Project 5 sketches

Typography Journal, Week 3

This past weekend, I had to go to MoMA in New York City to see an exhibit for another class. While I was there, I couldn't stop looking at typography... afterall, there are signs everywhere in NYC. I recognized what I thought was Helvetica or Arial on many street signs, posters, and store signs.

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My first example I first saw on a billboard as we were driving on the highway in New Jersey (I think it was I-95). I wasn't able to take a photo when I saw it, so I had to find it online when we got back home. I love the cleverness of the plane as the X in expo and how the text is on an upward slant, like a plane taking off from a runway. I don't know if this is correct or not, but in the word TRAVEL I think there should be slightly more kerning in between the R and A and slightly less kerning between the V and the E.

My second example is of a poster I found on a bus stop shelter in NYC. It's an ad for Top of the Rock, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center. The bold weight on the NY in ANY emphasizes New York and can also be read as "A NY Point of View". Besides the clever play on words, I like the lightness and airiness of the typeface and how it suggests air/sky, which is appropriate for the placement of the type. It also compliments the beautiful scenery by not distracting the eye with a heavier typeface. It's clean, clear, and easy to read. The typeface almost reminds me of a movie poster.

Font/Type Games

Deep Font Challenge:
http://www.deep.co.uk/games/font_game/

What Font Are You?
http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/970830/what-font-are-you-standard-fonts

Sara Newton's Fontastic Quiz
http://mentalfloss.com/node/13212/take

Can you name the fonts?
http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/fonts

I Shot the Serif
http://www.tothepoint.co.uk/more/fun/shoot_the_serif/

Anatomy of Typography
http://www.purposegames.com/game/the-anatomy-of-typography-game-quiz

Type Connection
http://www.typeconnection.com/

Typography Journal, Week 2b

Typography Journal, Week 2a

The sans serif typeface used in this ad (as well as in the Eight O'clock coffee logo) implies simplicity, sophistication and style, which suits the art deco style of the advertisement. The clean, tall lines of the type and all uppercase letters further solidify sophistication.

Social project photos

Typogranalogy progress

 

Helvetica, the documentary film

I found Helvetica on Netflix this weekend after hearing about it from a fellow student in another class. I was interested to see an interview with Stefan Sagmeister (among many other well-known graphic designers and typographers), who was recently the guest speaker at the Society of Design's most recent lecture event. Before watching this documentary, I had no idea how frequently Helvetica is used. I saw many famous brands and companies that use Helvetica in some form as their official typeface on TV, for logos, signs, or graphics, including the IRS (on tax forms). It was then I realized why it is so well received and widely used: it has a simple, clean, official look to it. And that is the same reason why some designers hate it.

Typography Journal, Week 1b

In my novice opinion, I would say this poster/flyer is an example of poor use of typography. My first argument for the use of poor typography is the typeface that's used in "A Black History Month Celebration: Black Women are Finer Women" and the date and time. It is difficult to read, plus the tracking is too tight. Aside from that, I feel that the typeface is more appropriate for something lighter or playful, maybe something child-related or invitations to a baby shower or a birthday party - as long as the tracking is loser.
I also think the typeface on the first header is also more appropriate in a different type of flyer, maybe a comic strip/book or a comedy open mic night or something similar. I think the block-style typeface is appropriate though, and the creator of this flyer was somewhat on the right track there.
The sentence "light refreshments will be served" typeface is also difficult to read at that size. The tracking looks much tighter and the characters seem to melt together, making it rather unreadable. Maybe a subtler, lighter typeface would be better in my opinion.
Unrelated to typography, and more related to layout design, I would have moved logo of the sorority up to the first header and maybe move the when and where text to the center and up a few nudges to allow more space before where the image starts to fade in.
I'd like to say that I know right away which typefaces I'd use if I had created this flyer, but truthfully, I'd have to experiment first. Maybe by the end of this semester I will know.

Project 2: Four Letter Word Circles

Professor Mata
Millersville University
Graphic & Interactive Design
Project 2_Four Letter Word Circles_SP13

 

Uppercase

Lowercase

Mix

Project 1: Typogranalogy

Professor Mata
Millersville University
Graphic & Interactive Design
Project 1_Typogranalogies_SP13

Typography Journal, Week 1a

This is an interesting typeface. It makes me wonder if it was intended to slow the viewer, like it's inviting us to pause and really look at the word (since the minuscule d isn't as easy to read as the other letters, plus it is a combination of normal-seeming sans-serif characters and exaggerate, atypical extensions). Whatever its intent, I really like the roundness of the tail of the uppercase R and the ascender of the lowercase d and how they flow into the preceding/following characters. The graceful, playfulness of the typeface encouraged me to seek more information on what Miranda is (the blog featuring "the work in and workings of" the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia).