Materials and Media

James Gilmer - Semester 2

[jamesgilmermm2]

Rationale

"Type as Hero" is the two part brief for MM2, this being the second part for social media promotional animations. I was given Raleway at the beginning of the project, and the theme I ended up choosing for the type specimen book and the animations was 'Railway', a train theme.

Overall, I am happy with the result of my final 2 animations and I think I have created something unique with the use of type with weight and motion. I made multiple animations, but I thought they were the most coherent and offered two different things while remaining a pair.

The only problem that I have with my two animations is they don’t show the weights, glyphs, etc. but my reason for this is because it would make it too long, but it would also take away from the animation. By this, I mean that the animations are already complex, and I think a viewer of them would be more interested in the motion and how the typeface could be used practically rather than showing what the typeface has available.

In conclusion, I think my project was successful because I got to showcase a typeface through a method other than just showing weights and glyphs, and I got to do something I had never done before in terms of animation.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Rolling Text Instagram Animation

[jamesgilmermm2]

Rolling Text Facebook Animation

[jamesgilmermm2]

Train Instagram Animation

[jamesgilmermm2]

Train Facebook Animation

[jamesgilmermm2]

Final 2 Animations

I misunderstood the final hand-in and didn't realise that we were handing in 2 reformatted animations. These are the two final animations I will be handing in. These are the GIF files, I will render them in MP4 for file hand-in.

I chose these two animations because I thought they contrasted but paired with each other nicely. I think the idea of the moving characters with weight is something unique that others won't use in their animations.

The rolling text is also unique, but the motion with weight is my favourite part of the animations, and the contrast of illustration and describing the text with the same outcome pairs them nicely together.

I didn't decide to use my other animation because if I used it with the rolling text, they would be too similar and if I used it with the train animation, they'd be totally different. I think the most coherent two GIFs to go together are these two which is why I have chosen them.

I think the only issue I have with these two animations is they don't show the weights, glyphs, etc. but my reason for this is because it would make it too long, but it would also take away from the animation. What I mean by this is that the animations are already complex, and I think a viewer of them would be more interested in the motion and how the typeface could be used practically rather than showing what the typeface has available.

[jamesgilmermm2]

First Design Idea - Both GIFs

With this design idea, I wanted to use rolling characters to create motion with weight.

My main goal was to create motion with the characters that had weight to it. I wanted to create transitions that were more interesting than wipes and that could keep a viewer engaged because you don't know what will happen next.

The reason for doing one with a train illustration and one with the characteristics is to show two different sides of the typeface while using the same format/style. I think the train one is more fun, whereas the characteristics is more of a showcase.

At the end of both gifs I also have included 'an elegant sans-serif typeface' to connect the two gifs further so you can tell they are two in the same.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Final Version - First GIF, Second Design Idea

I really like this version of the GIF and I think the timing makes sense and flows nicely. Increasing the time to let it loop adds in breathing room where you can process what happens going into the second loop (for a first time viewer of the gif).

The transitions add a lot to the GIF in terms of keeping your attention but still allowing it to showcase the typeface. I like having the wipe transition at the start and the end of the GIF because it gives a satisfying conclusion and loop.

My only concern in the GIF is that there is a lot of content in ~10 - 11 seconds so I hope that it isn't overwhelming to look at.

Overall I am very happy with how this GIF turned out and I plan to make a second version using illustration.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Third Complete Version

I think that Characters & Glyphs goes too fast after the extension of time on Weights. I think Weights also comes in a bit too slow.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Second Complete Version

I think this version works much better but it needs some time to loop, I also think that the Weights section needs to be slowed down slightly.

[jamesgilmermm2]

First Complete Version

I really like the gif, but it still needs work with timing and nailing down the transitions perfectly, mainly at the end.

I think the final wipe is too fast and needs to be reversed to give it some variation from the first wipe. I also think the timing of Glyphs and Characters coming in needs to be changed.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Circle Transition

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Extended Animation

I think that this version of the gif gives much more breathing room and time to process what's actually happening. Slowing down the weights was the most significant I think because you can actually see the weights properly.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Weights

I like the content so far in the animation, but I think its happening too fast and I need to slow it down.

[jamesgilmermm2]

Square Transistion

[jamesgilmermm2]

Loop with Characteristics

I like the rolling text, but I think it could go a bit slower if I don't exceed the time limit by the end of the finished gif.

My other concern is that the rolling idea is too similar to the introduction of the gif with 'Raleway' so I may need to rework the Raleway transition.

[jamesgilmermm2]

First Loop Test