest of the text.

Quite a beautiful piece of writing, I must say–and a very interesting way to think about typography (especially in the modern era).

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Element Poster

One element was written on the back of a business card for each student in the class and thrown onto the ground to select at random.

My element: Arsenic

Symbol: As | Atomic Number 33 | Atomic Weight 74.92

After a bit of research we were then asked to write a single sentence, pinpointing an interesting component of our element. This became the overriding concept for the gathering of reference materials and our preliminary thumbnails.

Mine was: Arsenic is both a poison and a medicine.

After that our thumbnails were refined and critiqued and each initial sentence was expanded into a 100 word paragraph supporting our final designs and revisions.

Arsenic is both a poison and a toxin.

During the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, a number of arsenic compounds were used in medicine prior to the advent of Penicillin. It was also A common ingredient in many tonics or “patient medicines.”

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, arsenic became a favored method of murder among prominent figures of ruling classes. Because its symptoms are similar to those of cholera, arsenic poisoning often went undetected.

My ultimate objective was to emanate the appearance of old medicine bottles, incorporating a slightly grimmer undertone, reminiscent of toxic imagery in antiquated times.

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Stumbled across these little books, and I couldn't help but think of this class.

The Inwear Spring 2012 Lookbook by Danish graphics firm Homework

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Introduction to Typography First Project: Issu Book [click to open]

[capricieuxavis]

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“9/11/2001,” by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly, September 24, 2001.

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Stumbled upon a designer I really like. Book jacket design is definitely a desirable field.

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Chip Kidd | Designing Books is no Laughing Matter

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For me, it was an opportunity to create all new pieces that I called “Love Stories”, because each one was an illustrated text of the story of someone I love.

–Marian Bantjes

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The main idea behind grid-based designs is a solid visual and structural balance of web-sites you can create with them. Sophisticated layout structures offer more flexibility and enhance the visual experience of visitors. In fact, users can easier follow the consistency of the page, while developers can update the layout in a well thought-out, consistent way. However, it's quite hard to find your way through all the theory behind grid systems: it isn't easy at all. Some important notions and related key-facts can help to learn basics and keep essential techniques in mind. And this is what this article is all about. Inspired by Khoi Vinn's and Mark Boulton's presentation Grids are Good, we've decided to take a deep look in the articles about grid-based designs. We've read through over 50 articles and selected some of the most important and interesting facts web-developers should know about the grid-based approach. Besides, we've listed the most useful references, tutorials and tools we found - with precise descriptions of what the articles are about.

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Also known as International Style, the Swiss Style does not simply describe a style of graphic design made in Switzerland. It became famous through the art of very talented Swiss graphic designers, but it emerged in Russia, Germany and Netherlands in the 1920’s. This style in art, architecture and culture became an ‘international’ style after 1950’s and it was produced by artists all around the globe. Despite that, people still refer to it as the Swiss Style or the Swiss Legacy. This progressive, radical movement in graphic design is not concerned with the graphic design in Switzerland, but rather with the new style that had been proposed, attacked and defended in the 1920s in Switzerland. Keen attention to detail, precision, craft skills, system of education and technical training, a high standard of printing as well as a clear refined and inventive lettering and typoraphy laid out a foundation for a new movement that has been exported worldwide in 1960s to become an international style.