Book + Process Blog ARTS-245

Philip Lloyd-UofSC F23

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Final Reflection

(This is kinda cheesy, I wasn't sure what to write about)

This semester flew by way too fast. Maybe it's the stress talking, but I need things to slow down some. As usual, I was met with so many challenges throughout this time. I struggled with the hands-on aspects of some projects, felt uninspired occasionally, and frequently ran out of time. In between all of that, a visit to the emergency room and hours of therapy.

The last project we completed was the most enjoyable for me. I even went so far as to create a little brand identity for myself. A logo for the design agency hired by the university. It was inspired by the lamp of learning from the Wichita State university seal. I really liked seeing the process from beginning to end (my own and others) and the final result. I actually appreciate assignments that require a little self-guided research. The lower the requirements, the more research I do. I was very impressed by most of my classmates' work. This was a great opportunity to see the various personalities and styles everyone has.

Go Terriers!!

Burger wrapper (didn't use it.)

I thought it would be fun to suggest a target to rebrand for a future class...

Tulane University-

At first glance, the mascot is a little hard to understand. Especially at small sizes (at least for me). I was watching TV one Saturday and happened to flip to them playing. I immediately went "What is that ?" and searched it up.

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Reflection No.9

I'm pretty sure I wrote too much last week by mistake. However, this week I will just discuss the current project and try to show some thought processes. Even though "it does not really matter."

This week has been pretty fun. Conducting research about a topic, without having to write a paper about it is great for me. I have enjoyed the deep dives into the history of the university. (I chose WSU). I found myself fishing through the archives of student newspapers from the early 1950s-60's. (The WSU Sunflower)

I have struggled with fleshing out the persona that I want to create. At times the directions were unclear especially since this is my first time creating an identity. Much of the process requires some extra creativity with this project because it forces me to wear more hats. I am giving myself directions on how to complete my own work (??)

As I have narrowed down my options (because I started out with several). I feel like did not receive adequate feedback, but I guess I'll just go with my original idea. The airedale terrier popped into my head as soon as I sat down and started to work. Its head is just wheat-shaped in my mind and dogs are a very popular subject of mascots/logos. They are also described as hardworking, protective, farming dogs, that fit well with the perceived ethos of the school. I have not started any actual logos as of yet. I am trying not to move too fast and create something I've spent hours on only to get snubbed.

This feels like a big undertaking, but hopefully, I'm up to the challenge.

*I thought these were funny/interesting (excerpts from the student newspaper) I know they are unrelated to the project.

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Reading & Reflection No.8

The appendix basically contains a variety of fun facts pertaining to typography. One new thing that I learned was the em and en dash meaning. If I understood correctly, the size of the space is actually measured by those characters (mindblowing).

Later on in the reading, I resonated with a point about designers taking on many different roles. Many of which, are not typically associated with design. Such as editing (body copy or overall layout), proofreading etc., especially in an official capacity. Meaning you are the author of the change. Once a project has been completed, there are always circumstances that arise when it comes to printing. These errors can be costly, and from experience I know that it can be hard to catch these problems until later inspection. That is why it is important to print often while working, many times things may look better or worse than they do on screen.

“May your thoughts be deep and your wounds be shallow.” 

Project 4 Reflection:

I really enjoyed he first part of this project, but the rest was a struggle for me. Several times I lost interest or motivation to continue to reiterate the design. I was trying (a little too hard) to make my layout different from every one else's. I avoided looking for inspiration in other places also. This may have shot me in the foot, because my final design felt rushed and a little plain. The elements that I really liked were the color palette and the letter texture that I created, and even though it didn't make it into the final. I may used it elsewhere. The whole purpose was to used the letter I created in a different way. By orienting it straight up and down, while changing the tint (not opacity).

Research for Project 5: Rebranding

I went with the Wichita State Shockers (Wichita, Kansas). My actual first impression before doing any research was that he (WuShock) looked like a chewed cigar, and that he was very yellow. However, he is a bundle of wheat…

During the time the school was named (or renamed) many students earned tuition by harvesting or “shocking” wheat. (I've heard/used the term shucking corn but never shocking) The word “shocker” means a person who harvests wheat (the verb “shocked” is used with the same meaning as “harvest”).

