Project One - Bitmap Type Design

For the first project in beginning typography I was suppose to create my own typeface using a grid. The letters that we were suppose to create were D,G,S,W, and X also the numbers 1,4,5,6, and 7 these are suppose to be the most challenging numbers and letters when creating a typeface. In the beginning of my process all of my typefaces looked just as any other typeface that I have seen before. Either that or they all just looked exactly how I would think a type face would look when it was made on a 12x12 grid system. It wasn't until I made the typeface that I called morris that I felt good about one of them. I knew once I felt good about it I had to give it a shot in making some refinements to make it the final one. At first I made it so there were dots going vertically and dashes going horizontally. This showed me that the type had potential but it wasn't quite right. Once I reversed it to make the dashes vertically and the dots horizontally it all came together.

Yes, the bitmap typeface that I created is simple, but it is a design that I created and a design that I like. It is thin and in some parts broken, but it withholds its form for a clear sense of what the characters are saying.

As I was creating this type my main focus was making all the dimensions and X heights the same. While still making each letter look how the letter is suppose to look. And by making it a little different than others, yet simple all at the same time. With the Morris typeface I believe I achieved everything I set out to do while making this bitmap type design.

The reason I named this type morris is simple. I named it after Morse code, because that's what it looks like. It is created with dots and dashes. The reason that I ended up with the name Morris instead of Morse is because although it looks like it should be Morse code after what it was designed after I wanted the type to have its own name. A name of a man, a human name because for some reason when giving something the name of a person I think is really funny. And the name also still suggests its inspiration enough for people to understand it.

This was the first project in this class, it was also the first assignment that we created something from scratch. For this being my first typeface I ever created, well created some of the letters. I think it turned out pretty well. I am very happy with where my type ended up when completing the project. At my first couple attempts I was almost convinced that I was not going to be able to come up with a design that I liked. I'm glad I kept going with different ideas and did not just settle for one of the first typefaces I created.

Exercise Four - Typographic Space / Grid

For this fourth and final exercise of the class I thought it was extremely straight forward and shouldn't be difficult at all. To bad I was wrong. I am pretty sure I did the entire thing backwards. What I was suppose to do for this project was to create grey boxes that emulated the same shade of grey that the body of text has created. What I did was make dark grey boxes on things that I thought stood out more and lighter grey boxes as things got less and less important.

This exercise taught me how important it is to read design directions closely and do what is actually asked of me. Although, I was lucky this time and what I did was at least somewhat close to what I was actually suppose to do and it wasn't that big of a problem. In the future, it will be. When dealing with bigger projects and actual work I will need to not mess up for multiple reasons. The first is the bigger the project the more time it is going to take to create and if I mess up and put a couple hours into it I am going to have to put in another couple hours in order to fix it. The second reason is maybe I won't get any time to fix it, what if I don't catch that I messed up in time. In that case I am either getting a bad great or even worse out of some work all because I wasn't paying close enough attention.

Even though I did the project a little backwards this was a great exercise in teaching me how important a grid actually is. How prominent it is in any publication I will need to create. When setting up a grid like this, by just using grey boxes in order to show where certain text will go a person can get an idea of what they are going to do to further there work. Also they are able to effectively show a client what they are thinking for a layout without all the components in it yet, and that client can get a pretty good idea of what it is going to look like.

This exercise also furthered my understanding with photoshop. Up until this exercise all I had done in photoshop was make an image black and white and make a white box. In this assignment I learned how to use guides to line up my grid system. I learned how to make layers so I can work on multiple plans so I can effectively spread out the work. Lastly I learned how to make different gradients of color in order to separate each box from one another.

Going into this exercise I didn't think I would get anything out of it, and thought it would be cut and dry. Yes, it was straight forward (at least I thought so at first) it also taught me a lot more than I thought that it would.

Exercise Three - Type as Shape

For this exercise we started to change things up, this is the first exercise that we did not do all the work on the computer. Yes, for the other projects you can, and honestly, probably should do some sketches and other work besides on the computer. Yet, I typically don't do that, or at least I haven't for the first two projects, and that is mostly because I didn't find it necessary. For the first two exercises it was all work that you had to be done on the computer. Why would I sketch out different typefaces when I have them on a computer? Or what would I really need to do outside of the computer on the second exercise? It's not like I am going to draw the billboard in black and white instead of just creating that in photoshop. 

So, for me, this exercise seemed like the breakthrough into something that I actually enjoy to do. I really enjoy working with my hands, no matter what that might entail. In this instance it was cutting out various forms of type that we found inside of a single letter. The only problem with this portion of the exercise is somewhere along the way I either got carried away or didn't quite understand the directions. Because I decided to cut up about three times as many shapes out of the letters than I was suppose to. At first I was a little annoyed with myself, because I had just wasted so much time, but after I got over that I had way more material to work with, which made it possible for the ideas to start flowing. 

