week 13

FINAL CRIT FOR TYPE CONFERENCE PROJECT

crit will be over two class sessions -- monday and friday of next week. monday will be quick set-up presentations, open discussion, and written feedback for your peers.

friday will feature three guest critics (kcai alumni) who will act as your client (the typecon board) and you will present to them and hear their feedback.

prep before monday and friday classes:

•  make a post on your blog titled "T4 type conference criticism" and post your logotype.
• work together to determine space allocation for all groups and individuals. should be similar to last big crit. don't plan for projection usage.
• have all mock-ups ready and pinned up or on a table.
• have screen-based work on your laptop on a table for review.
• for grading purposes, place any digital work in my CAS dropbox. name the file or folder “T4_lastname”. add multiple last names for group work.

monday presentations:
 2 or 3 minutes max, since everyone should know the basics of everyone's work.
5 minutes open discussion.
3 minutes written critique. each group crits two other groups via the comments on their blog.


friday presentations:
6 minutes max. this should be a professional presentation, such as you would give to the client. a realistic client in this situation is a group of designers (the SoTA board, AIGA board, etc) so speak appropriately with them in mind.

include the following brief statements (please be concise):

• recap of your conference theme,
  
• an overview (tell AND show) of how the visual identity reflects the theme,
  
• where each artifact fits into the communications timeline (when and where the attendees see this piece), 
• whether that artifact is primarily practical, poetic, or persuasive,
  
• any other information you feel would make a strong case for your work.
  

the presentation portion of your grade will be determined by how well you address each of the above requirements. overall level of professionalism and smoothness of the presentation will also be considered.

our guests will then give their feedback (about 4 minutes max) and you will either take notes yourself or have a classmate take notes for you so you can listen carefully.  each session will be about 10 minutes total.

week 12

GRADING CRITERIA

FOR TYPE CONFERENCE PROJECT

the following criteria are taken from the larger list of course objectives in the syllabus

• interpret verbal or abstract concepts through typography at a proficient level. (is the visual form meaningful?)
• apply ideas and abilities in typographic expression, conceptual interpretation, and experimentation at a proficient level. (are you trying new things, applying your experiments, and being expressive where appropriate?)
• apply individual visual / verbal perspectives to projects through writing, research, and content development at a basic level. (does your design hold true to what you believe in, how you believe it should function? is your theme thoughtful? speakers well chosen? does all of the content make sense and fit together well?)
• integrate accumulated typographic knowledge with form, image, sequence and narrative. (how well is your typography integrated with other design elements?)
• apply knowledge of pacing, duration, and transition to time-based type projects at a basic level. (especially true of motion graphics and animated banner ads, but everything is time-based on some level. are you considering this carefully at micro and macro levels?)
• consistently apply knowledge of fine typographic detail – small caps, dashes, ligatures, lining and non-lining figures, baseline grids, technical issues, and so on – to all projects at a proficient level. (how well did you apply all the content from the series of five review lectures?)

these are all of the things that will be considered in the “project objectives” portion of your project grade. the typographic detail stuff will figure into craft and presentation issues. the other half of your grade is the same -- participation and process.

i have a pretty decent idea of your process from my desk crits with you, but please add any process to your blogs that will bolster your case for a logical and thorough process effort.

type on screen -- lecture update

updates to "type on screen" lecture

obviously some pieces of the lecture are old, so here are a few recent developments that may be of interest.

new web font formats
fontshop international's "web fontfonts" are designed to provide a seamless experience between print and web through using the WOFF (web open font format) in html tags. that way, you can use any of fontshops (currently) 30 web fonts in your site design and 90% of browsers can see them.
check out this link first.
then another link with more detailed info.

newer screen sizes
iphone and ipod touch: 320 x 480 (163 pixels per inch)
ipad: 1024 x 768 (132 pixels per inch)

--brian eno

week 11A

IDENTITY REFINEMENTS

in class
- lecture 2 on type details
- main identity elements due
- work time

homework
tight sketches for all artifacts due at start of next class.