The university used a plain stalk of wheat as their symbol until around 1948. “Wushock” was named and picked that year in a contest. There have been many, many iterations of the mascot and logo since then.

More recent mascot compared to Gordon Ramsey (just thought this was funny)

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Reading & Reflection No. 7

Hi

er

archy

This week's reading was about hierarchy. Which can be purely visual (with text) or deal specifically with the layout and where they are placed in a space. Hierarchy is especially important when it comes to websites because they are meant to be scrolled from top to bottom. Hierarchy is also about creating emphasis. It allows for a controlled direction of attention, where the designer is in the driver's seat. Something that I never considered was designing a website that was printer-friendly. It may be a very old-fashioned way of thinking, but occasionally I do need to print a website out. Usually, they do not print out very well.

(Below is an example of hierarchy I found from an Instagram post by James Martin)

This past week we have been working on completing our layouts for the letters we created. I do not particularly love document layout, so it has been a tedious process. One aspect of my project that I enjoyed was searching for interesting Pangrams, to showcase all of the variations of my chosen typeface.

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Reflection & Reading No.6

Anatomy of Angles

I liked the breakdown of the different type classifications, (which reinforced what we discussed in class), such as Oldstyle, Transitional, Modern, Egyptian (Slab serif), and Sans serif. I can now appreciate the amount of work involved in creating a typeface. Even though I have only created a single letter there was quite a bit of time and thought put into it.

That one layout in the reading reminded me of this Dada poem I had to make for an Art history class. It was made from excerpts from the book The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B DuBois.

“Helvetica isn’t fat. She has big bones.”

I did a majority of the initial letter sketches on my iPad, which was difficult because I was on the road and every time I bumped the shapes would distort. Anyhow. I enjoyed messing around with the letters. Because it allowed me to really get in and explore the curves of the typography. It is hard not to make them "beautiful" for lack of a better term. Letters are not specifically designed for aesthetic purposes but simply to record verbal language. That being said they should be functional and easy(ish) to read. Below are some of the ones I did not continue working on, but I felt like they were pretty good too. The serif ones were a lot more interesting and fun to work with. But it is very easy to make something that has been done before. There are only so many letters, and written language has been around long enough that it is almost impossible to make something new.

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Reflection Reading No.5

S P A C E

This week's reading emphasized the importance of spacing. Particularly in reference to individual lines of text and even between letters. The amount of space can strongly affect the overall feel, theme, and legibility of a design. I never considered the benefit of spacing when referring to things like logotypes. The proximity is crucial to making the word logo appear as one unit.

We also read over the value of alignment. I have found a new appreciation for the different types of alignment (right, left, center, justified, vertical, etc.) Each one provides an unexpected change to the overall feel of a block of text. Some things are intuitive and just feel right, like right aligning a caption underneath an image. Other alignment options are harder to get correct because they strongly affect readability.

I almost broke out in hives because the color palette was in RGB…;) (not really) So, I went back and color-matched them with CMYK and gave them funny (to me) names. (I still ended up using a RGB color.) Below is the reference image I used and the final image. This project was deceptively simple. It turned out to be a lot harder than I expected because it required us to simplify an already simple object. While at the same time, making it fit inside a very rigid shape. I chose a Magnolia as my flower, and a big feature of the Magnolia are its large waxy leaves. However, trying to incorporate the leaves was difficult to do without overshadowing the flower aspect. But the leaves also help make the flower more recognizable (in my opinion). Another problem I had was figuring out how to translate line art from the sketches to a filled-in shape. Overall I enjoyed this project, as always I could have used a little more time.

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Reading and Ref No.4-Text

Tryreadingalineoftextwithoutspacingtoseehowimportantithasbecome.

This time around we were discussing the text aspect of typography. Which is the most visual part of designing with type. Because much of the content we consume, (such as this blog post) is filled with text. The reading stressed, that the spacing is just as important as the type. Because it affects readability and style. It was interesting to learn where the term leading and kerning originated. They both refer to physical spaces that were used with old printing presses to increase legibility. Typography/type/print allows for a sense of permanence that is not the same as with writing. In the sense that there are almost always copies of a document made in a computer or physically printed. Versus one-offs of a hand written manuscript. I also intrigued by how the text differentiated the linearity of "digital media" comparing Microsoft Word to Quark Xpress (which I hate) or Indesign (less but still hate). Where the writing process starts at the top of the page and ends at the bottoms. As opposed to building blocks of text in programs (like with Indesign.)