When you have a bunch of cut out pieces it makes it a lot easier to quickly put a bunch of ideas together in a short period of time. After the actual cutting process it was really easy to put things together to see what I liked and what I didn't like. I came up with my first two ideas in minutes. If I would have done that on the computer I feel as though it would have taken at least double, maybe even triple that amount of time. I did however run into one other problem during this project. If I would have known how many and what I was allowed to cut out in the beginning I would have done that part differently opening up different combinations of shape than I had. See, I only cut out single portions of letter forms making it difficult to get a final solution that felt like it really fit together. I could making dozens of solutions, but non that were really great. It wasn't until one of my last attempts in making a design that I felt that it really worked. Even though, non of the pieces really matched at all, for some reason to me it just seemed like it fit. I took a "F" and three different parts of three different "Q's" and somehow I feel like it just worked itself out. I think it is because non of them really match up and they are not entirely unified, but at the same time they have a sense of movement throughout. It also is good that one of the Q's has a very heavy line weight to kind of throw off and at the same time balance out the rest of the pieces. 

After making this project I can't wait to do more things like this, yes, it's fun to do stuff on the computer in illustrator and what not. But, I really enjoy actually working with my hands and creating something out of something completely different or even better out of nothing at all.

Exercise Two - Billboard as Personal Advertisement

For the second exercise of the semester we had to go out and find or google a billboard that we would then strip it of its original contents and make a sign that told something to the world on the billboard about ourselves. Although this was only an exercise and one of first at that, it was still a bit difficult for me for a few reasons. The most difficult was for me to think of how I would represent myself. What would I say on a billboard to capture who I am? The reason this was so hard for me was because I never know how to answer any question about myself. I am honestly not sure how people do. So when it came down to it the way I picked what I said on the billboard was from a quote from a movie that I watched shortly before this exercise, I just couldn't get the quote out of my head. Partially because it is hilarious, especially in the context of the actual film ( The calcium kid). I also related to the quote, not only because the actual quote was funny, but the over all sense of humor is on point with my own. Even though the quote seems kind of dumb and silly, I also believe in the message. Nothing is out of reach if you try and have what it takes to accomplish a task. I am an optimistic person, I feel as though things will work out in the end, but even above that they will work out the way that they are suppose to. For whatever reason, this quote from this comedy conveyed that message better than anything else I could think of . 

When it came down to finding the actual billboard. That part was pretty easy, on my way home I always pass this one billboard on the corner of 27th and O street. This bill board sits on top of building, and for some reason I have always liked the position of it, so I thought this would be the perfect billboard for this project. The only problem with taking a photo of that billboard is that it's at the cross road of two busy streets so I was running back and forth to find the best vantage point. Every time I thought that I found a good one a bus or big truck got the red light and was in my way. After a decent amount of time I finally got the shot and was happy with the spot. 

The next step to the exercise was taking the photo of the billboard into photoshop and making it black and white. This is where the second challenging part of this assignment came into play. I've never used photoshop prior to this exercise, so I had no idea how to go about this. Good thing it really was not a hard thing to do and it only took me a few minutes to figure that part out. 

Then after making the billboard image black and white I then had to strip the billboard of its contents so I could then make my own design. This was probably the easiest part of the exercise. All that is needed to be done to accomplish this is to outline the billboard and then just fill white. 

After I whited out the billboard it was now time to create my own. A billboard that said something about myself. So, I put the quote "Nothing is out of reach if you have long arms." I felt since this quote is a little dumb and simple minded that it should stand alone. I also like the idea of a lot of white space. Then I just selected a simple sans serif type. After that I just wanted to place it towards the top side of the billboard to subtly introduce the idea that this is meant to be for a tall person with long arms. I also made it so the text is all one line to express the long arm. 

Exercise One - Expression with Type

For this first Exercise it was my first time really thinking about type. How different typefaces can influence different moods or thought processes. Before this class the only other graphics classes I took were during my freshman and sophomore year of high school. I learned a lot during those classes, we went over some history of type and also the different type classifications. Still, I never truly thought of how those different type variations conveyed different messages. 

It wasn't until the start of this first exercise that I really thought of what the typeface itself could say. By choosing the right typeface for something you cannot only insure somebody will read and understand your work. Whether it is for a sign or a large body of text a typeface can achieve either readability or legibility. 

A typeface is not just meant to be eye catching, logical or legible though. The type that you choose can also send the message to the person before they even start to read the message. At its core type is a graphic form, a form that can convey an idea or an emotion. 

For the start of this exercise I didn't know a lot of typefaces, and which of them would show a state of sorrow, anger or elegance. So, the best way I thought to go about this exercise was to simply type out the word and go through the font book one by one seeing how I felt when I looked at that work written in that state. Most of the time I felt nothing, if the type was simple or not very reactive. Other times I would feel a great pull towards the typeface and another emotion and other times I would feel as though that type and state would spot on with each other. In that moment I would not change a thing. Yes, this isn't the best of processes; it dragged on a bit as I went through the 800 or so different typefaces in the font book for the 8th time. Although it wasn't the quickest process it gave me a greater sense that I had picked the best typeface for that word and also helped me get familiar with more typefaces.