week 10C

IDENTITY REFINEMENT

in class
lecture: typographic details 2
work day / desk cris

the next deadline -- monday april 12 -- is to have all of your identity elements nearly finalized and ready to apply to any and all things you might make. work toward having decisions made about the logotype; color palette; secondary elements such as patterns, textures, additional graphic elements, etc; and additional typefaces for subheads, body copy, etc. make sure all of those elements are working together to visually communicate what your conference theme is all about. having the ingredients (identity elements) is one thing, but mixing them in the right amounts is another (application).

it will be very helpful to not only have visuals of each of the above elements separately for evaluation, but also have super-quick test applications like we did before, so you can judge the validity of your elements in a practical context. 

daily schedule for remainder of the semester
april 12 main identity elements due.

april 16 tight sketches for all artifacts.

april 19 final concept maps/timelines due. final designs for all artifacts.

april 23 production. detailing type and content. production, test prints, user feedback, etc.

april 26 final crit part I

april 30 final crit part II

may 3 blog process due.

may 7 re-dos due. prep for reviews.

week 10 B

PROCESS CRIT DAY
in class
process crit on typographic identity work

homework
identify the artifacts you plan to design in the next 3 weeks and post to your blog. set realistic goals and prioritize the pieces. in your writing, discuss what interactions are happening that create a need for your particular artifacts. simple example: there is a need for people to make acquaintences so i'm making nametags.

continue with identity development

finalize concept map+timeline [DUE MONDAY APRIL 19]
i'm working on simple feedback for these, and will have that to you soon. 
- print in color, tiling is acceptable but must be well crafted
- don’t neglect the goals and principles of information design
- add your conference title in the center
- make all content areas as specific as possible
- add any new content you deem necessary
- label each communication on the timeline as primarily practical, poetic, or persuasive
- list the most obvious context/setting for each artifact (where will it appear?)
- make sure timeline scale is consistent
- make sure the artifacts are specifically named
- make sure your time units are clearly and specifically labeled

together, both pieces will be reviewed for 15% of your final grade.

week 10 A

FINAL DELIVERABLES

1. timeline/concept map
due monday april 19
for 15% of your final grade
grading criteria (again)
- clarity and logic of spatial organization (does it follow any principles of information design?)
- typographic craft
- breadth and depth of insights
- craft of presentation


2. conference materials+identity standards doc
due monday april 26 and friday april 30
for 40% of your final grade

conference materials grading criteria
- demonstrate the technical / perceptual differences and potentials of type on screen and in print at a basic level. (does the typography capitalize well on its media?)
- visualize abstract concepts through expressive and/or experimental typographic form at a proficient level. (does the typography visually show your concepts well?)
- apply your individual visual / verbal perspective to projects through writing, research, and content development at a basic level. (is your writing/work embodying how you think typography should be designed/used?)
- integrate your existing typographic knowledge with compelling and appropriate form, image, sequence and narrative at a proficient level
- apply knowledge of motion, duration, and transition to time-based type projects at a basic level.
- consistently apply knowledge of fine typographic detail at a proficient level.
- raise interesting and sustainable questions about the fundamental aspects of typographic form.

identity / i.d. standards doc grading criteria
- conceptual innovation of identity elements and their assembly/combination(s). (identity)
- appropriateness of visual form to content. (identity)
- clarity of visual and written material. (standards)
- balance of thoroughness and brevity. (standards)
- usefulness and relevance to an audience of designers, programmers, production personnel. (standards)

3. blog process (unlabeled posts will not be reviewed)
due monday may 3
included as the process portion of the above 40%

- written theme
- designer bio(s)
- concept map/timeline development
- concept map/timeline final
- identity development
- design development
- overview of final i.d. standards
- final conference materials

the last week before finals will be devoted to re-dos and polishing any elements of your system. any improvements made this week will be reflected in your grade.

week 9 C

PROCESS CRIT
group crit of work in progress is next class, monday april 5. bring anything and everything you want feedback on.

week 9 B

BRANDING LINK

micah sent over a reminder about underconsideration's great branding blog. check the site out here.