There is a difference between seeing and reading. The book talks about a "digital divide", where people tend to be in "search mode" rather than digesting information. Only searching for a keyword or phrase pertaining to them. As the reading says, our attention has become a commodity and we should not squander it.

"How texts are used becomes more important than what they mean."

I hate glue sticks… especially the purple ones. Anyhow this project went well with the reading this time around. I sort of enjoyed this project, even though it was not a clean as would have liked. I started by piling random books I found good type in on my bed. Then I scanned them. I mostly enjoyed searching for the larger text that really stood out. But the smaller type also played a role in crafting a cohesive project. The image below was probably my favorite and I tried to loosely base the layout on the golden grid/section we read about last week.

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Reading & Reflection No.3

Golden

(I wrote this on my phone, in the car so I apologize for the read)

This section of the reading was very applicable to our upcoming project. I have had some experience using grids but they are difficult to put into practice on occasion. It is also important to remember that they are also just a suggestion and we are encouraged to break out of them at times.

As designers, we are tasked with the difficult work of making something consistent while still creating visual interest.

I took this quote above from the reading. Basically it states it is very difficult, even for a very skilled person to do the same thing twice. It is comparing or contrasting the playing of music (specifically Jazz) to the elements of design.

I was glad to finally finish this project. I feel like I missed an opportunity to pick someone else, but I made a choice and had to stick with it. Just looking at this photo I can see areas that need improvement. Which is very frustrating because the amount of time I spent on it does not match the quality of work. Anyhow, his name is Marcus Samuelsson and he is a chef. He has been on several tv shows and also owns/operates several restaurants. My goal with the experimental Xerox was to showcase that to those who didn’t know. In the original photo he was cutting some vegetables so I had to include that. I printed the original at a lower contrast and then put back into the printer to print over it. With image of the knife and table. It took like 30 tries to get it just right. The last square is probably my favorite, it is a play on the flags of Ethiopia (where he is originally from) and Sweden (where his adopted parents raised him).

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Reading & Reflection No.2

Grids

The importance of grids to layout and keeping things organized were the main focus of this week. (Obviously) I feel it was stressed that designers focus on margins, edges, and empty spaces to create a user-friendly experience. Whether that be with physical and traditional means or with digital applications. Grids divide space, time, and information into units. When used with typography, they arrange content and sometimes adapt to it. The grid (or frame) is just as important to the design as the typography or graphics themselves and serves a specific design purpose as well. There was a quote that described it as a "figure" which again relates back to human qualities (which seems to be a theme that I see in this book often.) Personally, I would not describe the words frame or grid as something fluid or with "figure." But in certain instances, I can see how they could be equated with one another. Like here ⬇️

Grids were especially important in our recent project because they allow for precision and consistency. Which is something that is extremely difficult when working with physical media. I tried my best not to let this project get to me, but it really has worn me down.

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Reading & Reflection No. 1

( I apologize if I jump around a little)

The layout of the book is very interesting and keeps you engaged. I thought it was important that the connection was made between man and machine. Both are needed to make effective type. I am taking German this semester and I thought it was cool that the first movable type/printing press was created there. It is also amazing how many of the "fonts" we use today are either very old or based on those old typefaces.

I found it kind of intriguing when they compared some of the newer fonts to Frankenstein. Meaning that they were kind of mangled "monsters" that were stretched, fattened, and combined. The reading even mentions the parallels between type and the human body using words like engorging and embellishing.

This was funny, this horrible cruise sign with about 12 different fonts. They said it was supposed to grab your attention and it does, but for the wrong reasons.

This project was very frustrating for several reasons. For one, I feel a little disappointed, like I paid to do arts and crafts. Not only that but it is pretty difficult to get just right.

These are some images where I was trying to show my process. The image on the left is an old crusty glass pan that I turned into a "light table."

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Signed Syllabus